The Works Café — Restaurant in Durham

I have gone here at least 50 times, more often for breakfast. I work in monument square and have a temple street garage parking pass, so it seemed extremely convenient for me and my fiance to eat there. And we did, time after time, eating their less than stellar microwaved eggs. So I switched to just bagels with cream cheese, which are more enjoyable, especially with their specialty cream cheese options. Keep in mind, I have consistently gone there over the course of a year once or twice a week, and the staff act like they have never seen me, has gained no rapport or warm and fuzzy feelings when I walk in to door, that is fine. At other places, I am greeted often by name, but at least with a friendly "hello". At the Works, there is no "hello", but just order and get on with it, which is always okay, except that over the course of a year, I cannot count how many times the staff has been out right rude to me, which is unacceptable. "I am sorry, we are out of _ but _ tends to be a good substitute". When raisin bagels were sold out, a staff member rolled her eyes and said "none left" and waited for me to speak next. I did order a different bagel, but that kind of poor service and rudeness sticks with a customer.

There is also no "I am sorry, we don't have english muffins". This morning I made the mistake of asking for an english muffin, and the staff member, as always, treated me like an idiot and said "we have NEVER have english muffins". Okay, sorry! Maybe people have asked you that one million times and you have answered it more times than you would care to, but that was the first time I asked, and I don't think it is too unreasonable to assume that a place that service breakfast all day would have an english muffin. And I did not even care that you don't have english muffins, I care that you are rude about it. Last time I checked, they are in the service industry, and the customer, while they may not always be right, should be treated with respect and courteousness. My fiance finally said today as we left "we will not be back there again, I am tired of the staff speaking to you that way, it bugs me to no end that they think it is okay." I am honestly relieved to say I will never again set foot in that place. I am not an idiot. I am a kind, warm, Portland business woman who treats all in the service industry with respect and request nothing more than the same courteousness, as a fellow human-being.

The Works, You are in Portland, Maine, a foodie, young, professional hub with PLENTY of great breakfast spots in walking distance. Competition is HIGH. You need to be set apart. No one can say you have the best breakfast sandwich in town, bagels in town, or brag about your food, because it is quite average and usually microwaved. All you can give your customers is a good customer experience and you are NOT doing that.

If anyone wants a delicious breakfast sandwich near monument square, go to the Spartan Grill. They don't serve breakfast until 9am, but the sandwiches are cooked to order on a grill and their staff is AMAZING! They are sweet, welcoming...

Now I’ll start off by saying The Works has enjoyable enough food when they get it right. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. First, there is a serious issue with the lack of communication between the online ordering and the store. Far too many times I have ordered something online and after bringing my order home, finding a substitution was made. I have ordered a chocolate croissant and found an almond croissant instead. An honest enough mistake, if it were one. Instead, they ran out of what I ordered and decided to give me something entirely different. It’s inexcusable (imagine I was allergic? Seriously). Don’t even get me started on the timed ordering. If it’s going to take your kitchen 30 minutes to prepare my order, don’t let me order it for 15 minutes out. This is simple stuff. Today, my order sat behind the counter for 30 minutes while I waited. Not wanting to be the nuisance that walks up to a busy counter and tells them I’m here, I wait for my order to be placed at the “ready” side. After 20+ minutes I walk up and ask “is this order waiting on the sandwiches?” I’m informed that the order has been ready the entire time, but they were waiting for ME to tell them I had arrived so they could tell me they didn’t have the croissant I ordered (I then was directed to cut in front of customers at the register to recieve my refund while an undertrained employee stood like a deer in the headlights at the other end of the kitchen. After about 3 minutes finally being waved back over to be told my refund could be processed where I was originally). How am I meant to know my order is ready if it’s held behind the counter? And if you expect me to come tell you I’ve arrived, that means you must expect EVERY customer who comes in to tell you they have arrived. Imagine the chaos at your order window if every customer who came in verbally checked in with you rather than waiting for their order to be placed at the pass? I don’t think I need to illustrate why that would create inefficiencies. Instead, how about you place any orders with missing items at the pass with a note on the receipt so when I grab it I can let you know, “Hey! I see it says no croissant, can I get a substitution or a refund?” Or rather put a marking (write in sharpie, something) on the back of the bag to remind yourself to say something when I go to pick up my order. Go ahead and use these ideas for free, save the next person some inconvenience. Seriously, the place is dreadfully disorganized at times. Don’t think I’ll be coming back. Franz has never left me out to dry...

Look, normally I love this place. I came here in college all the time and would study while sipping on a coffee and having lunch. However, the last three times I’ve ordered here they have royally screwed up my order. All three times my order has been missing an item completely, or it was mixed up with someone else’s order, or a bunch of ingredients were missing. Mostly this seems to happen through online orders and not in-person ordering. But I have to ask…who forgets the egg on an egg and cheese sandwich? I waited over an hour for a completely incorrect order.

When I called to see if I could remedy the situation, I just wanted to get the correct order because I love the food here. The lady on the phone was incredibly rude and defensive right off the bat. I understand it was through DoorDash and they had limited options to help me, but the way she spoke to me was so unhelpful and condescending it was astounding. I had already contacted DoorDash and they couldn’t help me so I figured I would call the actual restaurant to see if they could do anything for me. Apparently I was mistaken in thinking the restaurant that made my food could help me. Not once did I speak with a manager, and nobody even inquired to ask me what the problem was they just jumped straight into, “we can’t help you.”

I’ve worked in customer service my whole life (even managed full-service restaurants before) and I have never given a negative review before because I KNOW how difficult the job is, but this was the last straw for me. Three completely wrong orders and rude employees is enough. I will not be returning to the Works anymore. I really hope management can train staff to handle situations like these with a more professional attitude. I also hope they start checking the food before it goes out to customers or DoorDash drivers. I am left hungry and so disappointed by this whole experience.

Food ordered: toasted egg and cheese on a works bagel with sprouts, avocado, tomato and cheddar cheese.

Food received: Untoasted bagel with cold cheese, and minuscule amount of sprouts. No egg (!?), no tomatoes, no avocado. See...