Cicis Pizza — Restaurant in Chattanooga

It takes a LOT of issues in a restaurant for me to take the time to write a review. The Hixson location of Cici’s qualified yesterday, for sure!

I will begin by saying that my comparison is the Cici’s of years ago, back when the employees were of a whole different caliber.....a HIGHER caliber, where customer service was top priority, followed closely by cleanliness and pride in your work. None of this exists at the Hixson location of Cici’s. Instead, I found the following:

~ In the early years, you were greeted as you came in the door by every employee looking toward the door in unison and yelling, “Welome to Cici’s!” Faces were happy and you really felt like they meant it. I guess as years progressed, the enthusiasm waned and they decided to nix that. My party yesterday was met with a very “I hate my job and my life” counter person. STRIKE ONE.

~Going through the bar with my tray, I noticed that with every step, my feet were sticking to the floor! Gross. No employee was concerned about it, or trying to correct the nastiness. STRIKE TWO.

~The salad bar was a disappointment, with none of the usual expected ingredients. No eggs, no shredded cheese, no diced ham, no onions, no mushrooms. There were beets, black and green olives, jalapeños, banana peppers, etc. These must be cheap, the reason it’s all they had. STRIKE THREE.

Usually, three strikes, and you’re OUT, right? But there’s more, and I’m asking myself why I even stayed! I guess out of sheer morbid curiosity. Other issues included:

~In prior years, when someone ordered something special, they would give you a table marker, and when the item came out they would bring it to you. Not so much that anymore! Someone had ordered something special, and they just put it on top of the salad bar. Thinking they had forgotten to put a spatula with it, I proceeded to pick it up with a napkin. I then heard a sour-faced employee say, “THAT’S HIS!” Not understanding, I said, “What?“ The man behind me said, “That’s mine!” Frustrated, he then said, “Just have it.“ The employee acted rude and frustrated at my mistake, and since I had touched it, I took it to my table. I glanced back at the kitchen, to see her pointing me out to another employee, he was glaring at me. NOT OK! VERY.NOT.OKAY!!

~The whole visit, not one plate was taken from our table by a courteous bus-person, asking if everything was good. They just piled up!

~The table next to ours was unlevel, but no worries! It was quickly solved by an upside-down plate under the short leg!

To sum up the visit, two things stood out to me. I noticed NO person in a supervisory position. I noticed MANY, if not ALL of the employees were millennials. That’s a bad mix! If a place is going to employee a staff of this age group, there should be baby boomer supervisor training them and showing them the way service and restaurants USED TO BE. “If you don’t have these required attributes....you need not apply here!”

End of rant. I am also posting this to Facebook, because this place was just...

I just want to say Cicis Pizza has been buffet style serving 🍕 for years. They have expanded to other locations. They have expanded their menu as well. They have one particular item you will be surprised delicious 😋. Say what ? You have to ✅ them out yourself 😲. It's a fun energized place of celebrations. This is for birthdays, families reunions, class reunions, sports teams, and day camps. They have used them regularly. My family has eaten there many times especially, when the children were little . It's a great place for your family. If you have a children 🚸. The reason is simple. They have a more broader expansion of different 🍕 foods. This includes the most popular choice create your own pizza .We are talking a variety mix of chicken 🍗 pepperoni, bacon 🥓,spinach, beef, and sausage. Plus extra cheese 😂 ! Say what lol. How about some alfredo, and spinach pizza ? This will work if you are vegan. There is all you can eat salad 🥗 bar, which is a combination of 🍓🍑,and veggies 😋. You like garlic 🧄cheesy bread ? You ever tried their 🥒 salad ? It's one of my favorites. This will work for you as well. Y'all good 👍.We are talking about a great deal of delicious food 😋. This is for a competitive reasonable 💰. I definitely would like to encourage you guys to ✅ it out. I'm not done. You like croissant they are loaded with a combination 🍖 and veggies. Everyone can eat healthy, and overindulge if you like. No one will judge you 😉. Guess what It's a buffet 💪. You guys are on vacation or just chilling enjoy. It's one of the best deals in America as well. If you are not too full 🌕 get dessert. It's a combination of fudge brownies, and cinnamon rolls. They do have a video room for games , and competition. Everyone will leave full of fun. You left full, and had plenty of fun. They have the traditional 🥤drinks, no alcohol included 😜 lol. I 💕...

I have been going to this location since it first opened... I love cici's I took my kids there, and I still go from time to time... I don't like the changes of no tray,small paper cup, plastic cutlery... I am 66 years old now, trying to manage a plate, & cup and a buzzer ( for special orders) and be able to pick out your food, at the buffet line, plus a separate plate for a salad, is just a bit too much w/o a tray... I know you are trying to cut cost etc, ( I assume that's the reason for the changes) and keep the price down, but I see it from an ( old) patron point of view a tray is very very necessary! I can handle the plastic cutlery, tolerate a smaller drink cup, but from the customer point of view, a tray,frees you up more to pick, retrieve, and move along much better.... I had to set my food plate with food in it, on the table , and go get another plate for salad, leaving my food unattended... While I went back for salad. Lots of children there all around, and some may not understand the difference between food out on a plate at an empty table, and the food out on the buffet line... To my knowledge my food wasn't bothered, but I would prefer it altogether with me if possible... If I remember correctly, they do make paper/cardboard disposable trays, (I don't know if that was considered or not), and if or how that would compare cost wise... But there is just too much to try to deal with without a safe way to transport it... Other than this, I give "my" cici's location a 100+ A rating... On food, service, cleanliness, management employees courteousness.... It's still a...