First Watch — Restaurant in Atlanta

It’s the insufficient customer service for me (-_-) . I’ve been a frequent customer of First Watch for years, and I was thrilled when they opened a location in my neighborhood, Madison Yards. I recently visited First Watch (Madison Yards ), and unfortunately I received a level of customer service which encouraged me to never support this establishment again.

•I entered the restaurant early in the morning of 8.8.2020, and asked for a table for 1. •Server 1 said sure, we just need some information from you as we are on a wait – no problem. There didn’t appear to be a lot of people so no issue there (^^) •Server 1 asked for my name – no problem. •Server 1 then asked for my phone number – problem (--). I did not have a phone. •Server 1 shared that they will need to text me when my table is ready. I reiterated; I did not have a phone. •Server 1 then shared that this was the only way I could be alerted when my table was ready. •I asked could they not use my name, and I stand nearby until my name is called (?) •Server 1 said no, because there were many servers, and they all use the tablet to get the next table (Paraphrasing ) . •Server 2 (standing nearby, shared I could come back in about ten minutes, and table should be ready. •Server 1 then says yes, just keep checking back with us for your table. •I said “Thanks”, and left the restaurant never to return again.

I want to be fair, and I want to be clear. They were not rude/unprofessional/unkind. They simply did not stop, think, and assess the particular situation in a way that considers the customer experience. In that particular moment, the message sent was this:

We only serve customers who have a cell phone and/or provide us with their phone number to text. If you can’t receive texts, too bad – you can’t eat with us.

What about the grandmother who does not have a cell phone? What about the aunt who has a cell phone, but can’t receive texts? What about the person who in this age of data privacy/protection simply does not want to OPT IN to receiving texts? What about the person who just lost their phone, had it stolen, broken, etc. ?

I am extremely disappointed that no thought or consideration was given to accommodate all types of paying customers.

This is not about COVID, because everyone has been using this excuse to provide subpar customer service. This is about accommodating paying customers, and stopping / thinking about when/how your process/procedures make sense, and when they do not make sense.

HOWEVER, this prompted me to take an opportunity to commerce with a small business. Since Delia’s Chicken Sausage, Moreland Ave, stand is still closed ( Please come back soon ) .

I recalled an amazing small business, Le Petit Marche! To my surprise, they had buzzers / pagers for their guest! @First Watch, Madison Yards - I've included a picture below since you don't know what these are (they also clean/sanitize them before and after use)

Thanks @Le Petit Marche for great customer service! Check them out sometime, its only a 5 minute...

*UPDATE 8/29/2022 -

One year since my last review. Why the hell do I keep coming back here. Order was wrong today and I waitied 15mins past pick-up time. I ordered the seasonal brisket skillet and it had incorrect eggs and only a single fork's worth of brisket. What a joke. The issues seem to be with ONLY this location. MAdison Yards location is ok if you sit-down and dine in, but if you order togo food they DO NOT CARE about the quality or accuracy of the order. My experiences at the decatur store are amazing...

*UPDATE 8/31/2021 WARNING **Per Usual continues to disapoint. Had an 11:15 pick-up to accomodate a 12pm lunch meeting for my bosses. I know to set my lunch pu to 15mins prior to when i actually need it because they are always "understaffed" at First Watch. today I waited 35mins for food (11:50am). When I finally received my order it all looked like S#!t. There were two Quinoa Power bowls. One of which looked half full compared to the other (see pic) and barely had an ingredients or flavor. ALL of the food was also cold.

There were several others waiting with me. some even longer than me and I left before they did. The dining room was empty (see pic)..

I threw my food in the trash due to frustration over the late time and poor quality.

OLD UPDATE* First Watch reached out to me concerned over this review. I really appreciate that they took the time to listen to my experience and take action on it. We will be back! I have ordered from here several times for my office over the last couple months. Food is never ready on time. Today I selected a pickup time that was 15mins earlier than needed to accommodate the tight timeline of my office managers. When I arrived my food was not in the pick-up area.. I patiently waited and noticed a couple bag waiting in the kitchen window. I assumed these must have been someone else's order or a larger order they were still working on. No One approached me or asked for my name or why i was standing there for as long as I was. it was 30 minutes before someone walked over with those bags and turns out sure enough it was my order.... NO ONE could walk the completed orders to the pickup area for 25-30mins? As a result the cold food was roomtemp/warm, and the HOT food was roomtemp/cold.. Additionally the gravy for the BISCUITS and GRAVY meal was practically empty. cold, and solidified (see photo. No that's not a half eaten cup of gravy thats how it was provided). If I had ordered through door dash I'd have...

TERRIBLE customer service. I’ve been eating at First Watch’s around Tampa/Bradenton FL for years. I was passing through Atlanta and was craving First Watch. I seriously should have just kept driving.

Around 10:30am, I downloaded the First Watch app to place my order for an 11:15am pick up.

I show up at 11:22am and the order is not ready. The host tells me they just got a flood of tickets. I thought paying 45minutes prior should have ensured that wouldn’t matter. But I don’t know how their system works so fine, I was content in waiting.

Mind you this “host” was also running the expo line or so it appeared.

I then notice that other uber eats and DoorDash drivers were waiting as well and were there before me.

After waiting 20 minutes I notice that to go orders were collecting at the expo table in the back. You get a clear shot of it from the front door and waiting area. So I walk back there and sure enough my order was just sitting there and appeared to have been sitting there for a while as my drinks were getting watered down by melting ice. Did the host lie to me? Was she just lazy? Was it someone else’s job to bring the to go orders up to the to go table? Where was the manager??

Knowing how my experience was so far I opened my bag to check and sure enough we were missing food and silverware.

I ask the host “who do I tell” and she reluctantly says she’ll get it for you. 5 more minutes pass and it’s clear she’s not going to help. So I decide to leave as this quick stop and grab had turned into a 30 minute ordeal at this point.

Wish I had never put a tip on the order too! Ugh

It was clear the staff did not want to work that day. Only one waitress was running around helping tables and even stopped to ask if I had been helped. She asked when I was content in waiting for my food before I realized the laziness of the other staff members.

As they say, this type of behavior comes from the top, so I blame the manager. Who btw was nowhere to be seen. Just awful management all the way around for this First Watch. I emailed corporate headquarters in Bradenton, FL to let them know how this location was operating.

As a business owner myself, I would want to know and frankly be downright irate at how this location...