Moe's Southwest Grill — Restaurant in Durham

Good Customer Service Is Gone and It's Not Coming Back, Exhibit #1357:

I've been a vegetarian for most of my adult life and a vegan for the last couple of years. That's actually why I frequent Moe’s when there are plenty of fast casual chains and burrito places to choose from: Moe’s offers a decent selection of vegetable fillings, and unlike Chipotle, the amount of sodium in the food is generally close to an acceptable range for a normal human adult. So I walked into the 5332 McFarland Drive location at around 8:20 on Sunday evening and placed my usual order - a burrito with tofu. The young man behind the counter started making my order, and then halted, informing me that the restaurant was all out of tofu. “Okay,” I thought to myself, “Not a problem. He’s already started making my order, and I wouldn’t want it to go to waste, so I’ll just order a bunch of vegetables to make up for the tofu I will be missing.” He suggested I get chicken or some other protein, and I said “no thanks,” and then he asked if I am a vegan, and I nodded. So I made my way down the burrito line and mentioned the other ingredients I would like to have in my order, and when I asked for guacamole, he tells me “That costs extra.” I figured he was new at this job and at customer service generally, so I gently reminded him that I was not getting a protein in my burrito and explained that I would take guac as a substitute.

“Okay, but it is extra.”

To be clear, I was already paying for a tofu burrito without getting the tofu. The employee continued to insist that I could not have guacamole as a free substitution, and then several of his co-workers joined in on the action. Not one person behind the counter was willing to entertain the possibility that maybe, just maybe, the respectful and professional thing to do would be to just graciously allow the customer to have 25 cents worth of guacamole to make up for the fact that the restaurant ran out of the only protein on the menu a vegan or vegetarian can eat. No joke, I was told things like “It’s not our fault we ran out of tofu” and “It’s not our fault you are a vegan.” Surely it is somebody’s fault that the restaurant ran out of tofu? Unless there is some sort of global tofu shortage I am unaware of? I assume that somebody at every Moe’s location is responsible for ordering sufficient quantities of each ingredient and making sure they are prepped for each shift. Right? And then if that person screws up, you accommodate the vegan customer who just ordered tofu by letting him have guacamole without charging extra. Right? This is Customer Service 101, no?

Every person in a Moe’s uniform acted like I was asking them for a favor, when in fact I was the one doing Moe’s Southwest Grill a favor by patronizing their restaurant, credit card in hand, ready to pay $11 for a burrito with no protein in it. I was genuinely stunned that I was having to explain to a bunch of young people why this is bad customer service, and then after explaining this to them, they still refused to accommodate my entirely reasonable request. So I walked out of Moe’s, never to return, and into the Chipotle 200 feet away. I’d rather have hypertension than be insulted by the employees of a fast casual chain restaurant.

I’ve never had a customer service experience like this one, where the employees were so clearly in the wrong and so willing to die on a hill of idiocy. Congratulations Moe's, you saved $0.25 worth of guacamole, lost a sale, and lost a customer you'll never get back. But at least you honored the Ten Commandments of Burritos - “Thou shalt charge...

My friends and I eat at Moe’s quite frequently, sometimes twice a week. We normally receive excellent service, however, at this specific Moe’s we did not. When we first walked in we were not greeted by the famous “Welcome to Moe’s!” And the staff was very unfriendly. When I was ordering I ordered cilantro lime rice and he put the original rice - so I politely told him that is not the rice that I wanted. He then proceeded to take my bowl and violently throw it in the trash - giving me a look of utter disgust. I did not what to do, so I just proceeded ordering my food. Then we all get to the cashier register and this man had one of the worst attitudes! My friend was checking out before my fiancé and I. My friend asked a question of why his burrito bowl did not qualify as the Moe’s Monday special whenever the website clearly states it does because of dietary restrictions. The cashier, I believe Emmanuel was his name, was very mean to him when he simple asked a question about the pricing. I know my friend was in the right here because of a few reasons. One - the website clearly states it and other locations have honored this police. Two - I work in Public Health and Nutrition so I know that a person with dietary restrictions is allowed to get a modified meal to fit their needs. The cashier kept arguing with him and even asked a co-worker about the situation. He began to speak in Spanish and called my friend a “cheap imbecile.” All of us were very shocked by how the situation escalated so quickly over a simple question. And to top it all off the quality of the food was horrendous. Needless to say we will never return to this...

They do not offer curbside delivery. You have to go inside to pick up your food. They also locked the doors early, without posting any signs, and do not answer the phone. We placed an order online, scheduled a pick up time for curbside delivery, and paid. When we arrived, we did not see any employees outside. We waited a few minutes assuming they were running behind since several others were waiting in their cars and outside the front doors. We tried calling and were on hold for a long time before finally deciding to go inside only to find that the doors were locked. The only way to cancel our order for a refund was to call the restaurant and, as mentioned before, no one answers. While waiting outside, we saw an employee check the bags in the “pick up” area and look around at everyone inside. Nobody claimed them. The employee purposely ignored the customers waiting outside the doors. Eventually we were able to go inside as another customer left. The employees yelled “no more orders”, implied for walk in take out orders. Our food was already bagged and sitting in the “pick up” area. The food was cold. As we left, we held the door for two other customers who said they had paid online for their orders and had been waiting outside the locked doors. Save yourself the hassle and avoid...