Smokey Bones Cranberry Township — Restaurant in Cranberry Township

Id like to preface this by saying both my partner and I work and have worked in the service industry combined for over almost two decades now. I absolutely understand how much it sucks when you get an unexpected order right before close- So if this is genuinely an issue with the franchise and not the location itself, I have no issues with how the employees handled this.

That being said, I placed an order around 11:10 pm through uber eats, I try to give advanced notice but I got off work late today and absolutely did not feel like cooking, so, whatever's open it is. To Smokey's point, their website and maps do say they close at 12:00. We arrived at 11:25, and were greeted by a person at the bar

We explained that that we placed an order and it didnt give us an option to tip and we'd like to order a few soft drinks in person so we'd be able to! She was quick to disappear behind a door towards the kitchen, where we didnt hear anything back for a few minutes.

A few minutes later a guy stuck just his torso out the door, saying "Sorry we dont have that order" and giving us no time to respond before disappearing back through the door.

There was 0 people on the floor (again, understandable & reasonable for someone who's closing down a kitchen!) for another 5 minutes, when another woman stuck his head out the door, seemingly surprised by our presence. She, again, did not give us any time to explain before jutting out "bar seating only." and trying to disappear again, only for my partner to cut her off and try to re-explain our situation once again. "Picking up food, no option to tip, just a couple drinks so we can pay yall for serving us please."

She told us to sit at the bar, went back in the kitchen, and exchanged words with the orginal guy, both of them stuck their heads under the hood of the stove to look at us quizically before resuming conversing momentarily, a man exiting the door shortly afterwards. Once again, it was "We dont have your order. I can give you free fountain drinks but I dont have any Ubereats order" We only wanted the drinks so we could tip, straight up. We never got the food, and had to cancel through the Uber app, who confirmed that when we placed the order they were still available for ordering.

My problem lies in one of three places, and Im genuinely hoping for some clarification as I dont want to take any ill will out on a staff who doesn't deserve it if it absolutely isnt up to them!

Its either A: In the chain of management/chain itself, whereas Smokey Bones is grabbing for cash and either not giving enough hours for scheduling employees far enough past close to close down a kitchen properly or that they expect orders to be taken to the very last minute no matter what

B: with the staff at the location itself, which being in the service industry, I'm trying my very best to doubt they were intentionally being disrespectful even though I feel very treated that way, though even if they were supported by management I feel like they could have treated the situation with more customer service

Or C: The online ordering system itself misrepresenting itself

Even a quick but short "Im sorry but our kitchen has begun to close down for the night, I cant fulfill the order-" would have been enough for us! It is ABSOLUTELY reasonable in our opinion to turn away a service that cannot be provided as long as YOU take responsibility for denying said service, no matter who the...

Reliable and delicious. Amanda was killa magilla. Smokey the Bear approved.

I'm not a big "reviewer"... but I've had a few, have a few minutes and I'm feeling creative. :)

I'm only writing this review to warn anyone who calls in to place a to-go order: you may or may not be speaking to someone actually IN the restaurant.

When you call in, you're put on a short hold. Who picks up can be an in-house staff member.... or... it could be forwarded to a call-center answering service that takes your order and forwards it to the restaurant. (What?! First I've heard of this.)

Smokey Bones corporate made this decision. Tsk. Tsk.

You may find yourself placing your order quickly and efficiently with an in-house employee... congrats! You'll speak with a pleasant, well-spoken and friendly woman who knows just how the restaurant operates, can ask the right questions to help you personalize your perfect dinner, and give you a proper number of minutes before picking up your warm, delicious meal. They don't need your phone number or social security number, just a name and last initial and you're good to go. Boo-yah.

You're fed and satisfied 20 minutes later.

Or...

You may find yourself trying to place your order with someone who half-speaks English and doesn't seem to care a thing about you. They know nothing of the menu but what is presented in front of them on a computer screen.They might not ever have worked in ANY restaurant let alone the restaurant you're ordering from. They'll be very robotic in their questions and hard to understand. But they'll know your phone number before you provide it. Wow. Cool.

On top of that, they provide you with a generic "time to pickup" that ends up 20 MINUTES longer than in-house staff would provide. Quite significant when you're talking about a steak.

Luckily, I've been ordering from here for 4 days and know how long their chefs take to cook a medium-rare steak. I was there just as my order was ready. Nom.

What once was a pleasant experience placing a quick to-go order with one of the very polite, curious and invested in-house staff of a local restaurant could turn into a frustrating stumble-thon with farmed-out and un-integrated labor voices who could care less how accurate or satisfying your meal is when you pick it up as there is no accountability for your experience.

But I guess corporate saves a couple bucks? Cool... high five bros.

TLDR: Go here. Call in for to-go but be wary. 5 stars for the local Smokey Bones, Cranberry restaurant. 5 stars for the in-house staff. 5 stars for the food.

0 stars for corporate-shaving your bottom line by farming out to-go orders and not vetting the call-center service you hire. Shame...

First visit for daughter’s birthday. Started out with waitress not knowing what she was doing. Felt like she literally had no training. Ordered food. Fried pickles, pulled pork platter and variety platter, and chicken sandwich. She brings out fried pickles for 3 people. Throws basket on table. No napkins, No side plates and leaves. Then brings meals. My pulled pork was ice cold. Plate was hot. The side corn was in a ramekin that was no more than 2 tablespoons of corn and the potato wedges had so much seasoning, were over cooked and not edible. Garlic bread was hiding under meat so it was soggy and gross. Waitress was no where to be seen. I take food to bar telling them it is cold. A minute later some woman brings plate. I say thank you and she states she is going to stand there until I take a bite to test the heat of meat which was so uncomfortable and strange. I quickly take a bite off top part of meat. Luke warm. I tell her it is ok so she could leave. After eating further into meat ice cold. My daughter’s wings were sopping in sauce. Her pulled pork cold and her sausage was awful. Her wedges overcooked. Cole slaw dripping in soupy sauce in a tiny ramekin. Only edible thing was my son’s chicken sandwich. Waitress came to table once to check on us then never saw her. Saw her hiding in the kitchen area. Place was not busy on a Sunday night. Our bill was $80. This was the worst meal for me and my daughter and I will NEVER go back. Train your workers about the food being served and protocol. Train the cooks. Save your money on this awful place. Atmosphere was dreary and dark. Update: Just called the restaurant to speak with the manager. Got a person named Mark. Told him every issue we had only to get a response “Thank you for your input to help us do better”. No sorry or apology. I said to him “wow, that’s it? No compensation for our terrible service and food?” He literally hangs up on me. Now I can see why this place is so bad having a manager like this running the place. Hope this place is next to...