Perkins American Food Co. — Restaurant in Elkhart

My 85 year old parents were snubbed & dishonored at this location on Thursday evening. They were seated and then waited several minutes for someone to take their order. Finally a young woman took their drink orders (water and a milkshake) then disappeared in the back kitchen. Several more minutes passed and no one came to take their food order. My parents flagged down a staff member seated nearby folding linen and silverware — they explained that no one had taken their food order yet since the first person took their drink orders (still not delivered). The young man left — went into the kitchen — came back out looked at my parents and returned to his linen project — a few more minutes passed and the original waitress came out with a water and milkshake — and placed it on the table next to my parents I their line of sight — but out of their reach — turned her back on them and walked over to other staff members seated working on linen. A few minutes passed and my parents realized the unfortunate truth — they were not going to be served. They looked at each other and with tears in their eyes got up and left your place of business.

My mom is a retired education administrator from a nearby Michigan school system with over 30 plus years in that location. My father is a retired pastor of a community church in nearby Michigan — he too with decades of service in the Michiana area. In all their years of working and raising a family in Michiana — they were never disgraced to this degree — congratulations — your company wins the prize for breaking their hearts. They just kept asking why?? Is it because they were just two old people — too old to speak up??

Shame on you for fostering a team that treats people the way you treated my folks....

The food was good. The employees, however, showed the epitome of not caring about their customers. As I was sitting with a colleague eating dinner, an elderly couple got up to leave. They both had canes. He was pretty stable but she was not. As she walked, she used anything she could get her hand on to help support and balance herself. When there was nothing, her husband stayed by her side to ensure she was ok walking. I watched this for a few minutes, along with the three employees standing by the register. This restaurant has two sets of double doors to enter or leave. When the couple got to the doors, the husband tried to hold the door open and tried to make sure his wife was balanced enough to walk through. The employees just stood there. I was about halfway through my meal. I stopped eating and went to help this couple. It took around 10 minutes to ensure this woman was safely in her car. My food was cold when I came back in. I took a couple more bites and promptly paid and left. This couple, per the husband, are regulars for this restaurant, per him. Yet the staff did nothing to help them. They didn't even say anything to me about my help. They do not care. This is supposed to be a place of hospitality but the only thing I saw was contempt...

Our Perkins is a great place for being a chain restaurant. The staff and management do care that their guest are treated with good service from the time you are seated to checking out. They have a regular menu, plus a seasonal menu that brings a variety throughout the year. The menus also have the new calorie labels which I personally like. The meals that I/family/friends, order have always been plentiful and at the right temperature. They also offer specialty drinks, such as Coke with real Cherry mix, made just like us older kids remember them. The pies, large muffins ,etc., are never a disappointment and if you need to take a dessert for a gathering, you can't go wrong with one of theirs. The only negative is sometimes the entrees arrive before you are finished with the salads, but other than that, this is a very nice...