Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Groveton

Okay, so where do I start…My son and I went to Chilis last Saturday and the food was delicious. I ordered the honey-chipotle chicken crispers w/ fries and corn and my son ordered the quesadilla explosion salad. We ordered 2 molten chocolate cakes to-go. My family and I used to go to the Chilis in Bowie all the time but the food started going down hill, so this was my first time going back in 5 or so years. My mother, sister, and I went today (11.16.24) and service and most of the food was HORRIBLE. First and foremost, I got a negative vibe from the waitress. I asked that my corn be seasoned on the front and back because the previous Saturday, only the bottom half of the front side was seasoned. Her response, “That’s how it’s seasoned.” What! I ordered the same thing from the previous Saturday. My food came out luke warm: fries were hard, chicken crispers were rubbery, and the corn was still half seasoned. I sent my food back and had it remade. It was okay but still nothing like last week. My sister ordered the triple dipper: garlic parmesan boneless wings, southwest egg rolls, and Nashville hot mozzarella sticks. She liked the mozzarella sticks and so did I. She didn't taste the other two items but my mom tasted the boneless wings and said they were not good. The boneless wings nor the southwest egg rolls looked appetizing to me. My mom ordered the ultimate smokehouse combo w/ fries and mac & cheese. The fries were hard, Mac & cheese was bland and watery, and brisket quesadillas was soggy. My mom kept the Mac & cheese but asked to replace the fries with mashed potatoes and the quesadilla with ribs. The waitress, a heavy-set Black woman w/ a nose ring acted like she had an attitude. She didn't check on us not once. We had to ask for refills. We ordered dessert first and she left the empty plates on the table until I asked for them to be removed. We asked for to-go cups for our drinks, wet naps, and my mother's mashed potatoes which she NEVER brought. We had to ask the hostess. I ALWAYS leave a tip even for mediocre service but her service was beyond horrible, so I left her nothing and didn't feel guilty about it. I will not be going back to Chilis for a...

It all started when my friend and I entered the restaurant. We were greeted by Genesis, who was the hostess. We were told that the only options were bar tables. I emphasized that I am not interested in sitting near the bar and I wanted a more intimate section. She then told my friend and I that there were no servers available and the patrons who were currently seated are about to leave shortly. Unfortunately, there was an older woman who came in before us and she was about to seated. A host was cleaning a table for her as Genesis was denying us a booth on the dining side. When the hostess saw that we were still interested in a dining table and we could wait for a table, she became irritated and threw the menus on the tray. Another hostess came to help us and Genesis told her not to serve us. After the second hostess went to the back area, my friend and I approached the other guest and we shared our poor experience and this guest also confirmed that Genesis was not so pleasant with her as well. The kind woman offered her table to us and we were able to be seated. I then requested to speak to Daniel, who was the manager. Daniel seemed to be in disbelief of what all three of us experienced. He later said that Genesis always delivers top tier customer service. I reiterated to him that her actions today did not reflect the top tier customer service he speaks of. Shortly thereafter, we were greeted by a waiter and my friend and I had a great service and the food was delicious. Unfortunately, Genesis's piss poor customer service left a bad taste in my mouth and I will not return to...

I came to Chili's with basic expectations - for food that was OK, not great. What I didn't expect was to be defrauded.

There was no "ziosk" on our table. But the bill came with a $1.99 "entertainment charge." A demand for a manger produced a young fellow who was full of ridiculous excuses - such as that a 2-year old's birthday party had taken the ziosk, and how dare I complain that a 2-year old shouldn't be allow to have fun?

Of course, that was utter nonsense - I didn't want the ziosk, but I also don't want to subsidize someone else's check. The manger just kept digging himself in deeper - for example, claiming that they didn't have any means to clear the charge directly from the ziosk. I'm pretty sure that's false - and even if it's true, our server should have been warned and deleted it from the bill before it was ever presented to us. He also asked why we were complaining, since the charge would be deleted. Only because we spotted it - not because Chili's remotely handled the situation correctly.

In the interest of full disclosure, we apparently so irritated the manager by pointing that he was a liar and incompetent that he comped our check, even though I made clear that I wanted to pay - just only the right amount. (I made sure to tip the server before leaving - while he could have done better, it's not his fault that his manager is a moron.)

Bottom line: Read your check carefully. I doubt this is the first time Chili's has pulled this scam. And I doubt it will be the last. But it will be the last that I give them a chance to...