Carl's Jr. — Restaurant in Lake Elsinore

Giving my Lake Elsinore Carls Jr 5 STARS!! I'm a Customer Service Representative CSR (Lead Cashier) at the Stater Bros Markets next door to this Carl's Jr.. so I know the importance of customer service since customer service is my passion!! Carl's Jr has always been my favorite fast food option and my opinion is that Carl's Jr is better than McDonald's or Jack in the box & Burger King etc.. but I'm disappointed that my favorite grilled cheese bacon burger has been removed and discontinued from Carl's Jr menu about 5-7 years ago.. Carl's Jr in the old days used to have the Grilled cheese bacon burger, and a option to upgrade the burger to a "Double Patty grilled cheese".. but it's no longer on the menu unfortunately, but after the grilled cheese burger was discontinued and officially no longer on the menu.. when i would still try to order my favorite Grilled cheese bacon burger, most Carls Jr locations would tell me "we're sorry, that grilled cheese is no longer on the menu, but would you like to try our NEW grilled cheese"? The current grilled cheese options are a breakfast grilled cheese and another grilled cheese Burger but it comes with lettuce & tomato & onion which is like a modified version of the original grilled cheese burger because the original was on sourdough bread & the new grilled cheese with lettuce & tomato is on a regular style burger bun.. but the breakfast grilled cheese is on sourdough but either way it's a compromise and not exactly how I like it haha however, over the years of attempting to order the original grilled cheese that is discontinued, only 2 different Carl's Jrs have gone above and beyond to make a custom grilled cheese exactly the way I want it, and they would charge me for the current grilled cheese & I pay a little extra for the double patty & the manager would just tell the cook to make the old style grilled cheese, and luckily, if the cook has been an employee long enough to remember old menu items the cook would remember it and make it custom & add the two different cheeses & add mayo & sourdough & two patties.. but the majority of Carl's Jrs would tell me they CANT accommodate my request because it's not on the menu.. and I have found only 2 Carl's Jr locations that have gone out of their way, and took the extra time to accommodate my special request to make my favorite Burger, because I stopped eating at Carl's Jr completely when this burger was removed from the Menu.. and Carl's Jr lost me as a customer for a long time, but miraculously, I found 2 locations that were willing to go above and beyond for me, to keep me as a customer.. and I decided to write a review, because I know that the little things employees do might not always be recognized by the higher executives in the company.. this Lake Elsinore Carls Jr is one of the few Carl's Jrs in the Inland Empire region that are performing acts of customer service, like accomodating my special custom request.. the other location is in Temecula somewhere but forgot the exact location, but the manager in Temecula that also accommodated me, stopped working there and was replaced by another manager.. so I hope he got promoted.. but the new manager that replaced him in Temecula, he didn't accommodate my special request and he told me like the majority of Carl's Jrs "Sorry that item is no longer on the menu".. so this Lake Elsinore Carls Jr is the only one left that is going above and beyond to provide customer Service.. and I decided it was worth me taking the time to give a 5 star review since the manager of this location Rodrigo & the shift leader Mariela worked together as a team to explain to the cooks how to make this burger and i said thank you to the female cooks in the back & literally the cooks smiled back & said your welcome in Spanish.. thak you Carls Jr...

I've wanted one of the staff to know that when someone walks into your establishment it's imperative that you acknowledge their presence with a greeting or a simple glance and a nod. They had one to many chiefs and not enough villagers. One associate was busy on his phone the other was standing in-between the kitchen and dining area just gossiping about another employee while I stood at the counter for just under 8 minutes before anyone came to the front counter. I understand being busy at work but not too busy flapping those gums while a customer is standing and waiting for someone to take my hard earned money, what was the kicker was not until I walked around the corner towards the dining area to look for the person who was speaking badly out loud about another associate did they stop the banter to ask me if I needed any help.. Retraining is a must at this particular location.. Because it was a different experience, Then to really throw a Zinger at me I read this while I am trying to fill up my cup with Ice at the fountain dispenser which had no ice, but the did have this cute little plastic Note that informs you that This establishment is collecting Data on you. I about lost my appetite. To think that Carl's Jr is in the Market to sell your data. I was Blown away that this was an actual posted warning stating that Carl's Jr is in the business of collecting and selling your information to God knows who.. mind boggling and a bit disappointed. I understand recording for our protection but to blatantly post this by the fountain drinks for customers to read after they have come into buy food. You would think that just like that sign that says "Smile your in Camera". That's posted on the door for anyone and everyone to see they should Also have to inform us before we walk thru those doors that they will be pilfering through your credit card or debit purchases to find information to sell to which ever company wants your data.. Wow completely Disappointed in Carl's Jr. I bet Carl Himself is rolling in his grave as we speak.. ZOOM IN SO YOU CAN READ IT FOR YOURSELF.. NOPE NOT DOING MEALS HERE. THEY NEED TO CHANGE THE NAME OF THE FAMOUS STAR TO THE INFAMOUS STAR OR EVEN LET US KNOW THAT WE ARE THE SUPERSTARS.. COME ON NOW CARLS JR. ALL FOR A BUCK... I WILL NOT BE EATING FAST FOOD FROM CARLS ANY LONGER.. I WINDER HIW KING HAS THIS...

It was Friday night, and my wife and I were heading home from the grocery store. I asked if she'd like to get dinner from Carl's Jr., knowing she appreciated their option to substitute bread with lettuce. She was happy with that choice, so we ordered nearly $40 worth of food at the drive-thru. Despite it being a non-busy night, we waited 10 minutes in line for our order.

Before heading home, I decided to check our food, and of course, they hadn't paid attention to the details. I tried to go back to the door to correct the order, but it was locked. When I called them, they told me to come back through the drive-thru, which was now full of cars, causing a wait of over 15 minutes. I told my wife to go ahead and eat while I dealt with the situation, but she felt uncomfortable eating while I was stuck in line.

When I finally reached the window, the girl working there looked tired and sleepy. I mentioned that our order had gotten cold, and she just smiled, offering a half-hearted apology without even offering to replace my cold fries. This lack of customer care was really frustrating.

It made me wonder why places like In-N-Out always have busy lines but not Carl's Jr. or even McDonald's. After a little research, I found that In-N-Out pays its employees better and has higher quality control over their food, which might explain the difference.

In the end, I didn't get what I paid for, and the experience was disappointing. Given the poor service and the lack of attention to order details, this will likely be my last visit to this Carl's Jr. location. If you're looking for fast food with better customer service and food quality, I'd recommend...