North of the Border Mexican Restaurant — Restaurant in Bartlett

The manager working this evening (6:30pm) said it went through but I was not allowed to substitute the one cheaper chorizo taco and pay the steak price for it. I told her that doesn’t seem right & she barked back aggressively saying she would not do it with a stern attitude. I let her know I would pay for the regular taco dinner (not special taco Tuesday) to resolve this. She told me I had to pay the difference; I told her to charge it to the card from my original order. She condescendingly told me “I dont have that card number & I need a new card” she then immediately barked “ do you have another card? Are you ready yet, are you ready ????” I started to tell her the number and she wasn’t ready for it after rushing me for the $3 difference. Being in the customer service & hospitality industry, I can confirm this is the rudest and most unprofessional employee I have ever come across. She didn’t give her name, but the owner should know, his business is being run by someone who doesn’t thrive in customer service or hospitality. There are better ways to resolve customer issues and it seemed this manager has never had training in doing it properly.

Great food though :)

I applaud you for sticking up for your wife, as we all would. Yet, you weren’t on the phone and didn’t see how our conversation went. Good on you for taking her back and trying to make this review look slanderous although it is 100% legitimate the way I wrote it. She’s lucky to have you! Or else she would’ve been fired in any other establishment. You don’t talk to people that way.

MORAL OF THE STORY: North Of The Border does not take the customers side if there is an issue. The customer is not always right, NOTB will always deem themselves in the right and they will argue with you if you have any issues.

For proof, read any low rating review. Matt, the owner; will reply & argue with any customer who wasn’t satisfied and try to belittle them. If you want food from honest, good people, go to an actual authentic (Hispanic owned / not Americanized) Mexican restaurant like La Hacienda in Roselle. Unmatched customer service and exceptional food in comparison to NOTB.

Final edit: I have no harsh feelings toward you or your family — I was just unhappy about the way I was talked to & the type of customer service I received when their was an issue. You received a one star review because lack of respect and care of resolving your upset customer, not because I wanted to slander your family (I didn’t even know who I was talking to other then an employee) There is a way to be gentle about the issue, and ways to communicate with the customer to kindly resolve or make them happy. I did not receive this so I gave back what was received & posted exactly how the chain of events happened. — She did kindly tell me in the beginning “I cannot substitute one chorizo taco even for the price of steak” in which I replied a bit puzzled “that does not make sense, considering chorizo is cheaper, that’s unacceptable” when I said the word unacceptable, she IMMEDIATELY lost her cool and raised her voice aggressively “UNACCEPTABLE?!” & then started being EXTREMELY rude throughout the rest of the phone call.

Even if this is your policy and she has to enforce it, it is not okay for any employee (wife or not) to raise their voice at a customer, then continue to talk to them with an aggravated tone and short snippy remarks. I stand by you for taking your wife’s side, but if this was any other employee I think you might’ve acted differently in your reply. You can try to call me a liar, but this is EXACTLY what happened. Most restaurants would own it and try to resolve, but I understand why you won’t.

I do 100% respect your replies and where you are coming from, family is everything. Keep loving & protecting them. God bless you, Matt. You’re a great husband. I wish you and your family life-long happiness and health, as that’s what...

The absolute worst most tasteless burrito I’ve ever had in my entire life. I ordered 2 garden veggie burritos and literally all I ate was rice and tortilla. I even complained and said I don’t see the sour cream, guacamole, fresh jalapeño, or pico de gallo in the burrito and this guy took my burrito and a different guy came back and said “it’s there but it’s in the middle”. By the time I came to the middle of the giant burrito I could taste a hint of guac but nothing else was there as seen below. I threw out the whole thing. Not only that but we also ordered chips and salsa. The red salsa legit had olives, big corn pieces, and some veggie shreds inside- gross. Didn’t even eat much but I feel sick after eating here. Lastly, they charged us $3.99 for chips and salsa but when we looked at the black menu- it stated if you order any of the main menu items- chips and salsa is only an additional $2.50 (as seen in the picture). I hate the dishonesty but didn’t bother arguing. Not worth going here ever.

Update: In response to the owners reply, first off I’m incredibly sorry that you had to stare me down after I complained my burrito was not made properly. Yes, I took pictures while eating because I was extremely upset my burrito was not made properly— and to clarify— THAT is the purpose of reviewing. And secondly, I typed my review AFTER leaving, please refer to the time stamp on the receipt that I’m sure you have. Everything in the owners reply is a lie. I sat down with my fiancé to eat my burrito. After 5 bites, my burrito was STILL very dry which was unusual to me. So as any customer would do, when an employee walked by, my fiancé mentioned to him that the ingredients that I asked for in my burrito were not visible, in fact they seemed like they were missing completely. He went over to his owner (with my burrito), which I’m sure is the guy that responded to me- and the owner walked back with my eaten burrito in the same foil and plopped it back right in front of me claiming “the ingredients are in the middle”. I was not rude, I did not argue, nor did I complain after throwing everything away. As he told me to do, I ate my way to the middle of the burrito and still there were no ingredients. I knew there was no point in complaining anymore as the “owner” who brought my burrito back was pretty firm on “I’m right and you’re wrong”. Since you were so busy staring, I’m sure you noticed how upset I was after the incidence. Anyone looking at the picture should know my burrito was to have lettuce, rice, beans, sour cream, cilantro, fresh jalapeño, guacamole, and pico de gallo. All I see is way too much rice (the weight) and the salsa I added to help with the poor taste. Oh and yes— the picture posted is from the MIDDLE of the burrito. After that picture I spilled the contents of my burrito just to double check if the ingredients could possibly be on the other end, but unfortunately I was wrong. I really like how you replied I was sick from overeating because I for one, threw away practically everything we ordered.

I’m pretty sure you didn’t expect this response at all. I bet like every other private business owner, you respond back to each negative review claiming the customer is wrong. So professional. Next time, maybe try listening and accepting fault? Rather than owning up to your mistake and remaking the burrito properly, you chose to wait, respond back to me, and tell me I’m lying. Honestly, it’s embarrassing— not for me,...

.Taco Tuesday they have reduced taco prices between. 99 cents and $2.00. I paid 9.38 for 6 tacos. 3 were grilled chicken and 3 were steak. I ordered at 3pm calling in my order to pick up within 15 minutes. The restaurant was very clean. It has a small cozy seating area in the front. So 3 tables full of guests makes it seem comfortably busy. You could feel comfortable and welcome eating there. I however wanted to go home and watch the handsome Yannick Bison on Murdock Mysterious. The corn tortillas were freshly warm and good quality. They doubled the tortillas, which is generous. None of the other restaurants in the area double their tortillas. The grilled chicken was properly flavored and delicious and real chicken. If you notice the other Mexican restaurants in the area either gave you old rotisserie chicken or chicken from a can as their chicken. This restaurant appears to use real grilled chicken that is not processed which was refreshing to find on a Taco Tuesday. The steak taco was delicious it was real steak chopped up into smaller pieces which was fine because at least you can tell it's real steak and real meat. One of the problems with the other Mexican restaurants in the area is that they tend to use old substandard ground chuck and try to pass it off as steak. This restaurant uses a good quality of steak that is actually chewable and good quality to eat. I wish I found this restaurant 15 years ago when I moved here I always pass by it because it's hidden across the street and Route 59 across from the Home Depot and just right of the Oberweis ice cream store in the strip mall next to Dogfather's. This is a good Hidden Gem and I say that I was crazy to have waited 30 minutes in a Taco Bell drive-thru line on Berrington Road in Streamwood when I could have just come to this restaurant instead and had...