Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Clarksville

Typically I rave about Cracker Barrel, but I must say that my last three trips to the Clarksville Cracker Barrel has been a significant disappointment not only to me, but to the guests I took there. The first time, my friend ordered just cobler with ice cream, expecting a plate or saucer with cobler and a dip of ice cream. She received a tiny ramakin very hot with melted white product flowing over onto the server's hand. The ramakin was not even set on a saucer; it was such an awful mess. My friend declined the dish and sat as I ate my order which arrived a couple of minutes earlier. On top of that disappointment, we found that only the handicap toilet was working with all the others blocked off. So now, handicapped individuals have to compete 100% with everyone else to be able to access the only toilet with necessary handlebars and a raised seat?

Sadly another friend who also loves Cracker Barrel wanted to eat there, so went again. We arrived about 3:40 when the restaurant was nearly empty. I'm not easily chilled and the weather has been hot. My friend and others who arrived later, pulled out additional sweaters/tops as they shivered, saying it was cold; maybe because it was nearly empty. After a wait of about 10 minutes, a server finally came. We both ordered the grilled chicken, which my friend had enjoyed so much at the Hendersonville location, weeks earlier. After a long wait as tables seated after us had received their food, ours arrived. The rubberized chicken, she finally managed to cut; I could not get cut. The turnip greens I ordered were not on the plate, but unordered slaw was. My friend ate the slaw as her green beans were "not good" she said.

A third visit was 8/21/2024. This location is not worthy of a fourth visit! My guest ordered meat loaf, which we both had to laugh at and both wished we had taken a photo of it. It looked like something that died days ago and then had some slop baked on top to hide whatever it really was. It did not resemble meat loaf ever served at any Cracker Barrel I've eaten at in all these years. The waitress was to bring a piece of chicken to replace the non-identifiable meat loaf, but it never came, in the long time iti took to eat the rock hard 1/2 inch deep muffins (four and butter in a tiny veggie dish instead of the typical basket) and what veggies we had. I took a picture of the "friend chicken" which had a tiny piece of crust on the edge, but only a thin browned coating of something. Not once were we ever offered more drink which we both ordered without lemon, but received 2 slices of lemon in each glass, but then, after my friend complained that in 30 minutes she still had not received her meat and she wasn't going to pay for something she had not received, we got the ticket for my pathetic meal. At the register, with only one open while several workers stood around talking on some issue, I was able to pay, but as the register didn't print out the cost, only a bar code, it took another 10 minutes before someone came after three requests to get my receipt! Sadly, this and the past two experiences totally explain why the Cracker Barrel stock now trades at a tiny fraction of the nearly $180 of three years ago; instead sitting at only $41.

Knowing that Cracker Barrel has a campus where staff is trained, I had made a polite observation to some of the staff on past visits. The previoius visit, we had waited long enough for the cooks to catch and wring the chicken's neck, get its feathers plucked before it was turned into rubber that wouldn't even cut. Secondly, if their cooks were trained at the Campus in Lebanon, they needed to be retrained, but we were not convinced that they had ever been to the campus. I sincerely hope that Cracker Barrel will return to it's previous glory, but the repeatedly bad food, total lack of service and mismanagement at the Clarksville, TN location, is a total ripoff to customers and I surely hope that other locations are not treating people in the...

Subject: Disappointment and Discontent as a Devastated Army Veteran Customer

Dear Cracker Barrel Corporate,

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing today to express my deep disappointment and discontent as a loyal customer of Cracker Barrel, and also as an Army veteran who has recently experienced the devastation caused by a tornado. Regrettably, my most recent visit to your establishment left me disheartened due to the lack of recognition of my military service and a regrettable incident involving cold pancakes.

As an Army veteran, I hold great respect and admiration for Cracker Barrel's longstanding support for the military and its commitment to honoring those who have served our country. It was with this appreciation in mind that I visited your restaurant location last week, hoping to indulge in a comforting meal amidst the chaos and destruction caused by the tornado. However, I was disheartened to find that my military discount was not honored.

The absence of acknowledgment for my military service deeply disappointed me, especially during a period when I am already grappling with the aftermath of a natural disaster. It is disheartening to witness a disconnect between the values your company espouses and the actual treatment of veterans in your establishments. I would like to emphasize the importance of consistently implementing the military discount policy, as it not only demonstrates appreciation for the sacrifices made by veterans but also maintains the integrity of Cracker Barrel's reputation.

Furthermore, the serving of cold pancakes during my visit added to my disappointment. As a dedicated customer, I have always held Cracker Barrel's quality and service in high regard. However, the subpar experience I encountered during this particular visit was both unexpected and disconcerting. I firmly believe that the quality of food should align with the standards set by Cracker Barrel, ensuring customer satisfaction and upholding the reputation that the brand has established over the years.

In light of these incidents, I would like to request a formal apology from Cracker Barrel for the failure to honor the military discount during my visit. Additionally, I kindly request that you take appropriate measures to ensure this oversight does not happen again, thus avoiding similar disappointments for other deserving veterans. Moreover, I urge you to address the issue of the quality control in your establishment to guarantee that such culinary mishaps are avoided and the overall experience of your customers remains exemplary.

I genuinely appreciate the support that Cracker Barrel has shown to the military community in the past, and I believe it is crucial to maintain this reputation moving forward. As a devoted customer, I sincerely hope that my feedback will be viewed not only as a personal grievance but also as an opportunity to enhance your practices and continue to provide exemplary service to veterans and customers alike.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. I kindly request your timely response to address my concerns. I eagerly anticipate a resolution that will reinstate my faith in the values and service that Cracker...

Came here on a busy Sunday and the wait was ok. We are a young family and honestly almost left because we didn’t want to have to have our two youngest to cause a scene. But we persevered and stayed, because the gift selection was fantastic and there was this young lady at the counter with a pikachu pin that was worth it for the entire experience. She really connected with my daughter and made her feel special. She was our first face when we came in and the last one we saw when we left.

The food was what you’d expect for a Cracker Barrel, however the bacon was burnt on my kid’s plate, the chicken we had was dry possibly held in an oven waiting a little too long, and you’d expect southern green beans but we got canned normal green beans. Mac n cheese and hashbrown casserole was on point and I enjoyed their carrots. The s’mores brownie was FANTASTIC but the marshmallow wasn’t even really toasted and made it hard to eat.

With that all said the whole reason why I’m writing this post is the service. What we experienced on the dining floor versus what we experienced in the shop were completely different. Our waitress came got our drink order, dropped the drinks off and got our meal order, dropped food off and then dropped the check where at that time we had to the ask for the dessert. That’s it. The drinks were emptied half way through the meal but she was nowhere in sight to ask for refills. When we saw her again it was to give us the check. I did not appreciate being charged nearly 4$ for a drink and never got offered a refill and when the bread basket was brought out we noticed we only had biscuits, where as we would normally expect to have cornbread as well. We just didn’t receive the experience that we’ve come to expect at a Cracker Barrel.

All in all, we see a wide range of talent at this location and everyone has an opportunity to grow. So we will be back at a non-peak time to compare...