Jack in the Box — Restaurant in Joliet

(Very busy! Staff is very kind!) REDACTED

I unfortunately have to rescind my previous positive review. My latest visit (8/5/25) was egregiously poor. I waited a week before updating this as I wanted to ensure no emotion from the extremely subpar experience overtook what needed to be highlighted and brought to attention.

We placed our order inside the restaurant at 4:45pm. Around 40-45 minutes later, our number was called but they had only prepared the milkshakes. They were all strawberry which was not what was ordered but we were resigned to let that go.

Another twenty minutes go by and more orders after ours get called and another patron advises us to ask what the issue was at the counter. At the counter, it is insisted that we got our food. We point out that was clearly not factual but that we had only gotten our shakes. Now enters the individual that was determined to ensure the situation was not only poorly resolved, but as poorly resolved as he could manage.

The managers insists we should have our food when, obviously, we clearly do not. His attitude is caustic and unhelpful but he does say they will “make it again” with expedience.

Twenty minutes later, still no food. I approach the counter again to make an inquiry and the manager becomes more hostile with me. This was particularly upsetting as I was being very calm and only wanted this “fast food” error resolved so I could go home. He acts like he’s doing me favor to make the order I long ago paid for and says he’s finally going to make it.

Fifteen more minutes go by (it’s now 6:30 pm after our order was placed at 4:45pm) and he brings out half the order and insists I bag each item myself in comically small bags they can’t fit into. He tries to act like that was that and I have to point out the other half of the order he missed and he will not believe me and I’m forced to read the receipt aloud to him. Several more minutes and finally, it’s 6:35 and I have my “food”.

The drive home was five minutes. Every item was ice cold, as if it had been bagged up and left in a counter or put into a refrigerator. I ate half a sandwich and threw the rest of my congealed meal out.

If the owner is reading this, I’m not interested in filling out a survey until you have a long discussion with the manager working on 8/5/25 at 4:45 - 6:35pm and retrain them on all aspects of their job with a strong emphasis on customer service.

We will not be back until the issue of that manager...

Ive been to this location 4 times. Today being the last. The first time I waited an hour in the drive through which was expected due to it being 1 week after it opened. Once I finally got to the drive through to order my food I still had to wait 30 minutes after ordering my food with only 3 cars ahead of me to the pick up window. I figured they were running behind with customers inside the store too. That did not seem to be the case because when I finally got my food and after driving off I checked my food and it was cold! This happened the other 2 times I visited too. (long waits after placing my order with only 3 or 4 cars ahead of me and cold food) Its as though the employees really dont take any pride in thier work at this place. Dont even get me started on the storage containers of product in the back of the restaurant where they have boxes that say keep frozen in the scorching sun with employees looking like they would rather be anywhere else milling about. My 4th and final visit was this morning. I checked online and the website said it was open, so I make the 20 minute drive thinking ok its been over a month this place should have no wait and maybe they got thier act together. Nope! I get that at 8:30 am and it looks open but its closed. there are 3 cars in the drive through line with traffic cones blocking them in. Im guessing an employee saw the line of cars forming and closed off the drive through line trapping those 3 cars in. I called the restaurant and asked if they were open and the employee said they would open between 9am and 10am and they were still prepping for opening. This place is a disaster! Why did they even open if they were...

I was looking forward to trying jack in the Box since its new to this area but after my experiences here I don’t think I will be coming back.

When we walked in the place was empty(which certainly isn’t a downside but makes much of what is to come even more disappointing). When I tried to order at the counter I was told by an employee that I had to order via the touch screen kiosks which made it way more complicated to order my burger(a plain burger, just meat and bun).

After ordering we waited almost 30 minutes for our food which would be understandable if the store was incredibly busy but the place was almost a ghost town. When we finally got our food we were missing our drink cups and when I asked for them the employees seem confused about what I meant by a large drink(one of the 3 drink sizes available and exactly how it is worded on my receipt).

As for the food, the burger was alright, I’d say it was a solid 6/10 which is good for the price, but the fries were disappointing. They tasted like raw batter and were almost completely unsalted. When I went to get salt from the condiments stand they were almost completely out of salt.

They messed up my girlfriend’s order pretty badly(no dressing on her salad, no utensils to eat the salad, gave her seasoned fries instead of curly fries) and many of the people in our group had similar complaints about the food.

All things considered I was disappointed in my experience and I don’t see myself giving Jack in the Box another shot...