Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Florida

LOCATION OF DISAPPOINTMENT Address: 445 Commercial Ct, Venice, FL 34292

SUBJECT: Disappointing Experience with Online Order and In-Store Service This place location you would think would be packed and very busy. I could say just about 20 cars total. So needless to say not very busy. I’m writing to express my disappointment regarding a recent experience at your establishment. I placed an online order, which stated it would require 45 minutes to prepare. That was completely understandable, especially on a dreary, rainy day when I was looking forward to treating myself and my colleague in the office. Unfortunately, what followed was frustrating and unacceptable.

Here are the issues I encountered:

Excessive Wait Time: I waited over 1 hour and 20 minutes for my order—far beyond the estimated preparation time.

Lack of Communication: I checked in multiple times and was told repeatedly, "They are bagging it now." I heard this three times, which was clearly not accurate.

Rude Service: When my order was finally ready, an older woman—who seemed to be a staff member—rudely pointed across the room and said, “Your food is over there,” instead of assisting or directing me courteously. She didn’t help her teammate at the busy register and simply walked away.

No Designated Area to Check Order: There was nowhere available for me to review my order to ensure everything was correct.

No Receipt Provided: I asked for a receipt since I paid online and was told, “I can’t give you a receipt.” That’s concerning and unprofessional.

Missing Items: When I got to my car and checked, the gravy was missing, despite it being marked as included on the bag.

Uninformed about Missing Item: When I went back in and spoke with a manager, I was told, “Oh, they should have told you we didn’t have gravy. Someone went to Bradenton to get some.” So I was expected to go without it—with no notification and no refund? The manager stated " Oh yes let me take a picture of your carry out slip I will reimburse you for the gravy" This made me so happy that everything was peaches and cream NOT. I reiterated to her " If I never checked my food you would have not even done the reimbursement" .

Adding to the disappointment, no manager or additional staff made an effort to assist customers on the floor throughout my wait. While one young lady was properly seating guests, another employee stood chatting casually with someone about schools—completely disengaged from assisting with the clear needs of customers and an overwhelmed cashier.

To top it off, your online system asks for a tip at checkout. While I did leave a tip, I now regret it, as there was no service that warranted one.

Cold and Incomplete Food: Both vegetable side dishes were cold, despite being in separate containers. The large container of pot pies came with just four small chicken tenders, not even cut up and clearly not enough to constitute a full meal. This was extremely disappointing, especially considering the cost.

This experience was disheartening and discouraging, especially as a paying customer simply trying to support a local business. I hope management takes this feedback seriously and considers implementing improvements in communication, customer service, and order...

As with many things, sadly, Cracker Barrel isn't as good as it used to be. Although the food arrives at the table hot, the quality isn't there. My green beans were greasy, hashbrown casserole was bland and flavorless. My dining companion's cole slaw was watery and fries were undercooked. Problems may be specific to the Venice location, but we're going to think twice about going there again soon. Update 8/27/22: What a turnaround! Tonight our food was perfection amd delicious. Service and servers were exceptional. We had Ben who was training Connor and they both were personable, friendly and efficient. They did a great job! Update 5/23\23: Well, another drop on the Venice Cracker Barrel roller coaster tonight. We both ordered the fried catfish and to put it simply, it was awful. Greasy, mushy and only superficially hot - the inside was barely warm. Tasteless hashbrown casserole and overcooked hush puppies. The mostly warm carrots were good! LOL This location needs to work on consistency of their product unless they're counting on the non-returning interstate trade to stay afloat. Update 8/18/23: Well a slight change...the plates were hot but that's was about it. All sides were barely warm and the proteins were just a bit warmer but not much. Surprisingly slow for a Friday night but given the quality at this location, maybe not so surprising. Update 12/8/23: Perhaps a change in management but a very good experience all around tonight. Food was hot and well cooked, service was excellent and all staff we were in contact with tonight were happy and practicing great customer service. Well done! Update 2/9/24: Well, things at CB have slipped again. Both food and service issues tonight but talked to the Manager, John, to let him know what happened. He listened and was very understanding. Overall a very good conversation and he comped our meals. Thank you John! Update 8/29/24: Sadly another subpar dinner at CB. We both had the fried catfish. It was well cooked but the quality of the fish itself was disappointing. Not bad but not as good as it used to be. I suspect cost cutting with a change of vendor. Although a small thing but impactful was that the recipe for the tartar sauce seems to have been changed. It used to be thick, slightly sweet with visible bits of pickle and carrot. This time it was runny with a vinegar aftertaste that was just not pleasant. Hope it was just an off night. We did have a wonderful server, Macy. She...

Felt the need to post a review after multiple bad experiences with their to-go service. I'm a pretty regular customer as I work right around the corner and probably order at least a couple times a month through to-go/pickup. I used to love this restaurant as the food was always great as well as good service. I no longer feel this way. The past couple times I have ordered the food has not been ready on time even once. My orders are usually very minimal as well. Today I ordered ONLY a side of sausage patties and bacon. My pickup time was 11:04am and I arrived right on time as I was clocked out at work and needed to get back asap. Lady at the front desk tells me there's no orders ready and that I can wait. I proceed to wait 11 MINUTES FOR SAUSAGE AND BACON!!!! Like I said this is not out of the ordinary for this location as this happens every time now but the only thing I can assume is that they do not care to check their to-go order tickets and make sure something as simple as bacon and sausage are out on time. When I finally got my order.....COLD. So they took 11 extra minutes that I had to be clocked out of work to give me COLD FOOD! I am extremely annoyed and frustrated that I had already given a 20% tip online before receiving my food because I would have left nothing after having yet another bad experience. The time before this I had to call 6 TIMES for anyone to even answer the phone and when someone finally answered she said she would transfer me to the to-go room where I was put on hold again and my order was never taken. This will be my last time ordering here unfortunately. I understand we are all working through this labor shortage but you need to close your to-go services if you can not provide. I never leave reviews or even mention it when I'm upset with food services but this is...