Dickey's Barbecue Pit — Restaurant in Terwillegar Heights

Absolutely unacceptable experience at the Mullen Road location (5125 Mullen Rd, Edmonton). The restaurant had a “Kids Eat Free with $25 minimum purchase” offer. My husband and I were there with our two kids. We planned to make two separate transactions, each over $25, so that both kids could get the deal — exactly as the promotion stated.

The staff member refused and accused us of “cheating” just because we’re one family. CHEATING — that’s the word he used with paying customers. When I asked to speak to the owner, he arrogantly claimed he was the owner. Honestly, I’m shocked that someone who claims to be the owner would speak to guests that way — rude, judgmental, and completely unprofessional.

There was nothing in the ad that said one child per family, and we followed the rules. This kind of behavior is unacceptable. I used to love this restaurant and recommended it to friends — not anymore. Treating loyal customers with disrespect and false accusations is the quickest way to lose them.

It was around 8:30 PM on 1st July.

Update: I’m honestly shocked that you keep bringing up whether my profile is “new” — as if that somehow invalidates everything I experienced.

Let’s be clear: I shared the exact time and date of my visit. I described exactly what happened. This is a real review, from a real customer — someone who supported your business and recommended it many times before.

Whether my account is new, old, or ten years inactive — that is none of your business, and frankly, it has nothing to do with the real issue.

I visited your restaurant in person, I spoke with your staff, and I shared the exact time and date of my visit. Everything I wrote here happened — exactly as I described it. So trying to discredit me based on when my Google profile was created is not only irrelevant — it’s insulting.

What actually happened is this: • I came to your restaurant with my husband and two kids. • We planned to place two separate $25+ orders, each eligible for the “Kids eat free” promotion. • There was nothing in the promotion that said “one per family” — it clearly stated: “Kids eat free with one purchase of $25 or more.” • When I asked if this was okay, the staff member told me it would be “cheating the owner.” • Based on that comment, I asked to speak with the owner — and he claimed to be the owner. • When I calmly explained the offer refers to one transaction, not one family, he then said I was cheating.

And yes, he literally said: “If you had called the orders in separately and picked them up, and I didn’t see you, I wouldn’t have known you’re one family — so it would’ve been fine.” That statement alone proves this was never about policy — it was a personal judgment made in the moment based on how we looked, not what we actually did.

I also find it very unprofessional that you copied and pasted your Facebook comment here on Google Maps without even addressing the points I raised in this review. That shows very little effort to resolve anything — just more public defense and shifting blame.

To be honest, I wasn’t asking for much. I came forward expecting a simple apology, some acknowledgment of how I was treated, and a respectful response. Instead, I got public deflection, personal attacks, and attempts to discredit my experience.

A smart business owner knows that the customer experience matters, and that when a customer is upset, the right response is not to argue, accuse, or copy-paste generic replies — it’s to listen, reflect, and handle things professionally.

I truly expected better — especially from a place I once genuinely loved...

We've been fans of Dickey's for years. This particular location though we have had problems with the service on multiple occasions. Today, I suspected something was wrong because my total seemed very high. I was asked if I wanted a receipt and I actually did but rather the girl said no. It took quite long to order and she seemed very confused and had to ask a lot of questions. After sitting and eating, the food was delicious, except for the macaroni which was only ok. I went back after my meal and requested a receipt and sure enough, they overcharged. Instead of ringing the meal deal with a sandwich, side, and yellow cup, which is $15.99 (and what we ordered), she rang the sandwich, side, and yellow cup separately for both which was over $21.00 each so I was overcharged more than $10 extra. I was not able to wait in line to fix it because we had an appt and had to leave. And based on the manager's response, you can see why this place has issues. I'll be sending his response to corporate. Especially after I tipped your team 20% and two sandwich meal combos and 2 bakes potatoes was $75. Absolutely insane to respond like that and very ableist.

In response to the manager's claims: We didn't ask for a burnt ends sandwich. We asked for the sandwich meal deal, but the girl at the register didn't know how to ring it up. She asked multiple employees to come over while ringing us up and the girl who runs the grill told her to ring it this way. We didn't ask for cheese. We actually asked for no cheese and no sauce. Both still got put on our meal. We only asked for pickles on the sandwich and sauce on the side. So thanks for pointing that out- because I forgot to mention it earlier. It's funny, I've been going to Dickey's for many years everywhere I've lived, and never had problems until this specific location. Now, thanks to your ridiculous response, you won't ever have to worry about me or my family coming back. And yeah, I didn't post the receipt earlier because I wasn't expecting you to tell me to get therapy when I first posted and deny that my review was real (because that's a really normal way to respond). Photo included of original review and response since apparently this place requires proof of everything. So yes, I found the receipt to show proof that my review isn't fake. And yes, I did go back before we left and asked for clarification on the charges. The girl was rude and exasperated I asked for a receipt after the first trainee girl said she couldn't print my receipt. Sounds like ya all messed up and just don't want to take accountability and instead you'd rather argue with absolutely fair reviews about the awful service we got and completely wrong meal.

UPDATE: reached out to corporate and spoke with VP Jim Parsons. Jim called me and was amazing- if he were running this place, this would have never happened. He asked the franchise owner, Mohammed Hussain, to call me. However the franchise owner did not call me and instead sent an email claiming he investigated and he would give me some free vouchers. I didn't ask for anything free. He did not apologize for the individual saying they suggest therapy in the original review response although he did apologize for my experience in the restaurant but in his "investigation" he never actually talked to me. This place is a disaster and clearly doesn't care about the brand they represent. Unfortunately, brands don't have a lot of control over franchise owners and this franchise owner is woefully ignorant of how customer service...

I really wanted to like this place. I arrived at 5:40pm today and was told they wouldn't have any brisket until 6pm. That's forgivable. It's a new restaurant and they don't know how busy it's going to be each day. I ordered the brisket plate which included two sides. I was told they had no fries or coleslaw so I opted for baked beans and sweetcom.

When paying for my order with the cashier I asked for some extra bbq sauce. She started squeezing some into a small container and the bottle became empty when the tiny container was about 1/3 full. She disappeared into the back and I assumed she went to get more sauce and fill up my container. She came back after a few minutes and just put a lid on the 1/3 filled container and passed me my order. I asked if more sauce was being brought to her. She said yes and I told her I'd wait for a full serving. She definitely has zero customer service skills and no personality when interacting with customers (which would be a good idea for this business with the person taking your money as it's your last point of contact with the restaurant and she definitely didn't leave me with a good impression of the place).

I got my order home and weighed the brisket portion was given. It was 6 oz. The serving size was okay, but definitely disappointing when this place boasts itself as Texas bbq. It was tender and the flavour was just okay, not good and not bad, but definitely not unforgettable. The regular bbq sauce tasted like mustard. In fact, that was the only distinguishable flavour in it. I also got some of their sweet bbq sauce. It was at least palettable, but nothing special.

The included sides with my meal were both put in individual containers which were very, very small. Embarrassingly small. The small version of their sides are $3.50 each and I'd feel ripped off if I ordered a side and was charged so much for so little. The baked beans were, once again okay, but not what I expected in terms of flavour. Ther sweet corn was good, but then again it's pretty hard to screw up corn. The meal was also served with an anemic looking bun, clearly undercooked.

Between service, food quality, portion size and flavour I don't think I'll be returning which is unfortunate as Dickey's is close to my house and I really wanted to like it, but it's clearly lacking some strong leadership at this location. I expected way more for an American franchise that specializes in Texas bbq. wonder if their head office realizes how badly things are going at this...