Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen — Restaurant in Durham

I have tried so hard to be patient with this location, but today was the last straw, and I will never go to this location ever again. There’s a reason this location barely has 2 stars on Google when the Guess Rd. location has 4.2 stars.

I have been understanding. I have tried to keep in mind that they opened during a pandemic, that food service work is hard work and is too often underpaid, that it has been a tough time to hire enough staff, etc.

Here are a list of problems that have occurred during previous visits, after which I did not bother to complain: missing items that were paid for, wrong items, wrong drinks, and taking 10-15 minutes minimum to fulfill each and every drive-thru order.

Today the line was short and was moving more efficiently than normal. It only took me a maximum of 5 minutes to reach the speaker to tell the cashier my name and mobile order #. When I got to the second window to collect my food, I was told to pull to the front of the restaurant and someone would bring it out to me. No problem, I thought. I was wrong.

About 10 minutes later, there had been no sign of anyone coming, so I got out of my car and walked back to the pickup window to ask if they remembered that I was still waiting for my order. Only then was I told that my order of blackened tenders had to be made fresh, hence the delay.

(1) It would have been nice to tell me that when I originally went through the drive-thru line and give me an estimated wait time (2) it would have been even better to ask me if I had the time to wait or if I would be okay with fried tenders instead.

I was told they were “coming right out” and went back to my car. About 30 minutes total after confirming my order # at the speaker, the worker from window #2 finally brought my food outside. I cannot understand how it takes 30 minutes to prepare a fast food order, even if it has to be “made fresh”. I checked my order, and even after all that time, they had forgotten to include an extra biscuit I had paid for, so I asked the worker who brought my food to please grab it for me, as I had paid for it and had waited so long for my order. She went back inside but never came back! I had to get out of my car yet again and go back around to the drive-thru window, where the worker was back to dealing with orders for cars in the drive-thru. Only then did she rudely thrust the biscuit at me out the window, as if the whole situation was somehow my fault. It would have taken 1-2 minutes max to bring me the missing item, and it is absolutely ridiculous that they couldn’t be bothered to prioritize completing my order so I could finally leave, as the drive-thru wasn’t even busy at the time.

In the time I was sitting waiting for my order, I saw at least 2 other customers park their cars, check their orders, and then walk back to the drive-thru window to address problems with their orders. At this point, everyone knows this location is going to get the orders wrong.

To add insult to injury, as I drove away, I sipped my drink and was 98% sure they had given me diet Coke instead of regular Coke, as I hate the aspartame taste. I stopped at a gas station on my way home to buy a fountain Coke there. After tasting the gas station Coke, I was 100% sure that Popeye’s had given me the wrong drink. Then when I got home, I realized that of the 2 sauces I had selected for my order, only 1 was correct.

It is really pathetic to make 3 mistakes (omitting a paid-for item, the wrong drink, and the wrong sauce) on a single order that took 30 minutes to prepare when the store isn’t even busy. Save yourself the time, energy, aggravation, and wasted $$. Do not ever go to this location. Just go...

It's my own fault because I said I wouldn't visit this location again after my first two experiences. Those times I just waited in line for about 40 minutes (but my order was correct and the food was good). I tried to cut them some slack because they were new, but last night took the cake.

They're getting one star because I can't give them a zero. The five-star reviews on this location are obvious plants.

We waited in line for about 30 minutes (there may have been six cars ahead of us) and when we finally got to the speaker to order, the guy left us sitting there for about 5 minutes. When he finally greeted us and asked for my order, as soon as I started talking, he asked me to wait and left the window for at least another five minutes. During this time, someone's mic was hot and I could hear the staff talking about the order for the car in front of us (he, too, was angry about having to wait so long and then getting to the pickup window and still wait for his food). I could hear them laughing and joking and fooling around.

When I finally placed my order (a 12-piece meal) the guy (the one with the long, brown locs) took my card and then walked away from the window (that alone made me so nervous, when we got home, I called my bank and put a fraud block on my card because he was gone for about 2-3 minutes). He came back, ran my card and gave it back . I pulled up to the pick up window where a girl asked me what I ordered. I told her and she said, "Well, we don't have no chicken, I don't know why he rang you up," then she closed the window and walked away. She came back and asked me if I wanted some chicken nuggets instead and when I said I didn't, she said, "Well, the manager ain't here to give you no refund." She closed the window and walked away. Several minutes later, a girl (wearing a do-rag and the filthiest shirt I've ever seen) showed up, opened the window and stood there not speaking a word. I gave her my card and receipt. She took it and walked away. She returned several minutes later and, without speaking a word, handed me my card and a receipt. It took me a minute to go over the receipt and realize that she has issued a refund.

I live by Southpoint and was so excited to have a Popeye's closer to my home. For the time I spent sitting in line I could have driven to Guess Road, waited in line, come back home with time to spare and actually gotten some food for all my trouble.

Popeye's may have a reputation for staff not being bubbly and chipper, but I have never experienced these kinds of shenanigans at any other Popeye's in my life. I've gone to the Guess Road location and been in a line so long, folks were waiting in the street and it STILL didn't take as long to get my food and the staff has NEVER acted as unprofessionally as the folks at Westgate. I will not visit this...

Food is good BUT… service leaves a lot to be desired. Not friendly at all! You feel like your inconveniencing then. Mobile ordering is conveniently down every time there is a great deal through the app only. Like the $5 box or the “12 days of Christmas”promotion, both only available through the app yet for some reason mobile ordering was “unavailable”. For being a brand new location, they sure do have a lot of problems. And when it IS working, better place your order at least half an hr before you go because when you get there they will tell you they dont have it. The lady literally told me it takes “10-15 mins to come through” after I told her I placed it 20 mins prior (so they should have gotten it at least 5mins ago) and then told me “it doesn’t work that way” 🤔 . Oh, and prices are screwy. If you try to order something else on the menu instead of through the app, prices are much higher. Ex, 8 pc nugget meal with large drink costs $6.60 on the app but costs $9 if orders at the box. Only think the same is the $3.99 chicken sandwich. And if mobile ordering is up, even though it tells you a sauce is included with your tenders or nuggets, it will add $.30 cents as soon as you add one and it won’t let you place the order without a sauce so go ahead and just figure whatever price is listed, it will be $.30 cents more. Get it...