Sutton's Drug Store — Restaurant in Chapel Hill

As unbiased as humanly possible I'm going to recount my most recent dining experience at Sutton's Drug Store. For your convenience, I will enumerate my concerns.

Unequal customer service: After walking in, I was not greeted and merely acknowledged by any employee. My party seated ourselves and were soon waited on by a waitress. Throughout the dining experience I witnessed the treatment of other customers. One party walked in, was greeted, seated, had their table cleaned, and even exchanged some small talk with the [same] waitress. Meanwhile, when our waitress spoke to us she was cold and rude while never smiling. It seemed as though she was pained to even serve my party.

Disregard for customer preferences: I am a strict pescatarian and ordered a blackened tilapia sandwich. I was served in a timely manner, though about halfway through the meal I noticed a chicken tender in the basket that my food was in. For obvious reasons I was upset and expressed my concerns to my waitress. She spoke to her manager and returned to the table. She then proceeded to explain why the chicken tender ended up on my plate and even went as far as to excuse the negligence that Sutton's played in the order mishap. I then asked to speak to the manager. The manager, Don Pinney, then proceeds to come to my table, but not before finishing his meal and wiping his mouth (it was so obvious that my concerns were of utmost priority). As he approaches the table I proceeded to explain to him the situation and why I was upset. In summary, Mr. Pinney acknowledged that there was in fact a chicken tender in my plate but then excused it because apparently "these things just happen". He had a complete disregard for my dietary restrictions and was unwilling to provide any other form of compensation (replace the sandwich, monetary discount etc.) Furthermore, he said that as a customer it is MY DUTY to ensure that unwanted food does not get into my plate. This can be accomplished by explicitly stating the things that I do NOT wish to find in my plate. In other words, next time I hypothetically dine at Suttons's, I am expected to order a blackened tilapia sandwich with "no chicken, beef, chilli, eggs, bacon, sausage, ham, pancake, syrup, mushrooms, peppers, and anything else that isn't listed on the description of the plate that I simply don't want". Because this makes perfect sense.

Total lack of professionalism: While discussing my concerns for the chicken tender that ended up on my plate, I couldn't help but notice the disconcerted expression from Manager Pinney. After repeatedly defending his position that it was my responsibility to explicitly state that I didn't want chicken with my fish sandwich, he began to get upset at our conflicting views. In mid conversation Mr. Pinney stormed off and left me, the customer, appalled at his lack of professionalism. After politely asking him to return to the table to finish discussing my concerns, as a paying customer, he returned only to refuse to in anyway accommodate my party OR at the very least show sympathy for the negligence of his establishment.

In conclusion, I ask that Sutton's drug store STRONGLY reconsider the way they handle customer complaints in the future. I urge you to remain professional, treat every customer with respect, and value those who ELECT to dine at your establishment. I will never dine at your facility in the future and will also encourage others to take a stance against your unfair treatment and utter disregard for the customer.

**All food was paid for in full and no...

This isn’t a knock on Suttons per say but I am super annoyed with the experience I had this morning in regards to the homeless people who harassed my family as we were getting out of the car. I had my 1 year old and wife in the car, when we parallel parked next to the Wells Fargo atm right by the suttons breakfast spot. My wife and I have always loved eating there when she was going to school at UNC. Chapel Hill and the businesses there have slowly let the homeless infiltrate every part of the town. The three men starting approaching me while I was getting my infant out and yelling at us calling my wife shorty! I almost pepper sprayed them but decided just to drive off and give up on eating at our favorite chapel hill breakfast spot that I’ll never visit again, unless they resolve that issue. Had the same situation happen in Harris teeter at car mill in Carrboro where a homeless man was harassing us while we were trying to buy groceries asking us for money IN THE STORE! The “progressive” nature of chapel hill has slowly made this issue worse in my opinion and I’m happy I don’t live there anymore. It would be nice to enjoy the business when we visit family there without feeling in danger, but I guess that’s not a reality for now. Hope none ends up getting hurt. It’s really sad. The state hospital there has essential caused a Mecca for homelessness...

A local classic. Their food is alright, and the white decor isn't the most flattering (it all looks a bit run down and dirty). Maybe the kitchen shouldn't be so visible, they are not exactly being very appetizing in there (unless you like a greasy grill and tired cooks).

Beloved by locals. Once, just as I was leaving, this old guy walks in followed by, like, 7 cameras and reporters. I think he was some sort of UNC coach? What I'm saying is, this place is a UNC staple.

Most important of all... Their milkshake score! Their chocolate milkshake is a benchmark of what a milkshake should be. Take note, other restaurants! Thick and decently chocolaty, this stuff should be in the dictionary as the entry representing the truest form of milkshake. It is on my international top 5, not because it goes above and beyond, there is no whipped cream or deep dark chocolate in this beauty, but because it has ascended beyond normal milkshake themes and become true milkshake. The concept of milkshake, no frills, just ice cream, milk, and shake. Last time I had one I think they used vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce? Not a good plan, it weakens the chocolate flavor even more than milk already does, so they are not competing for the very top spot. Still, I could barely tell, so not a major...