Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Knightdale

I’m curious as to when Chili’s updated their policy for how server’s should greet customers. Because what happened to “Hi,” “Hello,” “How are you?” Lo and behold my experience at this particular Chili’s location was a time indeed, because my family and I were greeted with “Is this going to be on separate tickets or one ticket?” and what our payment method was going to be, TWICE, before we were asked about or received any drinks or food.

Hm. 🤨 Odd, but okay. I’ll play. Maybe this is an update on Chili’s policy, what do I know. 🤷‍♀️ It’s not like last week I went to eat at another location with my husband where the server was fantastic and greeted us with enthusiasm and a “Hey, how are y’all?” and a “What would you like to drink?” Narry a “are you guys gonna be on one check or splitting it? How are you gonna pay? Cash or card 🤓 ☝️” to be seen. That’s including having to wait about 15 mins after being sat down on a busy Friday night and I would still give that other location 4+ ⭐️ for my experience.

I say all this to say, that I’m not upset that we waited several minutes between the time we sat down and the time we were greeted by the server. It’s a Sunday, you’re busy, I see you’re also working the bar, I get that. I’m not mad at it and it doesn’t have much bearing on how I felt my experience went. I would just like to know why the table behind us, and the table in front of us didn’t receive the same preliminary inquisition when they were sat down after us. 🤔 Then again, who am I to be curious about an update in policy? I am but one simple, meager customer. 😔

If it IS an updated policy, I mean a simple sign on the door or on your website stating 🗣️ “PLEASE BE READY TO KNOW WHETHER OR NOT YOU WILL BE SPLITTING YOUR CHECK 0.001 SECONDS AFTER YOUR SERVER APPROACHES YOUR TABLE” 📣 or a little notice in advance from the host would’ve been nice (don’t get me wrong, the host was FANTASTIC! Love that he assisted me with surprising my elderly mother for her birthday 🥹)

Anyway, the vibes were just off after both those interactions, especially after noting that other tables weren’t greeted with the same question, but I digress. The rest of the interaction went okay. Simply, okay. The food was…well it’s Chili’s, so sometimes it’s great, sometimes it’s meh. Just depends on what the Chili’s gods have in store for you that day. This time it was marginally above average. (Except for the fact that my Hotzarella sticks weren’t hot, sadly, but rather just warm. Whyyyy Chili’s whyyyy??? 🥲 I just wanted the revered cheese pull!) The wings were AMAZING though, so it made up for it. The food quality speaks more to BOH staff and not on the interaction with the server herself so I entered a separate rating for that.

All in all, just wanted to forewarn those who may be interested in frequenting this occasionally lovely establishment that you may have a grand ol time. It’s Chili’s 🌶️ after all! Just beware you may be randomly selected to participate in an awkwardly off putting interrogation the moment your server appears and asked how four grown adults will be paying for and splitting a check, multiple times, before being asked what you would like to drink.

By the way, 🤫 in case you’re curious, the inquest is actually ✨irrelevant✨ given that you pay using the Ziosk at the table, not with your server, unless using cash. AND you have the option to split the check right on the payment screen at the end. You know, just in case that wasn’t the first thing on your mind when you came to have a good time and celebrate life. I know, crazy right? 😉 Don’t worry, we only split it two ways. Not bad for over $140, I think.

All in all, 2/5 ⭐️. I’m still waiting for my cheese pull, Chili’s!! It ever eludes me, sadly. Nothing like biting into a luke warmish block o’ cheese 😩 I suppose I’ll have to keep continuing on my quest for now 😔 ✌️

ETA: @Chilis, what info do u need that wasn’t in the yap session above? All I ask is, IF this is a policy, make it transparent to ALL customers. If not, train your employees to be less...

