Taco Bell — Restaurant in Durham

I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to bring to your attention a deeply disappointing experience my husband and I recently encountered at one of your Taco Bell locations. It is my hope that by sharing this incident, you will take the necessary steps to address the issues at hand and ensure that other customers do not undergo a similar ordeal.

On August 19, 2023, at approximately 6:30 PM EST, my husband and I visited the Taco Bell situated at 3570 Hillsborough Rd. in Durham, NC 27705. Our intention was to indulge in the Grilled Cheese Burrito Deluxe Cravings Boxes that had captured our interest due to your promotional advertisements. With a clear expectation in mind, we proceeded to the drive-thru and carefully communicated our order for two of the Grilled Cheese Burrito Deluxe Cravings Boxes, each priced at $7.99.

In an effort to avoid any misunderstandings, we reiterated our order twice to the employee manning the drive-thru. To our satisfaction, she confirmed our order back to us, affirming that she had accurately captured our request. Satisfied that our order was taken as intended, we left the restaurant and headed home.

It was only upon our return home that we discovered a discrepancy that left us both surprised and concerned. Instead of being charged for the Grilled Cheese Burrito Deluxe Cravings Boxes that we ordered, we were billed for two Grilled Cheese Dipping Taco Boxes priced at $9.49 each. Not only was this an inaccurate charge, but it was also a higher cost than what we had actually ordered.

In an attempt to rectify this oversight, we immediately returned to the Taco Bell location via the drive-thru, following the same process as before. Upon arrival, we were directed by the manager on duty, Sharon, to enter the establishment in order to verify our return. What followed during our interaction with Sharon was both disheartening and unacceptable.

Instead of addressing our concern promptly, we were left to wait for an extended period of 15-20 minutes while Sharon focused her attention on other customers at the drive-thru. This disregard for our time and concern was evident and left us feeling dismissed. When Sharon eventually engaged with us, her attitude was marked by an unwelcoming and confrontational demeanor.

Sharon's question, "Who in here is needing a refund?" was posed with an inappropriate tone that added to the distress of the situation. When we responded that it was indeed us seeking a refund, the interaction took a regrettable turn. Sharon's refusal to address our concern and her decision to discard our order underlined a lack of professionalism and respect for customers.

What followed were comments that were sexist and belittling, which left us both shocked and deeply disappointed. The refusal to acknowledge an error in the order and Sharon's persistence in claiming that what we ordered was not even on the menu further compounded the situation. It was only through my husband's quick thinking to capture photographic evidence of the menu display that we were able to substantiate our order.

What stands out most egregiously is the unprofessionalism demonstrated by Sharon, who holds the position of manager. As a representative of Taco Bell, we expected a higher standard of care and responsibility. The offensive language, inappropriate comments, and manipulative actions do not reflect the values or reputation of your brand.

It is unfortunate that this incident escalated to such a point. I acknowledge that customer interactions can be challenging, but leadership demands a higher level of behavior and accountability. Sharon's actions not only reflected poorly on herself but also on Taco Bell as a whole.

I trust that you will take this matter seriously and investigate the incident in question. Our intent is to ensure that such an unfortunate experience is not repeated for others. We look forward to your response and hope that Taco Bell will take the necessary actions to address this...

I am a big Taco Bell fan and never leave negative reviews but I feel compelled to write something because truly this might be the most abysmal fast food location I've ever witnessed. Do not go here. Even when you think you are craving TB more than anything in the world do not go here.

I have a lot of sympathy for criminally underpaid and overworked service employees, but whenever I come here it seems like no one is doing anything behind the counter. I have the impression that the manager (or the person I assume is the manager) doesn't trust anyone else to make the food so she runs around trying to get the KFC AND Taco Bell orders completed while the rest man the register or stand around aimlessly. The employees look scared to do anything themselves for fear of being yelled at. One time I saw the manager lambasting an employee for 10 minutes while five of us were waiting for our food.

The result is horrible wait times and terribly constructed food. I've waited over half an hour on several occasions here, both after ordering on the app and in person. At least twice I ordered on the app and arrived to wait for a long period only to realize that they had lost my order completely into the Taco Bell void. I will say that whenever I have interacted with the employees when waiting a long time they are incredibly kind and seem to want to help me, but the wait times are still really tough to deal with.

Furthermore, the Taco Bell experience depends tremendously on the structural integrity of its food, and almost everything here is constructed so poorly that it falls apart 1/3rd into eating it. I am a big Crunchwrap Supreme person and I think only once or twice after eating here have I not ended up holding a soggy ripped tortilla with my hands drenched in mystery sauce. If you don't heed my warning and decide to order food here, stick to the tacos and baja blast freeze which are harder to mess up.

All in all, something needs to change here. Fast food workers are not servants, and I personally should have stopped going here long ago, but people do deserve some level of service when spending their money. I don't know if the solution is hiring more staff, providing better training to existing staff so that they feel confident making the food, speaking to the manager about creating a better work environment, or just shutting down this location, but something...

I wouldn't have given a star if I didn't have to to be able to write a review. I deliver for a major delivery company in the area and every time I've had an order to pick up here there's a problem. For starters the door is ALWAYS locked even if there are 6-7 employees inside doing absolutely nothing but standing around on their phones or playing with their long braids that are supposed to be in hair nets or dancing around laughing while numerous customers are waiting for their orders for a ridiculous amount of time because they were told when they ordered thru the drive thru to pull around and their order will be brought out to them. I waited for 27 minutes after I was told to pull around and wait for my order to be brought to me only to have them give my order to the wrong driver and then they tell me to call my company and let them know that they gave my order to someone else. Like my company can fix Taco Bells mistakes. Not only did they cost me a half hour of my time but they also cost me the $20 for the order. I would highly recommend to avoid this restaurant at all costs and I did report this to my company as well and my company said they had numerous complaints on this restaurant already. The worst part is the customer lost out because they never got their food they paid for someone else to get their order because of these employees negligence. They didn't care in the least that they messed up and gave the order to the wrong driver. Also I'm definitely not making this a race issue but I was told to pull around and wait but the African American man who went to the window was allowed to wait at the window and was given my order when they knew I was waiting all that time. I am Caucasian by the way. Also I was not the only Caucasian person told to pull around and wait for a ridiculous amount of time there was also 3 other cars with Caucasian people waiting but every African American that went to the window was served at the window promptly and not made to wait like I was, and the other people were. They definitely treat the races differently and that was EXTREMELY obvious.. I will not ever take another order from this restaurant again. I don't have time to waste only to lose money...