McAlister's Deli — Restaurant in Franklin

Have you ever been in a surreal situation where you need to pinch yourself to test if something actually just happened? THAT's exactly what happened when I stopped by our local McAlister's Deli tonight.

McAlister's is generally been a solid A-/B+ player in that sweet spot of fast casuals and delis which cater to our family's busy lifestyle. We've been to this specific location many times either for dine-in or takeout, and never had much to gripe about it. Food usually seemed good, staff seemed friendly, and the atmosphere was easily accessible and comfortable. UNTIL TONIGHT.

To be fair, this review includes experiences which may not be entirely within control of local management...however. the way they treated me amplified an already frustrating situation into one which spawned this negative review.

To set the scene... tonight was NOT a dine-in night, my mission - order two items with minimal accommodations (Cobb salad - bleu cheese dressing on side, no bacon; Just a Spud - add bacon, add cheese), pick up, and continue with our Sunday evening.

Starting off on the wrong foot, McAlister's app is one of the worst food apps I've ever used. Some apps never pretend to have more than limited functionality (location, menu, operating hours). McAlister's app is not one of these. It has a lot of features but is poorly designed and even more poorly executed. Order mgmt is not intuitive, requiring multiple screens which do not flow well together. Click-through is painfully slow and I experienced so many "hourglasses of death" that I gave up after nearly half an hour. Items would not load, and pricing calculations were clearly not correct - adding to a sum total of $0 for my entire order even though individual items and tax calculations displayed correctly. While I would love free food, this was clearly not intended since the "commit" button resulted, after a lengthy wait, in a timeout error. Not wanting to leave an open shopping cart with my credit card on file, I tried to cancel individual items (no option to cancel entire order) but this only resulted in further "hourglasses of death." Gave up and just shut down app. STRIKE ONE.

Obviously not learning my lesson, I decided to call in the order. After a brief hold, I spoke to Justine who seemed to have no trouble understanding my order. Apprised of 20-25 minute wait time and assured loyalty points would be added once I gave the "code" displayed in my app at the store. First sign of trouble upon arrival at store was when cashier didn't know what order I was referring to. She turned to another attendant who suggested I called the wrong location. I read off the number displayed on my phone. The manager (or so I found out later) chimed in from the back that they didn't have my order and the group postulated I called it into the Brentwood TN store 15 minutes up the road. Pretty sure I hadn't but I went ahead and placed my order again. Total time spent trying to order food now over an hour. STRIKE TWO.

Waiting for food prep, I called the earlier number to cancel what I thought would now be a duplicate order - not wanting another location prepping food for a no-show. Interestingly, the prompt clearly referenced "Cool Springs McAlister's Deli." Chose option #1 to cancel or change an existing order... dial tone. Called back and chose same option... dial tone. Called back a third time and chose "new order" (option #2). Man who answered called me by name (they obviously had my number from earlier). I explained the situation to which he apologized and said a manager would "make it right." Now it gets strange... the woman speaking from the back earlier got on the line and asked how she could help me. I explained the man handed me off to her by saying she would "make it right." She responded by arguing they use a call center for takeout orders, a common practice for many food chains. Not sensing this going anywhere, I politely said good bye and left. STRIKE THREE.

Get home to discover half the order was wrong - STRIKE FOUR,...

McAlister's Deli has some really good food and is very family friendly. I have ate at the Cool Springs location for 13+ years.

Saturday and Sunday between 11:30A and 2P can be busy at this location. Nighttime crowd can be hit or miss.

Cons: over the past 3 years this location has been in decline. By that I mean that it is often dirty, tables not bussed quickly, floors in need of sweep & mop, bathrooms without paper towels, and staff seeming apathetic. For instance we stopped in about 7p the last couple of Sunday nights and the place looked like a train wreck. They were either short staffed, or simply didn't care that a third of the tables needed to be cleared and the floors needed to be mopped. Either way, I am at the point that when my kids ask to go there, that I suggest we go elsewhere. In my opinion this location and the Moe's Southwest in the same strip center should be avoided until they can get their act together and have some self respect for...

It was just okay. 1:15 pm on Tuesday. I stood in line at lunch time for 15 minutes with only 4 patrons before me. When placing my order, the cashier had problems clearing their computer. I had to repeat my order 4 times before we could pay and get our food order number. Clearly the staff had major problems using their order entry system. It took another 20 minutes for the food to be delivered. By now our lunch hour was almost gone - we had less than 10 minutes to eat. The sandwiches were ok. The soup was bland, but after adding a lot of salt it was better. When I arrived, every table in the dining room was full of used dishes and trash. It looked like they had just been through a huge lunch rush. But this did not justify the underwhelming service and...