Smoothie King — Restaurant in Florissant

I walked into Smoothie King today simply wanting a smoothie. What I got instead was a crash course in workplace dysfunction starring an employee named Zach, whose performance was so staggeringly inept, it bordered on comedy… if it weren’t so infuriating.

The place was busy. Four young women were clearly in overdrive, moving quickly, multitasking, trying to keep the growing line from boiling over. Among them was one standout a friendly, upbeat employee in a WrestleMania shirt who radiated good energy despite the chaos. She was polite, charismatic, and genuinely trying to make things run smoothly. When she saw me waiting at the counter, she offered a warm, “He’ll be right with you!” and gave me an encouraging nod.

And then… there was Zach.

Zach, the fifth wheel on this barely-holding-it-together team, stood feet away from me at the register — not working, not helping, not acknowledging my presence in the slightest. Instead, he was mid-rant about his girlfriend, fully locked into a conversation about absolutely nothing of value, while customers like myself just stood… and waited… and waited some more.

Five minutes turned into ten. The woman in the WrestleMania shirt glanced over at me again, this time with a look that said I know. I can’t believe this either. She looked genuinely flabbergasted that Zach was contributing absolutely nothing and worse, showing zero concern about it.

Zach moved like someone on sleep mode. His body was present, but his mind was absolutely elsewhere. No urgency, no professionalism, no basic understanding of customer service. His energy screamed, “Why am I even here?” And frankly, I was wondering the same thing.

If you value your time, dignity, or a basic level of human interaction, avoid this location until they replace Zach with someone who understands that people come to Smoothie King for smoothies — not to be ignored while he narrates his love life like a bad reality show.

Massive credit to the woman in the WrestleMania shirt for holding the place together with a smile. It’s employees like her that keep the doors open — and employees like Zach that make people walk right...

I almost always get the Banana Berry Treat, and lately the ratio of berry to banana has been inconsistent. Like today, for example, there's less berry flavor. Still tastes good but not how I'm used to, and I visit pretty much weekly.

Customer service is also inconsistent. A couple of the ladies who work the morning shift are outgoing and courteous. Most others act like they need something to wake them up. This morning the person who took my drive-thru order gave seconds-long awkward pause after I gave my order.

".... Is that it?"

The inflection seemed a combo of impatience and uncertainty. I gave the benefit of the doubt, though and confirmed that I was done ordering. I don't like that the total owed isn't given at the loudspeaker. Are people allowed to adjust their order at the window in case of mistakes?

Some staff don't even greet or acknowledge my existence after pulling up to the drive-thru window. The guy cashiers rarely greet at the window. Depending on the day of the week and time of day I visit, drive-thru service gets worse.

Drive-thru gets doggedly slow later in the day, especially during the weekend. One time, some months ago, the I sat in the drive-thru for over 40 minutes. I'm glad this place is here and seemingly popular, but when it's slammed with customers efficiency is out the door along with hospitality. I'm primarily a drive-thru customer, but I noticed that service isn't any better inside the store. It's disappointing that that's the only constant.

The app and its infrastructure got updated with new features, including a pay option, some time ago. When I first tried using it, the staff was confused, meaning they weren't trained on the app's latest features. Some of them are still not used to it and I have to tell them I just paid via app. I don't blame the staff at all for it; training them on the sales tools is important and need to be...

This smoothie King is managed improperly. The younger workers are so kind and the manager is so angry towards them. The black male with the tattoos on his arm I believe his initials are D.C. he is the manager. Want to know how I know?, Because he yells at the younger workers every time that I come through the drive thru. He consistently yells at the younger workers that he is the manager and that everyone needs to do as he says! The guy is an insecure as can be. The guy argues with everyone in the drive thru because he is angry that he cannot remember to put the smoothie in the proper cup as recommended. I ask for a plastic cup at the drive thru menu and every single time I go through the drive through the cup is foam, instead of buying that arm tattoo that guy should have purchased some hearing aids! He thinks he is so tough when he is softer than Charmin tissue. He is so insecure I wonder if he identifies as a female. He better be thankful that my son isn't working up there because if he yelled at him like I hear him yell at those young workers he would be on that menu as a smoothie himself. I contacted Smoothie Kings complaint department about the guy and I gave them the guys real name. Fire him! The guy is sweeter than my banana boat smoothie! He is always yelling he is the manager, he is a child minded foolish sharpie tattooed biscuit headed girly boy! If you all ever run out of sweetener good thing is you can...