Bob Evans — Restaurant in Columbus

When we (3 adults) walked in, the girl at the counter was talking to a guest. She never acknowledged us, never said someone would be right with us, did not bother to look at us. Guest finally went back ti his seat and the girl walked towards us, never saying a word, then grabbed the trash behind us. Eventually a young guy came over to seat us. Our server took our Drink order but never brought them. Another server asked if anyone stopped by, then she brought our drinks and took our order. Our server finally made an appearance when it was time for refills. Two of the three orders were brought out (chicken tenders and burger). Third order (waffle with bacon and eggs) was going to be awhile longer because someone unplugged the waffle maker. Half way thru the meal, server came out to say it was going to be longer because the waffle stuck to the iron and they had to redo it. It had been at least 20 minutes by now from the time we ordered. The two meals were finished when the shift manager came out to apologize for the wait...the third meal still hadn't come out. When I mentioned that the server could have at least brought out eggs and bacon, the shift manager was 'surprised' that they weren't brought out (even though shift manager had been back in kitchen the entire time. I told her to cancel the order. She kept overly apologizing to the point it was annoying, and kept trying to give us something else so we wouldn't leave hungry. I told her once they realized the third order wasn't going to be ready when the other two were almost plated would have been a great time to let us know so we could order something else...not when the other two were finished with their meals. Shift manager said she wouldn't charge for the third meal (that's good, because it was never made) then finally said she would comp the other two meals. Another table for the same server only received part of their meals too. There were only 4 tables seated, so they weren't busy. And from what we saw there were 7 people "working." Poor training, terrible customer service, horrible experience. Will NEVER go back there. Georgesville...

It will be interesting to see which companies survive the decisions made by the corporate oligarchs, suddenly in charge after the curtain finally dropped. I suspect that Bob Evans will not be one of them.

Bob Evans has been a chain on the decline for many years, and for a number of reasons. The (relatively) recent remodels and menu overhauls have been unnecessary, part of needless compromise between the company and brainless, outside consultants. Staffing decisions made the last twenty years were made looking at the short-term, with no one thinking about the future. (Imagine thinking that importation of cheap labor to suppress industry wages was a good idea. Hint: it was not.)

My visit: friendly FOH staff. Okay sandwich, plenty of fries but overcooked to hell. It was obvious that there was a single line cook trying to limp through breakfast and hoping like hell he would be ready for lunch. Bob Evans needs to get back to preparing most, if not all of its products on site, using humans to do the work. A simple menu focused on eggs, fruit, and proteins gets breakfast done. Pancakes are fine but leave the goofy dessert cakes to IHOP.

Simplify the menu and the dining room. Hire Americans to work in the back, promote from within. Bob Evans was one of many companies that failed to fight back last year against tyrannical media and politicians, and now the mistakes made by the company have put it in a precarious position: there is no one willing to work in their restaurants and their restaurants offer a mediocre dining experience. Embrace the tradition and roots of the company or die. It's really that simple.

To summarize: nice people, no leadership, mediocre food, clueless upper management. This store will close...

First time ever...while visiting Bob Evans i was totally ignored. From the time i walked in the door-No one acknowledges my presence. There was only 5 other patrons(4 leaving) besides myself. There was 4 waitresses and probably one cook(that i could see). The waitress placed me at a dirty table. I went to the lady's room-to allow time to clean. When i got back to the table(booth) the waitress had just finished cleaning the table, i set down, she NEVER came back. I tried to get the attention of the woman who seated me as she seated another couple, i was ignored. while again ignoring me, went to the lady who was seated in front of me. There was two-3 women working at the counter who NEVER LOOKED my way (including the waitress who cleaned my table). I have always enjoyed eatting at Bob Evans. I was waiting for my daughter and son-inlaw to join me. I knew exactly what i wanted, a glass of water, decaf coffee and a large bowl of soup. It's important for me to write this post because i had just left the funeral home to view my mother who had recently passed and her body flown back to Columbus from NC... Instead of sitting any longer, lost my appetite, it was just sad and disappointing. So i gathered my things and decided to wait outside for my daughter to arrive. I didn't have the energy to ask for a manager-i was there for the atmosphere and to relax my mind while sipping on a cup of Bob Evans coffee. Here from NC...i can promise-that i will not (ever) return to That Bob Evans again. Which will leave a bad taste in my mouth an with hesitation to return to any other B.E. restaurant...