For context, I’ve lived down the street from Sister’s Deli for 23 years. As a child, I would walk down to the deli with my brother and get bagels, subs, snacks, and drinks. This establishment used to be your friendly corner store, however, the new management combined with the new employment has created an inhospitable environment for customers.
I have tried the “new” Sister’s Deli many times since the new ownership moved in, but it has been equally sad, disappointing, and hostile during every visit. The rest of the recent reviews speak on the price gouging and disappointing quality of the food, so I will not speak on that (although it is very true). Instead, I would like to share the hostile and discouraging behavior of the employees of this establishment.
The rude words and tone of the woman on the phone, although unprofessional and inhospitable, is not nearly the biggest problem I encountered with staff today when trying to order three bagels. Upon arrival, I was met with the woman on the phone and she seemed tired, so I mentally excused her tone and words on the phone because we have all had terrible days and I am easy to forgive and forget. Her coworker, though, was abhorrent in her behavior.
The list of things she did that have turned me away from Sister’s Deli after 23 years:
She left the building to chat with a friend, leaving the woman from the phone to manage the deli and store by herself. Additionally, the woman from the phone tried to keep her coworker from leaving, as she had a question for her about the order she prepared incorrectly, but the coworker claimed to me later that she thought the woman from the phone call was “just joking” and “she is the boss so why would she need me, she doesn’t need me,” even after she was called multiple times by the woman on the phone to return to the building. All in all, my fiancé had to go outside to get the coworker and bring her back into the building from chatting with her friend.
One of the bagels I ordered was supposed to have both butter and cream cheese on it but it only had butter on it. I do not usually point out when food is made wrong and I have never sent a plate back or asked for new food, but this bagel was for a family member of mine so I asked if they could put some cream cheese on it. Upon returning to the building, the coworker woman said that I never asked for cream cheese on it and tried to fight the idea that I ordered cream cheese on that bagel.
After some convincing from her boss, the coworker woman agreed to put cream cheese on the bagel (not make a new one, as I did not want to create more work for them, but just put cream cheese on an already made bagel). As she was being walked over to the deli she proclaimed, loudly and to my fiancé and I, “Oh, so now you want cream cheese!” This seems like it could be joking or all in good fun through text, but she exclaimed it so rudely and with a tone that indicated that she was upset with us for creating more work for her.
The coworker woman proceeded to speak horribly about us in the deli area while we were waiting at the counter.
Needless to say, I have been a customer of Sister’s Deli for 23 years and they have lost a long-time, loyal customer today. I did not even touch on the poor quality of the food and the disgraceful financial habits of the deli, but you can look at other recent reviews for that. I will be glad to be Lakeview Deli’s newest loyal customer.
Edit: The response from the establishment, seen below, is disappointing. Instead of responding to the main concerns I brought up in this review (the behavior of the staff), they chose to focus on my two sentences about the lower quality of food and higher prices that reference other reviews of this establishment. I believe it is in bad faith to cherry-pick review statements and the responses they receive, especially since I explicitly stated that I am not touching on the quality and prices of the food AND because of the unacceptably rude behavior of their staff detailed in this review. I am definitely a...
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