Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in Kettering

I seriously wish this location was still a White Castle. I've never been impressed. I'll summarize my last few experiences...

Took the kids because they saw some pretzel bun hot dogs that looked good. Sat at the drive in for maybe 10 minutes with no response on the speaker. Decided to get out and try the patio. 15 more minutes with no response before we went across the street to Frisch's and had our food from there 10 minutes later. The food and service at Frisch's was amazing. 5 *s.

Craved a breakfast burrito. Went through the drive thru. No cars in line. Easily 5 minutes before someone answered. After a couple more minutes of "hang on"s, the employee told me their computer was down and it would take a minute to reboot, but if I pull up to the window, they'd write down my order and start making it while I waited. Pretty heads up. I pulled up and waited 5 minutes at the window. They never came out so I went to the house and made my own breakfast burrito. Only took about 7 minutes. Fast service, amazing food. I gave myself 5 *s.

Craved a cherry cream slush. Went through the drive thru. 1 car in front of me already at the window. After 3 or 4 minutes to place my drink order, I pulled up and waited another 5 minutes for them to hand the car in front of me one drink. Another 5 minutes later I got mine. It was so full overflowing that it spilled all over me when the employee handed it to me. After an interior detail to get the cherry cream slush out of my upholstery, I'd say it was not worth it. Jeff Schmitt Chevy customer service gets 5 *s. They did a great job and were super friendly.

Craved a breakfast burrito and a cherry cream slush. Went through the drive thru. Order taker Screams. The outside speaker is always WAY too loud, and take that from someone who has been a heavy metal drummer for 25 years. It's like that every time, but as many times as I had to repeat my order, I didn't want to have to repeat that detail all 4 times here. Finally got my order placed and pulled up. Got another cherry cream slush so full it was spilling all down the side of the cup. Luckily by now, I know this is their policy, so I knew to spill the majority onto my lap since I can just throw my pants in the washer when I get home and avoid the auto detail bill. Tide gets 5 *s. You can't even see the stain any more.

One other time I went, service was slower than normal. I'm sure it had something to do with the two employees jumping in the snow banks in the lot. Snow angels got 5 *s. They were pretty good. The food and speed of service, 2 *s. I kept all of the cherry cream slush overflow in the top of the lid this time so it gets 4 *s.

TL/DR don't go to this Sonic. It...

To start, the woman working the drive-thru seemed visibly impaired—slurring her words, struggling to communicate clearly, and repeating herself multiple times. I had two separate orders (one was my coworker’s), and when I got to the window, she said “second order,” which I repeated back to confirm: “Second order, right?” She said yes.

I work in a fast-paced, detail-oriented environment where I deal with orders regularly—far more complex than fast food—so I always double-check everything. Turns out, she charged the wrong cards and meant to say “first order,” not “second.” I politely told her, “Well, you did say second, but no worries—can we just switch it around?” That’s when things went downhill.

We went back and forth for 30 seconds—her insisting she said “first,” me reminding her she said “second.” Instead of trying to resolve the issue, she flat-out told me there was no way to fix it. For context: one order was $23, the other was $11. That’s not a small mix-up, especially since I was using my coworker’s card. I didn’t want her to pay for something she didn’t get.

As the employee tried to close the window, I asked to speak with a manager. I remained calm, explained the situation, and told him exactly what happened—how she confirmed “second order” and how even my boyfriend, who I was on the phone with at the time, heard the whole exchange. The manager told me it would take 10–15 business days to fix. That was ridiculous, especially considering that two weeks ago a similar mistake was instantly refunded by different, much more professional staff.

I didn’t even get the cards back after paying, which added to the frustration. Back at work, we realized they still had both of our cards. My coworker called to address it, mentioned the employee seemed high, and commented on the unacceptable customer service. The manager bizarrely responded with, “Well, she was on the phone with her boyfriend,”—as if that justified anything. For the record, I wasn’t on the phone when I placed the order or spoke at the window—only during the mistake, which my boyfriend overheard.

When I went back to pick up the cards, the manager came outside and said he had written down our card numbers and reported us to the Kettering Police Department. At that point, I just laughed and told him exactly what I...

I gave them one star because this place is terrible! I would have given them zero stars but that was not an option. The wait is ridicously long (I waited 30 minutes for a large Coke and I would've left had I not been stuck between two cars) and the food is disgusting as well as overpriced. My friends, family and coworkers all say the same thing and that is why I am never coming to this miserable excuse for a fast food restaurant ever again! The staff looks like they don't really care about food safety either because their hair is slinging around and one girl (Bethany) her hair looked like a rat's nest and it was brushing against my husband's food which we refused to accept because of this. We made two trips in one- first and last! Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if this dump were to close down for good. Seriously, do NOT come here, trust me you will be happy I warned you about this abomination. UPDATE: I have a coworker that is new to the area and has never seen a Sonic restaurant before. I showed her my review and I tried to warn her and so did my other coworkers but she did not listen to us. She went there on her lunch break and came back with a completely horrified expression on her face. We asked her what was wrong and she broke down in tears and the poor girl looked physically sick. She said "when I went to the patio and I was about to order my food, I saw something run by really fast. I at first didn't know what it was but I heard a squeak and it was a large gray mouse running up the trash can!". I asked her if she confronted the manager and my coworker said " yes, I told the manager and she told me that she sees the mouse all the time and it likes to crawl up the drive thru wall." We were not shocked because we knew what a trash heap this place is. So, if you still decide to eat there after reading this, don't be surprised if you see mice running around the place or eat something that a mouse has...