Chili's Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Lakeland

Here we are at Mc Donald's. So, on our way to this Chili's did the "join the wait list" @5:34. When we arrived there they told us the waiting was 10min. We were walked to a table maybe, less than 10min. We ordered our drinks right away, around 5:45. Five minutes later we order our dinner. We started seen other people that arrived after us getting their food before us. Around 6:40 I asked the waitress l, why was taking so long, she answered, let me check, right away she came with 2 of 3 meals, after touching them both were cold. We let her know and she said let me reheated. Then the 3rd meal came. I felt terrible starting eating without the rest of the family. Again, the clock kept ticking. She came to let us know that instead they were going to make the food again, my husband agreed. Then it was around 10-15min, I had finished my meal and my husband and son's food wasn't on the table yet. That's when my husband decided to go up and asked the waitress to cancel those 2 meals, was almost 7pm already. The restaurant was not full, there were plenty tables empty. The whole situation was embarrassing, having people looking at us, I guess assuming who knows what. We felt the need to talk to the manager, for our surprise, (I guess) he apologized saying that he didn't know anything because another manager was taking care of the area while he was not there, that we should have asked to talk to him before... So their way to fix it was to charge us for the drinks and remove everything else which for some may seem ok but when on a special day you choose to go there thinking that you will have a great family MEAL and time but it all goes SOUR. We walked out of the store around 7:10pm, almost 2hrs from when we did the " join the wait list". So yes, my mother's day went down the hill after not being able to eat with my family like we had planned. For sure, Chili's may be known as a family "restaurant" but definitely McDonald's for sure did make our day look better. This is the Chili's Grill and Bar on N. Lakeland #216 3980 US Hwy 98 N...

The website said they close at 11, so being that we arrived at 10:00 we figured my family would be fine to come in and eat real quick. When we walked in, we made sure to ask the hostess what time they close, because we know sometimes online isn’t accurate. Owning our own business, we know how it is when someone walks in minutes before closing time. She assured us they don’t close until 11, and nicely seated us right away. An hour is plenty of time for us to eat and be on our way. Our waitress on the other hand was visibly aggravated that we had come in and made us feel very uncomfortable and rushed. By the time we ordered it was 10:30 and she made sure to tell us “we don’t have any soup because we literally close in like 10 or 15 minutes”. I replied with “Oh we were told you close at 11” and she told us “the last call is 10:45” and proceeded to ask another employee “Did you lock the doors?” While she was still taking to us. We were done eating, paid for our food, and were out the door by 11:00. We had come in and were very mindful of them closing at 11, but once again we figured since we arrived and sat down around 10:00, it shouldn’t be a problem. While we were waiting for our food they were turning all the tvs off and putting all the chairs up, which I understand is closing procedure but, they were not closed yet and it made us feel very rushed and awkward. I think she could sense that we weren’t happy and did try to be nicer towards the end but by that point we were ready to leave. The food was good, the lady that brought us our food was very kind, and the hostess was nice as well, but our waitress really ruined our experience. The pictures are to show the awkwardness of us sitting trying to have dinner while they closed the restaurant 30 minutes earlier than we were told. There were other people in the restaurant eating as well, we weren’t the only...

I eat at Chili’s all the time and this by far was my worst experience. Went in an hour before they closed and scanned the entire restaurant and not a single employee was on the floor. There were customers in the bar area and booths and not a bartender, hostess, waitress or manager was in site and there were chairs on top of the table in certain sections. Eventually after waiting to be seated for 5 min I walked to the back where the kitchen was and saw all the employees including the manager. The manager and another employee were on their cell phones others were standing around laughing. Even the customers who were seated looked displeased. I waited at the kitchen door and watched them for about 30 seconds hoping someone would see me and when no one acknowledged me I popped my head in the door and and asked them if they were closed. One girl said no I replied ok and explained that I had been waiting at the front for some time and there was no one out there. Instead of an apology a Rude and GHETTO employee with a bad unprofessional undercut by the name of Nya intervened and Rudely said “SOMEONE WILL BE WITH YOU SHORTLY” I said “ok” and as I walked away she popped her head out of the door and rudely screamed “YOU AINT GOTTA COME BUSSING THROUGH THE KITCHEN LIKE THAT SOMEONE WILL BE WITH YOU” at that point we exchanged words she told me I would not get served and the argument got so heated the manager (a woman) stepped in to de-escalate the situation. She explained that the Ratchet, ghetto, rude and unprofessional employee with no home training and no respect for the customers that help her earn her $12 an hour was only 17 and that she would rectify the situation. Sad part is they lost out on money because I was going to order several additional meals to go. Needless to say I’m completely done with chilis especially...