Hamburg Hot Bagels — Restaurant in Hamburg

HORRIBLE - RUDE - OWNER & STAFF - HARD BAGELS! MAKE MY OWN BAGELS? WHAT?!!!

Let me start by saying I NEVER write reviews. This is my first ever.

This experience was was bad and made me feel so terrible I just had to do this. No one else should be exposed to this.

I could not believe the way I was treated. It's Father's Day morning we woke up a little later than usual so hitting a diner that would probably be crazy packed was out of the question . So my wife and daughter suggested we pick up some bagels. Knowing I didn't like the "Hamburg Hot Bagels" very much, they are always on the flat harder side, I still went there because it happens to be the closest one to us. My girls don't really mind the harder bagels. I walk in, it's a mess. There are about two registers and 6 customers standing around not knowing where the line begins or ends.

Shortly after, a shout that comes from behind the counter... "People Please! try to figure out between yourselves who is next don't ask us. Mind you, the customer's don't even know which line to get on. After after standing a bit and letting a few older folks that came after me in front of one of the cashier areas, I finally ordered. 4 plain bagels please and here is when it gets nastier. I nicely said to the guy behind the counter... you can't ask the customers to figure out for themselves where to line up. You, the shop should set some direction first. This is the way it works everywhere. Looks like they prefer the confusion and chaos.

Oh, where did I leave off... Once I made may comment the guy threw the bag of bagels down on the counter and said as he ran off to the other side of the shop, they are not responsible for that. He suggested I get my own bagels.

WHAT?!!! Make my own bagels? Are you crazy. A tall bald man shortly came over after ( I was told he was the owner) and asked me what happened. I said your server asked me to serve myself because I asked him you should let "your valued paying customers" where to line up making it easy for them. Guess what he said... That's the way it is. If you don't like it too bad.

WHAT?!! I could not believe my ears. The owner doesn't care about what their customers are feeling. Saying I'll take my business elsewhere, I walked out as well as several other customers after hearing what just took place. Everyone was in disbelief.

People...Future customers... I know it may be the closest bagel shop, but drive the extra 5-10 minutes you will get much better service and better bagels too.

Moral of the story... Mr Hamburg Hot Bagels owner, you can't treat customers this way and not expect them to let the world know the way YOU treated them. Remember a customer rarely talks about a good experience (the internet has helped with this) but will usually tell all their friends about a bad experience (the internet as also helped with this) Difference being technology lets the entire world know.

Hope you change your ways.

Happy...

So I've been going here for awhile... I have also made several trips to return food that wasn't what I ordered. Today I ordered a chicken panini get home and it's got portabella instead of chicken. Bring it back get the correct order and come home to take a bite and find that this time they gave me undercooked chicken. Called to tell him I want a credit and it felt like I was blown off because I'm not driving back a third time today. Seems like the best in Sussex county only counts when they are doing it right but when you call them out on the mistakes it's never their fault.

Last week I got a breakfast sandwich that was put on a Burnt half a bagel. Turning a whole sandwich into a half since it wasn't edible. The time before I received a Taylor ham that was so over cooked I tossed half the meat to make it somewhat enjoyable.

Is this normal for them, absolutely not but there seems to be a definite quality control and I have more problems when they are not busy compared to a Saturday Sunday where you can wait 20-30 minutes in line before even ordering.

Stick to this place when they are busy to get what you order done right!

UPDATE:

Went back a month later and upon placing my order he sarcastically says "Thanks for the review"

You had a chance to earn my respect back and possibly fix and remove the review, but he doubled down and tried to explain the reason for the mistakes but he should have just apologized. I also thought he blew me off when I asked for credit, of course I paid for my bagel today which was less than the undercooked chicken. His excuse was he had the cook rush because of the wrong order, but you can't rush chicken, that's how people get sick!

So if you're gonna give them a bad review make sure you're ready to deal with a retaliation from them. What a waste it took them 6 months to alienate a new local resident with 7 issues in 6 months. Real classy employee!

Don't worry, I won't make the mistake of giving you another chance. Way to...

You know what's crazy? After 12 years(when i worked for him), Akif's bagels are STILL the best in NJ. I used to work there way back when, and let me tell you something about this place.

The owner - this guy would show up at like 3am every single morning. Not kidding. I'd walk in and there he was, rolling bagels by hand while most people were still sleeping. And if someone showed up before we officially opened? He'd serve them anyway, just happy to see them.

I remember this one time, we were closing up and someone knocked on the door. Most places would've just pointed at the "CLOSED" sign, right? Not Akif. He dropped what he was doing, opened up, and spent like 15 minutes just chatting with them while getting their order ready. That's just who he is.

My family won't go anywhere else for bagels. Seriously - my mom lives 40 minutes away now and still drives here on weekends. Introduces every family member to this shop. The place just has that effect on people.

Working there taught me a lot about what it means to actually care about your customers. Wasn't just a job. The whole crew would joke around, but we got stuff done. And Akif? He'd be right there with us, cleaning, serving, whatever needed doing.

Been to a lot of bagel shops since then (sorry Akif!) but nothing comes close. Maybe it's the 3am starts, maybe it's the hand-rolling, or maybe it's just that you can taste when someone actually gives a damn about what they're making.

Still the best bagels I've ever had. The best boss I've ever...