Denny's — Restaurant in Galveston

I'm usually positive in my reviews. I consider myself a good tipper and a friendly customer when I dine out. The biggest positives I can give this Dennys are: 1.They have a great coastline beach view, and 2.Their bathrooms were clean. I should be enjoying the Galveston sunset atm, but I wanted the manager, Carmen, to get my review while the experience was fresh in my brain. The waitstaff seemed attentive to their customers, so I gave them a star. The appearance of the restaurant seemed clean and up to Dennys standards, so I gave them a second star. Perhaps I caught them at a bad time (it was a Sunday at 1pm), so I gave them a third star. But that's all I could give because they displayed the cardinal sin in customer service: no one greeted me when I entered. I stood at the cashier front counter for what seemed like an eternity while I watched people enjoy their meals. When I looked around, I saw that I was the only unseated customer (potential customer at this point). I had intended to be seated first before going to the restroom, but I decided to give them a second chance. Off to the bathroom I went. Then, back and stood at the empty front cashier stand. As previously, I watched others eat their meals while I stood there, ungreeted a second time and growing impatient. Both times there were no other persons waiting to be seated. So, I knew the greeter wasn't busy. Soon, another customer who had already completed their meal joined me at the cashier stand. I was first in line, so he lined up behind me. Still, no one at the cash register. Then, another table got up from their meal and joined me in line. A young man appeared from the back of the restaurant and acted as if he was in charge of the front cashier position. He did not greet me, but he asked for my tab so he could ring me up. I advised him that I had no tab, but I was ready to be seated. He replied, "I'll seat you in a minute," as he motioned to the man behind me to come forward to present his tab and pay. I moved over to the right in order to let him through. I didn't want to be in the way. Since I had lost the young employee's attention because he was busy helping someone else, I decided to seat myself. As I walked toward the dining area, I received several shouts from the young man, "Sir!" And, "Sir!" Oh? He wants my attention now? I thought I was not his primary concern. I ignored his shouting at me and contined walking to a vacant, small 2 person table. I didn't want to take up space in a larger table, though there were plenty to choose from. It was an uncomfortable bench seat where I did not easily fit, but I didn't want to take up a 4 person table just so I could be comfortable in a chair. Heaven forbid that Dennys offer bench seating that larger customers can sit in comfortably, but I digress. I sat, uncomfortably, for 7 minutes (I timed it) without any employee asking me what I needed. I wish I knew the exact minutes I stood at the front counter, but I was in a better mood then. Finally, I asked the server who was helping other customers in my area,"Is this your section, ma'am?" She answered, "sometimes." And carried on helping others, like I was a leper. I must thank the employees of this Dennys because after I got up and left, I found an amazing seafood restaurant called STINGAREE. The service at this new place was so good that I tipped 25%. I suggest eating there instead of here. How did I know the manager's name? I ask for her before I left. She also did not ask me why I was asking for her (nor did she greet me) or why I was leaving. I assume they just didn't want my money. But she did take the time to spell out her name. C A R M E N. Thanks, Carmen. Dennys is a fine organization with professional customer service. I'm sure Carmen would want the opportunity to fix her customer service shortcomings.

P. S. At Stingaree, I was greeted, seated (just me) at a table for 6. I didn't have to ask to be seated and my table overlooked the ocean. What a...

My husband and I placed an online order via Dennystogo.com. When we arrived to pick up our order, 12:15am, at the Galveston Seawall location, the restaurant was in complete chaos. I had to wait a very long time before I was even greeted. I was finally able to grab the attention of an employee to inquire about my order and no one seemed to have a clue whether it was ready or not. One employee threw up his hands in frustration and the other walked out of the door, leaving me standing there shocked at how unorganized it was. I understand that they may have had a busy day but you should never display your frustrations in front of a customer, nor should you take it out on them. After much time passed, I was finally informed that my order was not ready so I returned to the car and later my husband came back inside to check on the order. He was then told that they were out of stock of the plant-based burger that we ordered. My husband asked to speak with the manager on duty (Carmen). When she approached the front counter she was extremely rude and told my husband that the burger was out of stock and she tried contacting him. He said that was not possible because no one called him and we had been waiting for over 30 minutes. He asked for a refund and she said she couldn't refund our money and we should call our bank to cancel it! We informed her that it was not our bank's responsibility to cancel the transaction because we ordered online directly through Denny's. She continued to be rude and unprofessional. I have been a manager and worked in the restaurant industry, so I know this is not proper protocol. I also know how a customer should be treated. She gives Denny's a bad name. I would never return to this establishment based on this experience. She treated us as if we were disturbing her or it was our fault. I finally interjected and was becoming so frustrated myself that I told my husband that we should just leave. I called the same location later today and spoke with another manager on duty (Manny) and he was very helpful. He immediately apologized for what happened and he processed the refund right away. Manny is an example of superior five star management. He could teach Carmen quite a few things! If she does not enjoy her job then she should find a new profession. If your company chooses to keep her as a manager she really needs to be re-trained!!! Carmen has no idea about customer service and how to react under pressure. I understand they were busy and apparently they had a hectic day but you should never show that to your customers. Every customer that walks through the door should be treated with dignity and respect and that was not given by Carmen...

We went into this Denny's, which wasn't overly crowded at the time. The first thing I noticed was a young lady up front trying to figure out where to seat some people, while behind her was an employee (she appeared to maybe be the assistant manager) just standing there talking. As I watched, the (asst mgr?) employee went to the kitchen and came out eating something, right up front. We were seated and it took about 5-7 minutes before we were ever greeted and our drink order was taken. When we gave our food order, it took 35 minutes for the food to come - and of course it was cold. During that time our waiter seemed to be the one who had to take everyone's order around the place and I even saw him clean off a table. Everywhere I looked employees were milling around doing nothing. The one that was eating up front seemed to show up when someone else was trying to work and just stand there talking to them. (When we paid, she started telling my husband and me all about her schedule and her kids?!) I saw the person who appeared to be the manager taking orders himself while these employees just walked around. In addition to the food being cold, the eggs tasted funny and we were afraid to eat them, my bacon was barely cooked, my english muffin tasted moldy, the pancakes tasted strange, and the jelly brought to our table was literally rancid. I couldn't understand why the manager couldn't seem to organize and control the employees. As I said, our server was doing a lot of other things and that's obviously why he couldn't wait on us. But the others were just hanging around.

I wish I had gone to the restroom when we first came in because we wouldn't have wasted our time and money on a meal we couldn't eat. In the ladies' room one of the stalls was literally DUCT TAPED shut, there was trash everywhere, and it was just nasty. Also as we left I noticed the glass doors and windows at the front of the restaurant were streaked and dirty.

We go on vacation in Galveston several times a year and know lots of others who do. I can guarantee you neither we nor our friends will EVER come into that...