Bojangles — Restaurant in Columbia

I am a frequent Bojangles customer and typically have a great experience. Unfortunately, this was not one of them. The staff was overwhelmed, out of items, and struggling. After waiting 25 minutes in the drive thru, I was told I had to come inside to order breakfast items. I parked, entered the building, saw 9 people waiting for orders, went straight to the counter, and waited another 6 minutes before being greeted, another 4 before my order was taken.

The young lady was clearly exasperated and overwhelmed, but trying desperately to fulfill orders as quickly as possible. She constantly updated the kitchen through the window to let them know what items to begin preparing, aside from current orders, to catch up. She was short with customers but remained polite and kept updating each individual with the status of their order. She was not rude, but also did not have the time to chat and be very friendly. Some customers were angry, disrespectful, rude, cursing, yelling at the staff, etc. The restaurant seemed to be short- staffed, especially for a busy weekend full of holiday shoppers. I noted 2 employees coming in and being reprimanded for being late and directed to where they could be most beneficial and effective in clearing orders by the same young lady that took my order. Finally, after nearly an hour after ordering, my order was ready. I was appreciative of everything being fresh and hot but disappointed in the overall experience.

This seemed to be more of a management issue and lack of preparation, poor scheduling, and kitchen staff that had no sense of urgency or pride in their work. That being said, the young lady taking and handing out orders seemed to be trying to manage as well as possible, ensured all orders were correctly prepared when they came to the counter, was apologetic without being overly so, and showed grace and leadership during a very stressful scenario - and appeared to be only a teenager, who cared more than her coworkers about doing her job.

I will not be returning to this location and will drive the 3 additional miles to utilize another in the future. I do hope this store's management can learn from the young lady on the front end and that she receives acknowledgment for her commitment to servicing the customers as well as possible. Attached are pics of 2 customers who felt the need to yell and act inappropriately towards her and were run out by...

The food is actually really good for fast food. I am no fan of spicy food, and even I can eat their chicken, rice, and fries without a problem. I am not a fan of their biscuits, however, as they follow the same formula as McDonald's and Hardees with large greasy biscuits that do not taste very good. The problem for this restaurant, and why I give only 2 starts for service, is the non-managerial staff that works there. Expect to wait an average of five to thirty minutes to get your food no matter if you walk into the place or go through the drive-thru. If the drive-thru has a line, and cars are being told to pull ahead or pull around, be aware that you will very likely encounter the scenario I keep finding myself in. Two cars have pulled forward and the drive-thru worker needs you to pull around to the front door to receive your food. You pull around and wait. And wait some more. And continue to wait. Twenty minutes later you are still waiting for food that has not come and now have to go inside to find out where your food is. As it turns out, the person at the drive-thru told no one you were waiting for food out front and did not have your order filled for some mysterious reason. You go inside to tell them you are still waiting. If someone else is working there, they may look at your receipt and get your order to you quickly. If only the drive-thru person (non-managerial) and a cook are in sight, the drive-thru person does their best to ignore you, not get close enough for you to speak to them, and quietly goes to tell the cook to fix your order. You then wait ten minutes more while your order is prepared. My longest wait time thus far has been 35 minutes. If you are lucky enough to get someone that wants to do their job there, you will get food fast and it will...

WORST BOJANGLES EVER!!! Now I have visited this location before and it's always 'hit or miss' with them, never the exact same quality everytime. But, today was by far one of my worst experiences with them. I'm not sure if there is a miscommunication between the app and the store, but recently since ordering from them they always have issues with locating my order and then actually knowing what my order is. Today, my fiancé went to pick up our order after I placed it, and had to wait almost 30 minutes, before they even acknowledged him. Now I understand that having an online order placed does not put my order above everyone else's, but the staff at this location literally had no enthusiasm when completing our order. When my fiancé arrived, he went to go inside to pick up our order--since I chose in-store pick-up, but the doors were locked, even though the sign read open. So he tried to wait in the drive-thru, which took 15 minutes and they acted as if they had no clue what my order was. Fast forward, my fiancé pulled back into the curbside area, and someone came out 5 minutes later asking for the name on the order again. The employee that came out to assist my fiancé was beyond rude and acted as if she really did not care. Took another 10 minutes before they actually found my order, which they had yet to start on. And to top it off: the food was sub par to what it should have been. I ordered Bo rounds with my steak biscuit, which they didn't have. So, they suggested fries, which I didn't really want, but I took. The fries were luke warm at best, and more like potato chips then actual french fries. The biscuit was not even soft either and looked as if it had been sitting out. Absolute worst experience ever, will not be coming to this...