Mr. Charles Chicken & Fish Cambridge Commons — Restaurant in Charlotte

I cannot stress this enough: please check your bank account if the manager of this location claims to void any transactions and refund your money.

I waited a few days to give this review to allow sufficient time for the credit owed to me to post to my account. This includes allowing a day for the federal holiday on Monday, February 19.

Last Sunday, the 18th, I placed a to go order totaling $46.55. It wasn't until after I placed the order that I was told they'd run out of most of the sides I'd ordered and had limited options available. After consulting with one of my family members via phone, we decided to just cancel the orders and I would pick up dinner elsewhere that had what we wanted available. The only thing we decided to keep was an order of fish, no sides, to which the manager stated she would only charge me $4.50 ($4.68 including tax).

What should should have been an easy refund for the difference turned into an ordeal. The manager seemed to have difficulty voiding out the items in their point-of-sale system. This was an immediate red flag. I asked for a hard copy of the receipt as proof of my refund. She kept trying to show me on the POS screen where she voided everything out and only charged me for the fish. I explained that was insufficient, I needed a copy of the receipt in case the refund didn't go through and I had to dispute the charge with my bank. Finally, she managed to print a copy. However, the receipt showed she refunded me in cash, not back to my card. Red flag number 2.

After waiting all week and diligently checking my account, the refund she claimed she processed never posted, as I suspected it wouldn't. Unbeknownst to her, I work in banking and knew better to press to get a receipt and not take her word for it. I had to file a dispute with my bank and am in the process of hopefully getting it resolved. I say hopefully because I had to submit a copy of the receipt, which looks like she refunded me in cash but she didn't.

For what it's worth, the food here is always good and we will likely continue to patronize the business. Just please do your due diligence and make sure they follow through with any refunds as promised.

Side note to the manager who claimed their schedule hasn't changed. Yes, it has. We frequent this location all the time. She tried to imply I didn't know what I was talking about because, her words, "you're not a regular." Yes, I actually am. Just because you haven't seen me before doesn't negate the fact that yes, I am a regular customer. How else would I know your schedule has changed, and even the voicemail on the phone states their schedule has changed. Based on previous reviews, though, her lack of service isn't surprising.

Also, the front of the house should be aware of what's available and not sell certain foods or sides when they're out. Let your customers know before ringing up orders so we can decide before paying for it and not have to fight to get our bank accounts...

Consecutive bad experiences. This is my last purchase there. Physically more employees just 'hangin out' doing nothing than the customer count. Ordered two meals & waited 30mins before I had to ask what was taking so long... turns out they just dumped the food on a rack behind employees and let our dinner get cold. They remodeled with more cashiers that want your phone # to text you when your meal is ready... then they never text you... but they stand around and let your food get cold even tho every employee in the place can see us both "waiting" over 30mins with our coats on, clearly waiting..

I wonder how much time would have passed if I hadn't done half their job for them. At one point, every employee was just standing around chatting, unbeknownst to me that my dinner was just sitting in a bag on a rack grtting cold... not even a decent excuse of being "busy."

The place reeked of marijuana that appeared to be clearly whafting off at least one of the employees. No one that works there is friendly, they don't smile at anyone they don't know, and they just socialize in obvious 'racial' favortism... and most of them have an snarky attitude of entitlement that certainly isn't earned. They just make the impression of lazy, ignorant and useless.

Employees seem to act like their job is socializing & flirting. Food was not hot, and was dry. Collards tasted fine except they were slathered in an oil. Potato salad tasted like Miracle Whip as the mayonnaise base... gross.

I wish I could say this is the exception, but it's not. That's why this is my last visit and why I took the time to detail the repetitive expereiences in this review. Oh, and don't try phoning in your order to save time.... they almost never answer the phone... i have yet to even see an employee on a business phone taking an order. If you call them out on it in the restaurant, all you get is snide attitude and & an empty excuse with zero concern. Service & attitude are always poor... and now food quality has also suffered.. the menu selections are worse now too. I wanted a 4pc dark meat chicken dinner, and they said they only had a 2pc... then silence.... not even an offer or inquiry to add extra chicken for an upcharge... and I was actually asking both cashiers that heard me ask if the 4pc dinner is 'really gone.' Then they just shook their heads with a...

1st of all let me say this, I was a out of town guest here to celebrate a family member's 50th birthday and therefore had nothing to do with the location, the arrangements or the accommodates! Now with that being said let me tell you what I learned and experienced at this establishment! I came to town for a 50th birthday party that was being celebrated at this location! From what I heard there was a reservation for a table for a large party! Our party! But because our party was 2 minutes late, the table was given to another party! Our party was places in what they considered their bar area! It was not big enough to accommodate our large group! Once some of our party was seated, we were told we only had 15 minutes to order food from their dinner menu before the menu changed to bar food! Which is fried everything! As the night went on, our party began to over flow into the main restaurant part of the location! And that's when the fun really started! Once the MC was told that we were there to celebrate a 50th birthday, they really showed the birthday girl some special attention and she had a "Grand Time!" Now for the food, it was not the best I've ever had and the bar service was very slow, but I must admit it was a packed house! I got the impression that the other people like us wasn't there for the food! So here what I gathered from this experience! This is a restaurant located in a strip mall that on Friday nights turn into a "hold in the wall juke joint blue lights in the basement party" with a mc, a live dj, a bar and a karaoke machine! There is enough floor space between the restaurant and the bar to line dance! That's right I did say line dance! The karaoke is pretty good! You can tell there are some really good professionals bathroom singers that really frequent the place! But if you wait a few, then you get the "truth or dare" entertainers too! But once again the birthday girl had a "Grand Time'' and thats all that matters! Thank you Mr Charles for an amazing Friday...