McAlister's Deli — Restaurant in Fairview Heights

Do not go into a McAlister's if you're in a hurry, even if you placed your order ahead of time. There is always 5 or 6 staff up front moving at the speed of sloths, if they are moving at all. There's usually only one employee who is actually running food & making drinks while the others take an order then stand in the way. The flavored tea is never the same, with some employees barely putting any flavor in to others loading it up. Kitchen staff is a big joke at almost EVERY location. Food is a hit or miss, a lot of it being human error or neglectful staff not using fresh ingredients. Gluten free options can't be ordering on food delivery service apps. In store, if someone does have an allergy, you have to put them on high alert & then explain what includes gluten like you're teaching a class every single time... Do NOT give me crackers or croutons after I tell you I have a gluten allergy, please teach the basics to your employees! Do NOT offer GF options if you're not going to be a responsible business & train your employees on food safety & allergies. It is the responsibility of the restaurant to take these precautions. Cross contamination is my risk to take but if I enter a restaurant offering GF options, I expect the employees know at least the very basics of what is included in the selections or that can cause reactions. All in all, they need a serious revamping on employee & management training as well as food safety & freshness. The food is NOT worth the excessive costs they charge for it. It's a glorified deli serving food quality equivalent to a fast food joint. As someone who spent over 15 years in the service business, from fast food, to waitressing, & bartending; I cringe when I walk into a McAlister's & have to watch the chaos of the very unorganized day to day structure of the business. The manager always on duty during the day, Jacob, is incompetent & rude when he gets stressed or offended. If you have an issue don't complain to him because he will NOT want to handle it & the majority of the time he is the one screwing...

I wish I could could give this place a zero. I ordered for curbside delivery I called once I arrived the female who answered the phone said she would be right out so I can waited no one came out, I waited for 15mins then I called back and stated that I have been waiting for 15mins for curbside and even described my car in case she forgot. When she answered again she said she will be right out mind you they aren’t busy at all so I waited for another 15mins and no one came out. So once I decided to just go inside I walked to the To-go counter and the same female (African American female with orange dreads) who answered the phone was standing there, when I walked up she walked away I had to get her attention just so she can grab my order. I explained to her that I’ve been waiting for her for 30mins for my curbside order once she hear that she just shrugged her shoulders. Then before she grabbed my bag she started scratching her head and wiping her hands on her shirt. No one apologized about the wait. This was single handedly the worst experience I’ve ever had at this establishment. I will personally be staying away from here and informing anyone I know to do the same as well your customer service is extremely horrendous and it’s obvious that the hiring process needs to be revamped because your hiring people who Simple’s don’t want to be there and that scares customers like...

Ordered from McAlister's today because it was a new restaurant on the Door Dash menu (food delivery service in the area) I routinely use. I had gotten to-go orders there twice several years ago and didn't go back because of how long it took to get the food both times...no other customers in the place and I waited at least 20 minutes BOTH times for 2 sandwiches! Anyway, since I was ordering from Door Dash today, I figured this wouldn't be a problem. I decided to try the French Dip with potato salad for a side and a piece of cheesecake with strawberry purée topping. The sandwich was very good...lots of lean roast beef on a crunchy baguette with Swiss cheese and a cup of au jus. They 4 stars was mostly because they were skimpy on the Swiss (1 piece of cheese for a huge sandwich) and since I was eating it at home, I added another slice and it made all the difference. The potato salad was decent...typical store bought potato salad. The cheesecake had a very pre-packaged taste and was really not that good...I ate about 4 bites and pitched the rest...I definitely wouldn't order that again. All in all though, I was pleased with my food and will definitely try more of McAlister's sandwiches if they stay on the Door Dash roster of restaurants in my area. The price was more than fair for the size sandwich I got and the food was packed well and included...