I have had the absolute worst experience doing a to-go order at this Chili's. I placed my order for to-go on-line and was told that it would be ready to be picked up within a specific time window. I showed up to the location 10 minutes after that window thinking "Yes, it definitely has to be ready now". I checked in through the app and waiting for someone to bring my order. 15 minutes later, no one ever came. I thought maybe they were short staffed and it really wasn't ready yet or maybe they didn't have someone to bring it out. I was still trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. So I called the to-go and asked them to confirm if my order was ready and I would come inside and get it. The lady who answered the phone put me on hold to check for my order and never came back. After 5-10 minutes on hold I thought "they must be really busy" and just went inside. There was one young lady behind the to-go counter going back and forth between being on the phone and talking to someone in the kitchen. After about 5 minutes she got off the phone and just walked away but never said anything to me. At this point, it was well over an hour since I had placed my order, the gentleman waiting for his order overheard them discussing my order (when I called and was indefinitely put on hold) and he informed me that they were missing something from my order. The employee came back a few moments later and asked how she could help me. I requested to cancel my order and get a refund so I could go home. The only thing she said to me was let me get my manager. She disappeared and came back with a guy who I assumed to be the manager since he did not say anything to me. He came to the register and asked the employee what he was supposed to be doing and the name on the order. Then he finally asked me if it was my order, pulled some receipt paper, and started writing info down (my name, email, phone number, etc). He said he was going to the back to process the return and it would take 5-7 business days but he couldn't provide me with any receipt or anything that documented a refund because "that's not how they do things". I asked him for his name and confirmed that he was the manager. He did give me name but stated that was not his location he was just the manager on duty. He never actually explained what happened with my order. He never apologized for inconvenience or the poor service. He was actually very unprofessional and speaking to me like I was bothering him. I left with no refund, no food, no apology... just frustration and anger for the piss poor customer service.

This is not how you do business! Your website advertises your cultural beliefs as "We’re in the business of making everyone feel special. In everything we do, we have to ask ourselves if we’re putting the Guest first and making sure they’ll come back for more. Our Cultural Beliefs bring that passion to life and shape who we are as a company and as the people who live and breathe inside of it. We’re more than mere transactions – we’re people connecting with people! If our beliefs are strong, our actions will match. And that’s how we create memorable experiences and real results." This is not how you...

I will start by saying they were very busy, and I can appreciate that. My boyfriend and I, who ate here, have both been there ourselves in our many years of working as servers, cooks, and restaurant managers. All this said, our experience here was lacking to say the least. We were sat at the bar. Our bartender was dealing with what we could consider run of the mill for a Saturdat night. And we were attended two maybe three times over the course of 90 minutes. Most of that time was spent sitting and waiting. The times that we did have her attention, we had to literally stop her to make a request. They were busy, yes, it's a Saturday night at Chili's. We get it. However, the gentlemen server who had the section directly behind where we were sitting at the bar was clearly extremely busy, and yet he was attentive, friendly, apologetic, kind, and still moving fast. It was clear he knew exactly what he was doing. For my meal, I mentioned to the bar tender, who took my order, that I was allergic to onions. My meal arrived (eventually) with a nice portion of onions in it. I then had to wait another 15-20 minutes for another meal, when I said it was fine if they just scooped it out, as the onions were all shoved in a corner of the bowl and I'd be fine, I just wanted to eat. 15-20 minutes later, I get my new meal. (There was a large chunk of raw red onion right on top. Hilarious. I just picked it off and moved on.) They covered a good portion of my meal without me asking, which I appreciated. Our bartender frequently went and sat down somewhere to eat and drink her drink. I know what having a long shift is like, but she had several people at the bar clearly needing service, including us. We waited for about 15-20 minutes AGAIN after being given a box because she slid a card reader our way for the check (without saying anything or even making eye contact). My partner was paying with cash. Go figure. She was nowhere to be seen. We see the manager walk by, look at us, and then walk away frustrated. We watch as he walks up to a booth, points at us, and clearly reprimand. Sure enough, our bartender stands up from the table and slowly, while pouting, walks over to the bar, cleans someone else's space, doesn't make eye contact with us once, and leaves again. We asked another server or maybe busser, "can we just leave our cash here for the check and leave?" He did not answer the question, just said "you have to wait for her" and left. When she finally arrived again, we asked the same question, she said yes, and we left the money and FINALLY were able to leave. There were other small issues and annoyances as well, but I won't bother. We will go to the Applebee's...