Steak 'n Shake — Restaurant in Indianapolis

I will begin by saying that I had not been to a Steak N Shake prior to 2020 before this experience. Bad service during the last few visits and many other restaurant options out there kinda put this towards the bottom of the list for me. However the wife was really in the mood for one of their shakes so decided to give it a try. So I went in with very low expectations.

I will not be going in with such low expectations on my next visit. I was amazingly surprised by the overall quality of the experience. We went at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. We each ordered a burger and fries combo with shakes.

If you're like me and haven't been in years it is a pretty different experience than you will remember. No more waiting an unknown amount of time to be seated and then waiting an unknown amount of time for someone to come take your order. All orders are done through self serve kiosks. I found no problems with them. Very easy to select and customize items, to review and remove items if need be, and then to pay for the order. Then you find your own table which at the time we went was a cool breeze. Only two or three other parties at that time.

The food itself was prepared in what I would consider to be a reasonable amount of time. Comparable to similar restaurants such as Freddy's or Five Guys. And it was all very well prepared and fresh. The fries almost needed to cool for a moment or two. The shakes also were ready to go before the rest of the meal arrived so I had no issues with the wait time or the quality of the food.

The store itself was above average in terms of cleanliness. There was a person working in the dining room keeping up well on things while we were there.

Now if you're the type who enjoyed the feel of being waited on from days gone by you will not care for their new set up. Our food was brought to our table since it was not busy but I don't think that's always the case. So it is more labor intensive. But since we had not had good experiences with the wait staff this was not a problem for us.

Now I will say that with reduced overall staff and thus labor costs you'd think maybe they'd have lowered the prices a bit but that is not the case. With tax we paid just under $30 for two burgers with fries, a side of chili, and two shakes. And that's part of the reason this is a 4 rather than a 5. I'm a huge Five Guys fan and so it's difficult for me to justify paying that much here when it's literally right across the street. I mean you can see it from your seat next to the window. Much better burgers and fries IMHO for the same price.

All that being said I fully expected to walk out being disappointed and vowing that I'd never go back but that is not at all the case. I even enjoyed the 50s rock n roll they were piping in and if I had one suggestion on how they could improve I'd say they should do a little more in terms of theming to give it even more of a retro vibe. Maybe have the person making the milkshakes be more visible doing so like a real old fashioned soda fountain? But that's only a minor nitpick. Kind of another reason why only a 4.

So if you've thought about going back but have been hesitant for the same reasons I'd say give it a shot. Won't say it's the greatest dining experience you'll ever have but it certainly won't...

Went to this location when we were out celebrating my friends bachelor party. I Just got off of the phone with Rich, who though "Sincere", did not do all he could do for me. Which in turn caused me to refuse his $25 offer of a steak n shake gift card to rectify this bizarre situation. After reading some of the reviews I See that timeliness is always an issue/excuse for this location. So Allow me to review. On September 8th I was in this location awaiting my to-go order to be prepared (wait time of over an hour, with NO ONE else in the lobby). Once I received my meal we took our to-go order and left. As soon as I was able to stop and eat my food I did. AND THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGAN. After waiting almost an hour and half for 3 burgers and two fries. I was welcomed by a shard of glass as big or a little bigger than a half dollar directly in the center of my sandwich. After Biting Into the glass it was apparent that I was done eating. We called the manager, Jennifer, that night to explain the situation and she required us to come back into the store during the day to create a formal complaint. Well guess what! We showed up the next day and were required to give the evidence of glass to the associate before they would issue a refund for the meal I did not eat. (so they could analyze the glass shard). After feeling pressured to give up the only physical piece of evidence I had in this bizarre situation I was given a "refund"/(I paid on my card, he gave me cash. I paid more he gave me less). After this experience I called steak n shake corporate in Indianapolis, after a battle to find the customer service number. I was given a confirmation number for my claim. It Took corporate 3 more phone calls from me and direction from a considerate employee to get back to me in regards to my complaint, keep in mind the time-line: September 8th and today October 29th 2019. Once we were in touch thankfully to a persistent Rich Skanlin? we were able to talk about what happened. long story short Rich gave me a sincere "Business apology" and he asked what I Wanted. I requested that I receive a phone call from the store manager with a sincere apology I did NOT ask for money, I did NOT ask for my complete refund or a gift card. Rich then exclaimed that HE hoped that I could accept his sincere apology and explained that it would be to much for the manager to perform such a modest gesture. WELL THIS IS 2019 and I DO NOT believe that was too much considering the store manager(Jennifer) was the person who served us our food! I leave this Thread open to speculation and let me know if what I asked for was to much? or what you believe Rich should have done in this situation? following are pictures of the incident as I was going to hold onto these I feel that I have no other Choice then to back my review with proof.

(Pardon Sentence Structure and grammatical errors,...

Disappointing. I have been eating at S&S since the early 1960s.

Walked into a nearly empty Steak & Shake. I thought it was strange for 6PM on a Saturday. I have been not to a S&S since COVID began, so I thought it may be due to COVID.

I was surprised there was not a friendly greeter to find me a table. However, I was greeted by TWO LARGE TOUCH SCREENS. No friendly people to take my order...ONLY TWO LARGE TOUCH SCREENS...NO WAITRESSES...ONLY TWO LARGE TOUCH SCREENS...

Everything is self serve. You find a table, which was easy since very few people (maybe a dozen besides our party) we're eating there. You get your own cup, you serve yourself from a self serve pop dispenser, you wait for your number to called, you then collect your food and carry it back to your table, then clean up and throw away your own trash.

I spoke to the manager to provide some feedback about the new S&S style and was told basically, that 90 % of the customers like the new style (which might explain the lack of full tables) and that is the way it is going to be.

So I guess the next time I want a hamburger in Greenwood, I will go across the street to 5 Guys. I will still be able to order from a LIVE person and not a LARGE TOUCH SCREEN...as an added bonus, they have...