El Pollo Loco — Restaurant in Downey

Absolutely horrendous service. This location has almost nothing available when you want to order it. Not even CHICKEN! They almost always get the order wrong and take forever when you order it. I have had consistently BAD service when I visit this location. I ordered from the app this weekend and they did not have the item so they were not able to refund me. Not only that but there was a line of customers waiting for their food outside but the doors were locked. After about 30 mins of waiting outside someone finally comes out to say that if you order from the app, you have to wait in the drive thru... Who wants to wait in the drive thru when they've been waiting outside and have been ignored for 30-45 mins already? And then to tell us that the item isnt available! On my confirmation email from El Pollo Loco it specifically says that if you want a refund or have a problem with the online order to call the store directly but the employee sends someone who comes out to say that they do not know how to give a refund and have to email El Pollo Loco?? I have called multiple times a day for many days and no one picks up. I have tried to contact El Pollo Loco through their website and of course it takes time. I got my refund back from the bank because I never received my refund and was never able to speak to anyone regarding a refund. I do not blame the employees that have to deal with disgruntled customers. I feel bad that the staff have to come out to face getting yelled at but it is obviously the management and owner's fault they cannot figure out how to run a fast food chain. 0/10!!!! I will never come back here ever again.

To the owner: in regard to your reply, you must not have read my review because I said I already contacted El Pollo Loco through the website and still have gotten no response. I already got my refund from the bank so no need to deal with your incompetent management and shady...

Worst customer service ever! Not sure if I was more upset with myself for visiting this Pollo Loco location or their management. I just thought I would give them a second chance after their remodel. I was in the drive-thru line for almost 30 minutes last night (8:36 pm), August 1, when I realized how long everyone was taking to order. I asked the employee taking out the trash if there was anything going on and asked why it was taking so long, he said he didn't know. I got to the window at 9:11/9:16pm, ordered a 14 piece... NO CHICKEN!!! This explained why the customers ahead of me had to revise their order and were forced to purchase something else from the menu. I asked the employee taking orders if he realized how many cars they had in the drive-thru. He didn't seem to care. At this point I was locked in and could not go anywhere, which forced me to do their job for them and let the eight cars behind me know that they were out of chicken. I wish I could give them a ZERO rating. Sorry Pollo Loco... I would think that your exterior remodel would have also included an upgrade in customer service!!! Customer service satisfaction and training comes from upper management. Yelp review...

Pollo Loco here is ok it's been here for years. But seriously I believe the Pollo Bowl name here needs to be changed to Pollo Bowl Soup Combo. Good thing for bottomless drinks but then again there's enough bean juice in the Pollo Bowl to quench that thirst. So are we trying to cover up the hard rice with softening it up with some hella bean juice with 2 full ladles of bean and the juice that goes with it ? I ordered the Pollo Bowl Combo and forgot to tell the guy easy beans because of that fact. Thanks in post to the customer who got a Pollo Bowl and was complaining about that it had too many beans and that it was to soupy. I went back and told the woman behind the counter to please use half a ladle of beans. Due to the fact that the person serving was doing exactly what I have stated and yes I watched as it was being put together. As she prepares another one switches over the food on to the new bowl I want to say I was shorted some chicken pieces, but that I can not prove. But then again I don't think my eyes were deceiving me. That's neither here nor there. My bowl was fixed I ate got actually full with the extra rice to compensate for the least amount of beans. And that's...