Taco Bell — Restaurant in Carmel

I have visited this Taco Bell 2-3 times per week for the last 3 years. It is close to my office and I like to eat here for lunch or sometimes I’ll grab breakfast on my way into the office. I typically have great experiences here, though sometimes the line can get pretty crazy around lunch time. Today, I attempted to visit for lunch and my experience was by far the WORST service I have ever had in my life. I pulled up to the restaurant and the drive through line was very long, which is common for this location at lunch time and because I had a miserable wait at the drive-thru earlier in the week, I decided I would go inside to place my order to go. I walked into the restaurant and there were a couple of people waiting for their food, but nothing too crazy. I walked up to the unmanned counter ready to place my order. I figured whoever was supposed to be working the register was restocking something quickly and would soon return, but after about 5 minutes I started to wonder if that was the case. I attempted to get the attention of an employee and was told that I needed to place my order at the self service kiosk as the register is currently closed for the lunch rush. I walked to the kiosk and entered my order only to find that the kiosk could not accept cash. I went back to the register to get the attention of another employee who without even looking said to use the kiosk. I said I tried but the kiosk does not take cash. The employee did not respond. I attempted to get the employee’s attention back, but was ignored. At this point there have been 3-4 other guests entering the restaurant placing their order on the kiosk and receiving their food, meanwhile I have been trying to place my order for over 30 minutes. Finally I recognize the manager as she hands food to yet another guest that arrived after me and I try to get her attention, but without looking she too says to use the kiosk and I say what if I am paying cash and she too ignores this comment. At this point I am ready to walk out, but I decide to make one last attempt to get the attention of an employee and finally I get someone willing to look at me and listen to what I have to say. The employee named Honey was able to let me know that someone would be able to help me with a cash order at the register once the drive-thru line thinned out, but that it could take a while and would probably be faster if I just used the drive thru myself. At this point it had been close to an hour and no one had been at the register, I no longer had time to wait at the drive thru and was forced to return to work without having eaten lunch. I understand that this location is very busy during lunch, and I understand that not many people use cash anymore and those who do typically would also have the option of using a card if it was necessary. So I think that in terms of keeping the line moving this was a decent plan from the manager, but with that said, the incompetence of this manager to not have the forethought to put some sort of notice up at the register is 100% unacceptable. I waited an HOUR to still be unable to place my order. All the manager had to do was spend 2 minutes typing and printing a one paragraph explanation to be placed at the register. Needless to say, I will not be returning to this location for lunch as it is clear that whomever manages the lunch rush is incapable of doing so well, and it would be more tome effective for me to drive across town to a location with more competent and...

DO NOT GO HERE!!! I went through the drive-thru to pick up some dinner to bring home for the family tonight. Ordered 2 shredded mini commen quesadilla melts, 1 frito burrito, 1 cheesy bean and rice burrito, 1 pack of 2 cinnabon delights. Was not offered a receipt. First problem. Got all the way home, opened the bag, and found that one thing was missing. The cinnabon delights were there, but only three wrapped items. Second problem. Tried calling, no answer and it hung up after a recorded message.  Third problem. Drove back to the restaurant, informed them of the mistake over the intercom. Immediately got sass. First, they told me they had no record of my order being placed. It was placed not 10 minutes earlier. Fourth problem. Then, I was instructed to unwrap the items. I told them I couldn't identify them by looking at the tortillas, they all look the same. Went back and forth about that, then I was told to pull up to the window. There, I got more sass and I was told to open up each tortilla to look at the contents, which proceeded to spill out. Fifth problem. He then very rudely tried to claim that the way they are wrapped would have told me what each was. Nothing was marked. And he was the one who told me to unwrap them in the first place. Sixth problem. The first thing I unwrapped was the cheesy bean and rice burrito. Next, a quesadilla. The mousy, pale kid working there tried to tell me they were both the quesadilla when the first quite obviously had beans in it, which do not come on the quesadilla. Seventh problem. The same kid then slammed the window on me. Eighth problem. Returned to tell me again that there was no record of my order. I offered to give my card number. I even confirmed the total I paid. Still denied my order, refusing to look up my card. Ninth problem. We finally determined it was the frito burrito missing. He slammed the window on me get again while hollering for a frito burrito. Tenth problem. It was handed to me and he rolled his eyes as I unwrapped it to verify that that's what it was. Eleventh problem. Was still not given a receipt, any names, anything at all as consolidation. Twelfth problem. I just drove home with my unwrapped, spilling over, ruined food. Ridiculous to call that "business." I want to be contacted by the store...

⭐☆☆☆☆ (1 star)

Absolutely abysmal experience at Taco Bell. I don't know whether to be amazed or appalled at the sheer incompetence on display during my recent visit. I had the unfortunate idea to order a Mexican Pizza with Sour Cream, a request that proved to be too monumental a task for the culinary "geniuses" behind the counter. Lo and behold, my Mexican Pizza arrived devoid of the promised sour cream, as if their ability to comprehend a simple request had vanished into thin air.

But that's not all, folks! Oh no, they managed to take incompetence to a whole new level. I dared to ask for my hard taco shells to be unbroken – a Herculean feat, apparently. What did I receive? Two sad, shattered shells barely holding together the remnants of their fillings. I suspect their staff moonlights as a professional shell-breaking team, given their uncanny knack for turning intact taco shells into culinary rubble.

To cap off this circus of errors, the pièce de résistance was the drive-thru window encounter. Just as I thought their skills had reached rock bottom, the person at the window managed to shatter my expectations yet again. They handed me a packet of sauce that seemed to have taken a swim in a puddle. Bravo! I must applaud their commitment to ensuring that not even a single component of my order met the standards of human decency.

In summary, if you're a fan of disappointment and frustration, look no further than Taco Bell. They've mastered the art of turning even the simplest requests into a farcical display of culinary ineptitude. Save yourself the trouble and skip this establishment unless you're in dire need of a lesson in how not to run a...