White Castle — Restaurant in Joliet

I went to this location this morning for “breakfast.” I went inside and ordered a small onion ring.

Long story short, Miss Maria was the only attentive employee there. She had to stop making her sandwiches on the grill, to come to the front, greet me, and ask what I wanted. I said “a small onion rings.”

She had to tell the other young lady, (the black lady with the 3rd degree burn marks on her right wrist and arm area), to get a small onion ring for me.

She came from my left side, behind the counter, and rang me up. I was doing Apple Pay. She walked off, and came back towards the “payment completion” part.

She hands me my receipt, and didn’t say anything! No, “thank you, it’ll be about 5 minutes,” nothing! She just handed me the receipt, and walked towards the back. That’s not how you treat customers, period.

Minutes later, from a room to my right, in the back, another black lady, comes walking towards the front, with her apron twisted up; it was sideways and unpresentable. (I didn’t know if she came from the restroom or what.)

Anyway, she walks towards my direction, looks me in the face for a prolonged period of time, fake smiled, then turned towards the right, where the other young lady came from. (The drive through “booth” area.)

I was turned off by the level of service and was going to ask for a refund after the first black lady. However, I didn’t want to “inconvenience” the business in case the onion rings had already been dropped; they had been but I didn’t know at the time.

Miss Maria put the onion rings in the box, bagged it, got me napkins and handed me my order. (I think she thanked me, but don’t remember.) I told her, “you the only one with good service up in here.” Then, I asked her for her name, and told her I’d include her name [for this review.]

I’m reaching out to Corporate to inform them of today’s experience and low levels of service. It’s unprofessional to stare at a customer, not speak, not welcome them, and not acknowledge them in any way, when they’re supporting your business, and contributing to your income / paycheck. I don’t understand why some employees at establishments don’t correlate customers to THEIR paycheck!

If customers don’t spend money at your company / place of work, then that’s less money for them, AND you!

“Food Service” entails food...

On June 30th I called in a large order 40 minutes prior to my wanting to pick up it. I was greeted by a "Jackson." I gave and order of 3 crave cases and 2 breakfast meals as we have always done this every time we come to town. We knew we'd be waiting as well. As he was asking the time of pick up my cell cut off. So I called back and gave a time of 9am now this was slightly after 830am and I was at discount tires at the time having 2 tires replaced for my 8 hour trip back home. Once again confirmed I was speaking to "Jackson" and told him 9am for pick up before I could get a word out if I needed to wait I understand. I got massive attitude followed by do you realize I have only 2 people on the floor and you want 90 burgers? You will be waiting. At this point as rude as he was I told him to cancel my order. I called another location after driving by Jefferson location which only had 2 people in drive thru! Noone inside. Both people in drive thru were in and out by the time I circled the building. So I called the location on 59. A very nice lady took my order and also only had 2 people working on the floor as well as customers before and after me and were able to get my ENTIRE order out in 25 minutes without attitude or complaints. So I called the 800 with my experience. After doing so I was called by a "Joshua" as I am driving and he is on bluetooth because I have started my trip back home. I recognize the voice he confirms he was the one who took my order and that he was the GM of that location. He began arguing with me on the phone about his rude behavior, his fake name, blaming it on me. And proceeds to say in front of my daughter how he is going to kill himself! I had to end the conversation as I was quite upset with his words being thrown out there. I proceeded to call 800 number again and still nothing has been done to rectify the situation. I am appalled at the lack of customer service and respect at this location. He argued and yelled on the phone and those words of I am going to kill myself. Yeah to me you do not need to be in the position you are in and using that kind of language! I wish I didn't have to star this...

I know nobody at all who does not enjoy a slider when the craving hits. In personal experience, it is as if "something seizes my appetite."

Accompanying the hunger sensation is a beckoningly recurring thought: "WHITE CASTLE, WHITE CASTLE, WHITE CASTLE..."

Original, cheese and bacon, jalapeno, fried sweet potatoes, and so on and so on...

Plus, I find it delightful that the restaurant located at 1803 W. Jefferson St. (at Larkin Avenue) in Joliet, Il. in the United States of America is open twenty-four hours, seven days a week. In addition to the tastes and textures and [simply stated] "downright FUN" of the food, I hasten to add the fact that also of meaningful relevance and importance to me is the uninterrupted recorded music to be heard resounding through the dining area.

I am talking about an amazingly melodic array of supreme BIG BAND ERA selections--with truly legendary vocalists, orchestra leaders, solo instrumentalists, along with enchanting arrangements that remain unparalleled in originality, toe-tapping snappiness, and rhythmic syncopation that remains unforgettable.

After finishing my sandwiches, I felt my own smile beam with pride in spending an extra half an hour sitting at the table to hear the music that my Mom and Dad loved so much and, with the eternal generosity of sharing their refined tastes, passed onto my brother, sister, and me.

For a uniquely American menu as well as for symphonic transmission of a genre of "Music Americana" at one of ts ultimate cultural peaks in the preceding Century, I offer a prayer for ongoing success for this especially appreciated White Castle oasis in our remarkable City of Champions!

Conclusively, I extent heartfelt kudos and congrats for many years of great business, including every good wish for lots more!

~ Bob Talkie, M.A., Psy.D. Disability Rights Advocate/Agent United...