McAlister's Deli — Restaurant in Columbus

Let me just start off by saying, this was my second time with this Mcalister's. The first time was great. Didn't have a problem at all. Last Saturday my boyfriend and I decided to order online and pick up at the drive thru. We sat at the drive thru for 5 minutes and didn't get acknowledged at all. Nobody came to the window, except the girl who was working up front, but she didn't open the window to ask what we needed. So, I parked up front and went inside. Not one person greeted me, said hello, said anything to me. Not even a smile. I walked up to the counter where the little white guy just looked at me then continued to walk off and do other things behind the counter. The girl was just slammed with other customers, so I see why she didn't get the drive thru b/c nobody was helping her. Then another guy was working the drive thru and he came to the front so I told him I had an online order so he got my stuff for me b/c at this time I had been waiting for 10 minutes. He told me that the other guy would get my drinks, which I had sweet tea. Of course the sweet tea was out, and the girl was making the sweet tea, and running the counter, and answering phones.. The other guy that handed me my food was working the drive thru. One more guy up there and he was not doing anything helpful up front. He was walking off, he was walking around the restaurant cleaning tables up, which wasn't many to clean, but the line was backed out the door of people who were wanting to order and the girl couldn't finish the sweet tea. NOBODY was helping her at all. Like the white guy should have been helping her, but he wasn't. Finally a nice customer who had been waiting for awhile told the girl to just finish the sweet tea b/c I had been waiting for a bit. So the girl finished up and she asked me to take a sip and see if it needed more sugar. I just told her that I trust her and I just need my drinks. I had been waiting 30 minutes or so, I was ready to go. This was to just pick up an online order ya'll. This was ridiculous. To the sweet girl up front, you have so much potential. Delegate your tasks and time better, and MAKE THOSE GUYS HELP YOU!!!!! To the lady who was cooking in the back w/ the orange polo, she was amazing! She was telling all them what to do, where to go, what needed to be done ASAP, and what needed to be delegated first. Props to her. Food was amazing, however not all our stuff was there. We ordered two nacho baskets and there was only one chili, one shredded cheese, so all I had was chips and dip. That's it. My supper was tortilla chips dipped in rotel dip. Still great, but I would have loved the full meal. This was ridiculous and I am upset. I think the young workers need better training, they do not need to be left alone on busy nights, and they need to make sure that they are ready to run a restaurant and know how to do it. This was honestly the most ridiculous thing I've...

The rampant incompetence of this location is astounding. This ordeal begins with their online ordering constantly being down. Furthermore, items online are marked not available at this location when they actually are (I know this because once the online system failed I ordered in person). Fast forward to this particular order, I ordered a pick two with a baked potato and a salad. This order was a to go. In what conceivable universe is it a good idea in food service to put hot food in the same box as cold food?! At first I thought I was missing an item, so I came back inside. One of the employees insisted it was packed and asked me to bring in my bags of food to check. Upon my closer inspection I found the salad and potato in the same box. The employee insisted this is “how it has always been done” (which it has not, after going to McAlister’s in multiple states and locations). Meanwhile the person who I can only assume was acting manager stood there slack jawed in the back window. I understand there are limited options in Columbus but the lack of thought and customer service is amazing. ...

WELL....No greeting, no smile, no hello, no what can i get you, or not ANYTHING was said when we walked in. Just stares from cashier...very rude. They were not busy at all. Asked for half and half tea, she gave me half lemonade & half tea!! Really!? I didn't say anything about lemonade at all. Then she wasn't even half listening...I knew my order wasn't gonna be right, even when i repeated to her what i wanted. And of course I had to get it corrected when they brought it to the table. Food was alright. Whole group of workers sitting and gossiping, laughing behind the counter like they were all on break. Had to wait until they finished chatting a sentence to get waited on. It's nothing like it was when they first opened. New management, workers, and lack of caring I guess. What happened to being courteous to paying customers? And if you're in the military, you can forget a discount. They'll give you a punch card to punch several visits before any discount arrives....