Panda Express — Restaurant in Albuquerque

Truly one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve ever had — demeaning, dismissive, and completely unacceptable.

I stopped by this Panda Express hoping for a quick meal, but I was instead met with condescension and blatant disrespect from an employee named Raul V. (confirmed both verbally and by the name on my receipt — notably, he was the only employee not wearing a name tag).

Before ordering, I needed to use the restroom, so I asked Raul for the code. I didn’t catch what he said the first time — the music was loud, I was overstimulated, and I also have a vestibular disorder that affects my ability to process sound. I politely asked him to repeat himself. He did, but I still couldn’t hear or understand clearly. Instead of showing patience, he sarcastically asked me, “You don’t know numbers?” — completely inappropriate and condescending.

Then, as if I were a child, he started drawing the number on the counter with his finger slowly and dramatically. I was stunned. I told him again that I just couldn’t understand him.

It’s also important to note that Raul has an accent, and I genuinely was doing my best to understand. In an effort to make communication easier for both of us, I switched to Spanish — my first language — and asked for his name in Spanish. I tried to meet him halfway and speak to him in the language I could tell he was more comfortable with. And even then, he met me with rudeness and attitude.

At that point, I told him, “No seas cabrón” — because he was being needlessly hostile and demeaning. I asked to speak with someone else, and that’s when Carla stepped in. She was calm, respectful, clear — everything Raul was not. I’m grateful for her professionalism.

But after all of that, when I returned from the restroom to place my order, Raul was the one taking orders again. Still no apology. He barely spoke. I had to initiate everything. No greeting, no clarification, no “thank you.” Just silence, like I was an inconvenience — or worse, invisible.

The entire situation was exhausting and dehumanizing. I made every effort to communicate respectfully, even switching languages to accommodate him. And yet I was the one treated like a problem.

This goes beyond poor service — it’s ableist, it’s unkind, and it has no place in any customer-facing role. Management needs to take this seriously. No one should be made to feel stupid or small for having difficulty hearing. And no one should be spoken to — or ignored —...

I would like to highlight a particular employee of the Panda Express drive-thru, at 6500 Montgomery, Sierra Vista Shopping Center. Her name was Isabella S. and I totally appreciate her.

It was just after 9 on Saturday night the 14th of December. After working at Hobby Lobby framing, night shift closing, it's really good to get a good meal. So rather than Taco Bell, I stopped at Panda Express and went through drive-thru.

The gal at the drive-thru speaker greeted me and said it would just be a moment and she would be right with me, as she was finishing up with the customer at the window. Maybe one minute had passed and she returned to the speaker, apologizing for the delay and taking my order. Her attitude was one of positive appreciation to me as the customer. I ordered from the menu and moved forward to the window. She promptly came to the window and greeted me and took my payment. She did make mention that the honey walnut shrimp had a couple less shrimp available and would I like to add a couple pieces of meat from a different menu item, which I did. She could have just given me a lesser portion but instead made the added effort to communicate with me and make the portion size right on. Less than a minute after, she brought my food, asking if i needed a choice of condiments. After a long work day i would have forgotten to even ask for them. The food was neatly organized in the bag, squarely placed and flat, napkins, receipt, requested soy, and fork present.

Isabella's appearance was neat and clean and her mannerism professional and friendly. She genuinely put every ounce of her energy toward the well-being of me, the customer which is very impressive and unusual these days.

I will come to this Panda Express from now on instead of the one I had been going to and will tell everyone I know about the exceptional customer service I received here. It takes a great deal of effort and conscientiousness to do this type of job and do it well, as she did. She made a huge difference in my day and I would hope she gets recognition for her excellent attitude and outstanding customer...

Dangerously incompetent. We used to go to this location all the time and loved it. For the last several months we had noticed a decline in service... incorrect entrees being put in our take out, being ignored even when the drive through was empty and there were few patrons, my favorite was when they asked me to wait a few minutes for them to finish cooking my "side veggies" and 13 minutes later (by my phone timer) they just started cooking them. I left without a side because my other food was getting cold. BUT LAST NIGHT WAS NEW AND SCARY. My spouse is very allergic to nuts, especially peanuts and cashews, so we pay lots of attention to their allergen list. If they didn't have an allergen list we'd either ask or go somewhere else. But they have a list and the list suggests that if an entree doesn't have an allergen listed then that entree is safe; the list gives them the responsibility of making sure the allergens stay out of the safe dishes. Last night we ordered the mushroom chicken. My husband started reacting almost immediately. We dug through the entree and found several peanut halves (I have pictures and the actual nuts). There are not supposed to be any nuts in the mushroom chicken. Whoever was cooking just didn't care. And it definitely was the right dish aside from the nuts. This wasn't cross contamination, which yes, is a risk. These were actual nuts in an entree listed as NUT FREE. What if it wasn't my spouse? What if this was a child who wasn't as good at noticing the warning signs of an allergic reaction. SOMEONE COULD HAVE DIED. It's just not worth it to go there anymore. How can we possibly trust them? If you have any food allergies, avoid like the plague!!!! This is a lawsuit...