Whataburger — Restaurant in Channelview

I am writing to formally express my deep dissatisfaction with my experience at #431 Whataburger on February 10, 2025. Typically, I visit the Wallisville location due to previous subpar experiences at this establishment. However, on this occasion, my son insisted on Whataburger, and since I was already in the parking lot, I reluctantly decided to dine in. Unfortunately, my concerns about this location were not only validated but exceeded in disappointment.

Upon entering, the only visible employee in the dining area was the cashier, David. My son and I needed to use the restroom, which required David to provide us with a code. By the time we returned, David was in the kitchen, another employee was clocking in, and no manager was in sight. When David finally came back to the counter, I was able to place my order.

While waiting for our food, I observed an alarming display of unprofessionalism from Stephanie, the store manager. She was aggressively speaking to employees in a manner that was both inappropriate and demeaning. Having worked in food service for over 20 years, I am well aware of the challenges of the industry, but no employee should have to endure such belittling treatment—especially not for what is likely minimum wage. A toxic work environment inevitably translates into poor service for customers, which was evident throughout my visit.

When my order arrived, I realized I had forgotten to request ranch. I returned to the counter, where the young woman who had just clocked in was now working the register, while Stephanie was counting down David’s drawer. As I waited patiently, Stephanie never acknowledged my presence. Instead, she instructed the cashier to take my request while continuing to count the register.

I paid $5.00 for a 40-cent ranch, and it took two minutes for the cashier to count out my change. Meanwhile, my food sat at my table, getting cold. After receiving my change, I continued to wait while Stephanie attended to other matters. Finally, I asked if someone could pass me a ranch, as my fries were getting cold. Rather than addressing the situation professionally, Stephanie ignored me, cleared orders from the screen, and then, with noticeable attitude, asked what I had said. When I reiterated that I was waiting for a ranch, she dismissively stated, “Well, ma’am, I didn’t know what you were waiting on.”

Not only did Stephanie fail to display any professionalism, but she also abandoned her crew in a dining area that was filthy. Every table was dirty, the trash bins were overflowing, and the lobby was in complete disarray. Rather than ensuring the restaurant was clean and presentable for customers, she simply left. The lack of leadership was evident, and it is unacceptable for a manager to leave their team in such a poorly maintained environment.

This location is in dire need of customer service and operational training across all shifts. From the lack of visible management to the blatant disregard for both employees and customers, the overall experience was unacceptable. I sincerely hope this feedback is taken seriously and that immediate action is taken to improve the service and conditions at this establishment.

I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing how this matter will...

If I could give this experience less than one star, I would. This has been the worst fast food experience of our lives, and that’s saying something. We got there shortly after 11pm. One other person was waiting to order ahead of us, and nobody in the front of the house. As an employee was clocking out, I asked her to get the attention of somebody in the back so we could order. Without stopping, she said, “They’re in the back and will be back shortly.” No help. The person that showed up behind us, and the person in front of us gave up waiting, and left. We decided to order our food through the app for dine-in. After another 5 minutes or so, and me standing close to the entrance to the kitchen, a worker came to the front. I told her we ordered our food through the app and asked for our cups so we could get our drinks. We sat down with our drinks to wait. After close to half an hour waiting for our food, I went back to the kitchen entrance. A worker asked me if I needed something. I inquired about our food, and she says, “What food?” The girl that gave us our cups says, “You’re still here? You weren’t sitting by the door, so I thought you left.” Not once did she check the dining area to give us our food. We specifically sat where we could see the entrance to the kitchen. The previous girl said, let me get you some fresh fries, and made us wait another 5 minutes to get our food that had been sitting on the counter for at least 20 minutes. When they brought our food to us, at 12:10am, she apologized and said the dining area was closed and they normally ask people to leave at midnight. (There was no signage to say the dining area was closed, and all the entrance doors were unlocked) I thanked her for the fresh fries( I don’t think they were actually fresh. I think they tossed our fries back in the grease to refry them), and asked about our cold burgers. She threw her hands up and walked away. As we were finishing our meal, one of the workers friends showed up to eat. They took his order at the front register as we left. Ignoring people until they leave is an amazing way to run a customer service business. I’ll still eat Whataburger, but you better believe I’ll pass up this location. Good luck...

Visit on 03/19/2022... They were very busy. Went through drive thru. Both lanes open all the way to the window, not merging into one lane. Employees outside taking orders for each lane. And, more employees working the far lane (lane B). They were coming out with customer's drinks, collecting payments and delivering orders. Excellent service! We had a special requests for the burgers so, they gave us our drinks and asked us to pull forward to keep the line moving. We did pull up and we waited 4-5 minutes for the rest of the order. The only downside is the fries were not hot once we received the whole order. They were barely warm and got cold before we could eat even 1/4 of them. It would have been nice to have the fries as fresh as the burgers were. Overall, I give them a 3-4 * again. I will leave my previous star rating because it wasn't enough of a difference to change it.

As for the food, everything was correct. We ordered for 3 people. A number one, medium size, special made with cheese and ketchup only, fries and a Coke. Large size, patty melt with pickles, fries and diet Dr Pepper (love this melt! The creamy pepper sauce makes this my favorite, I just wish it came with pickles so I didn't have to special order them. I tend to forget sometimes and it changes the enjoyment of the burger for me). Medium size Whataburger Jr meal no mustard add mayo with onion rings and unsweetened tea. Everything except the fries tasted great and was really fresh and hot.

Previous review... Always good service...