Smashburger — Restaurant in Colorado Springs

I am in disbelief as to the “service” of this place. Guaranteed my family and I will NEVER come back to the location again. We will travel the 11 minutes to the next nearest location moving forward after the absolutely horrible experience and the worst customer service I can honestly say I have ever had from a restaurant. The management is a joke and she was as useless as the associate working the counter. It’s mind blowing how she could have been hired or promoted to a manager as she demonstrates none of the basic fundamental skills that a leader in management normally possesses. The young associate working the cash register was able to offer more then the manager did as she at least tried to problem-solve and apologized for their mistake unlike the manager. My family ordered take out last night online and after driving all the way there to pick up Our food we were informed when we got there that they ran out of hamburger patties earlier that day and we’re unable to fulfill our 4 hamburger orders and neglected to contact us prior to driving all the way there to inform us or called to ask if there was anything else we wanted in place of our hamburgers since they did not have any meat to make hamburgers. You are required to input your phone number and email address when placing an order online so there is no excuse for not contacting your customers before they travel all the way to your location to pick up the food that they paid for and are expecting to pick up - A normal restaurant or business with good leadership and good customer service would have contacted their customers to communicate that they could not make their 4 orders placed online. To make the situation even worse is the manager refused to refund our $59.00 and somehow the error on Smashburger’s end when they ran out of hamburgers is now my problem as I have to jump through hoops now to get my money back for the food we paid for but did not receive. It’s unbelievable that the manager had the audacity to not apologize or take ownership of the fact that they should have contacted us prior to driving there to pick up our food and she instead made it seem as though my family and I were the ones that did something wrong. It’s unbelievable that the manager did not refund me my $59 and has referred me to call a 1- 800 #!! Why am I the one having to take more time and energy out of my day to get my money back when smash burger is the one who ran out of hamburgers and continued to let people order them without notifying them before they traveled all the way there to get their food. Well standing there waiting for the manager to come talk to me we saw for other people come in for their takeout orders just to be informed at the counter that they ran out of hamburger patties earlier that day and did not have their food for them - all 4 of those customers were just as upset as I was. This place is a joke and it shows in the management. It’s clear that this location has no standards when it comes to who they hire/promote to a manager and it’s even more evident that this location has absolutely no concern about their customer service and whether customers come back to their restaurant again or not. I’m furious and in shock of how this place handled the situation and the lack of ownership by the manager or how she could even face customers and not even apologize for messing up but to add on to it by making it the customers responsibility to get our money back because of her mess-up ... it’s Appalling and Alarming that this location has not been...

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Well the good was the good "smashed tots', the smashed burger barely passed muster as it was undercooked, and lots of bad and ugly to come. If I were a Mystery Shopper for corporate, this place would be so busted. Staff was friendly, maybe shorthanded? We could not find the free water. Why would a server bring you a catsup bottle that looked like it had just exploded, dripping and messy with catsup all over it? The inside dining room was a bit crowded so we chose the patio where one other couple was already seated. My mistake. It appeared no sanitation or cleaning was ever done outside. Tables and chairs were unsanitary and dirty, also had bird dropping all over them. We cleaned off our own table as best we could. And the horrible smell that would not go away - finally figured that maybe the unhoused or vagrants were staying on the patio at night, as the odor was that of human waste, a strong urine odor to be specific, and the patio floor exhibited some evidence of that. Once outside, diners are on their own, as no one ever checks to make sure your food is OK or if you need anything. So get ready to make your own way back inside for napkins and condiments found on all inside tables but not on the patio. Yep, we had a smashed bad experience.

And 2 weeks later, no response from The Owner or their Corporate Office even though I sent them an email explaining all my concerns - as they requested! I guess their customers are just...

My family recently met friends at Smashburger for lunch. We picked it since my wife can't have dairy, but they had dairy-free shakes.

The burgers were delicious, seriously! Everyone in our group raved about them. I'm glad we ordered single patty burgers. That ended up being plenty of food for us. I had the bbq bacon burger & would order it again if I went back. Soooo good! The fries were average. Same with the dairy-free shake.

Yet, feeding a family of 5 at Smash was not my idea of value for the experience. We spent $73 buying 4 single patty burgers, 1 battered fish sandwich, 4 fries (one free on reward points), 3 smaller sodas & 1 dairy free shake. That averages to $14.60 per person & I don't feel like we splurged on extras.

I'm the father of a family that travels locally for activities on most nights, we tend to eat out at least 3-4 times a week. Whether fast food on the go or dine-in at the restaurant, it's impossible to ignore that the price of food being served has been rocketing up at a chaotic pace. As a result, keeping our meals out on budget has been difficult. Special occasions excluded. I get it. Businesses have to keep up their profit line or risk closing their doors.

Bottom line: I'm torn about this place. No doubt their burgers are great. But the price per a meal makes Smash a special occasion / once in a while, kind of of place. Or maybe, more often a date night out with my...