Noodles and Company — Restaurant in Blaine

Where to begin. This was my first time at the Blaine store. I came here at dinner rush and stood in a fairly long line serviced by a single register. I understood at that moment the "now hiring sign" out front, clearly this place is short staffed. I gave my order to the young man at the register. Nice guy. I ordered the spicy Korean beef, my usual. At the drink station I was confronted by a jumble of lids, napkins, flatware and other detritus associated with that area. Alas, no lids to fit my cup. Short staffed again. I found a table among the refuse left by other customers at other tables and sat at a relatively clean one. When my cold food came and was placed before me it was not what I ordered. It was the Korean beef but it had a mound of "zoodles" covering it and was a Large not a small. I complained immediately and the young woman asked to see my receipt, looked at it, and proclaimed that it was exactly what I ordered. I said that it had zucchini on it and I did not order zucchini. She then went to get help. Another young woman came to inform me that the spicy Korean beef has always had zucchini on it. I brushed her away and removed the "zoodles" myself. When I went to bus my plates I found the bus station buried under stacks of bowls, plates and garbage. This explains the neglected tables and ...short staffed. Later, a friend went to speak to the manager, who was not evident the entire time I was in the store, and demanded a refund for the entire meal which we got after some sharp words. The store was a mess, the food was late and cold, the order wrong and the customer service response churlish. If I could score a zero...

What a complete disaster. There was a 22 to 30 minute wait after you placed your order and then by the time your food was finally delivered it was cold and mostly uncooked. There were multiple people who didn't even bother going back up to the counter to say something because there was already a wall of people waiting for their food. I understand that local activities can be overwhelming to some process flows, but whatever they were doing today seems to have completely broken down. The bins were overflowing with dirty dishes, tables weren't even remotely cleaned, high chairs were covered in old food, garbage bins were overflowing, silverware was non-existent, and overall nothing seems to really be taken care of very well. The young lady that was bringing food out kept her head held high and at least had a smile on her face trying to be as helpful as possible with what little she could do. I was unable to eat my food but at least my family was able to choke down what they had. The people pictured or not with me and was something I saw happening quite a bit throughout the restaurant. They didn't even have dishes to use again and had been giving everyone to-go bowls even if you...

Don’t expect any shred of customer service here.

The Blaine Noodles and Company has basically become a online order service. They should probably just remove the tables from the restaurant. Twice I’ve gone there (in recent months) and have not even been acknowledged at the counter while the staff readies online orders.

Then when they finally decide to acknowledge you, they act like you’re completely inconveniencing them by ordering at the counter. It’s like they’re doing YOU some huge favor by taking your order in-person.

They clearly prioritize online orders over the customers standing directly in front of them. You’d get faster, better service if you go back to your car, placed an online order, and then walked back in to pick it up.

I have zero issue with online ordering, but if that’s solely how you want to operate your business, then set that expectation. Or install self-service kiosks in the restaurant. You can’t just treat people who walk-in like garbage and expect them to be...