Taco Bell — Restaurant in Lancaster Township

Part 1 If ever there were a restaurant that zero stars would apply to, it's this one. I wish an exception could be made to allow an appraisal utterly bereft of stars for just the occasion of me adding my own contribution to the negative reviews about this appalling establishment. As far back as I have memories of this place, I recall that they have had trouble providing their customers complete orders. The place developed a reputation for always forgetting at least one item. The prudent patron would check the entire contents of the bag before heading out the door and driving off. The uninitiated trusting types would have to wait until they arrived home for their disappointing surprise. I wish that I could say that, through the years, this location had worked out the underlying failings of its business processes, but the recounting of the experiences of many have only confirmed that they have not. In addition to being forgetful, the staff would often fall short of keeping the place looking clean. The sauce bins were often empty, but you could easily find the packet you were looking for on the floor. The tables were often not wiped down. The attitude of the teenagers working there only seemed to have grown more entitled and apathetic. It is also true that this location's drive-thru has a reputation for being incredibly slow. I know that I have sat in it for longer than twenty minutes which is why I decided long ago to always go in. I'd like to relay to you recent accounts of my last two visits to this Taco Bell. About a year ago, we discovered that Taco Bell had a way to order online. So, we used this order form with the intention of picking it up at the Columbia Avenue location. It appeared as though everything worked correctly, and our debit card was billed. I think that when you order, a timer is started, and the assumption is that your food will be ready in some fixed amount of time afterwards--like a half an hour. So, if you have the app (we didn't), it alerts you that your food should be ready this amount of time after your order. This assumes that the staff has gotten your order and has decided to make it. Fifteen minutes later, I hopped in my car and drove off to this Taco Bell. When I arrived, I found that the lights were off, and the doors were locked. I knocked on the door, but there was no response. I knocked again and again. Suddenly, a head popped out from behind the door to the back. "We're closed!" the head said. Not to be deterred, I knocked again. Again, the head popped out and informed me that they were closed. I yelled back that I had ordered online and paid. The head disappeared again. I knocked again. This time the head came out attached to a short, middle-aged man's body which walked to the door. He told me again that they were closed and that it was because of an equipment failure. I responded that I was very sorry for that but that I had ordered and already paid for it. He reluctantly unlocked the door and told me once again that they had had an equipment failure and that I would have to come back later. I explained to the lunkhead again that I had ordered and already paid and that, if I could not get my order, I would like my money back. He instructed me that all I had to do to rectify the situation was to use the app to cancel the order. I explained that I did not use the app, but that I had ordered online and that I didn't understand how, even if I had used the app, I was supposed to cancel an order that I had paid for and was supposed to have already been prepared. If it were that easy, wouldn't people simply pick up their orders and then cancel them ensuring themselves a free meal? Can you cancel the order up until you are handed the bagful of food? The resolution to this fiasco was that I agreed to return later in the week, and he agreed to pay me back in cash at that time, which he did. To see Part 2, go to Trip Advisor or Trust Pilot. Google's character limit precludes me...

We ordered through the app for drive thru but when we got to the drive thru speaker they said it was for pick up. We checked and we had received an email that taco bell had changed our order to pick up without our authorization. As a result we had to wait 15 minutes in the drive thru to pull around to pick up at the counter. There was another customer at the counter when we got there so we had to wait outside for several minutes as the counter was right at the door, then the person we had been waiting behind left with what looked like our order. When we got to the counter they said they were still preparing our order and asked us to wait outside so they can help the next customer. It is FREEZING out and we were outside way too long, easily 10 to 15 minutes total. During the time we were able to wait inside they were trying to break down the bathroom door because they said an employee was passed out inside. There was lots of banging and yelling, and then it turned out the bathroom was empty. The restaurant was a mess, half the people weren't wearing their masks properly if at all, and less than half looked like they were doing actual work. We had been at the taco bell for about 45 mins to an hour at this point so got a refund, didn't get our food. As we were leaving one of the employees was outside shouting the name of the missing employee they thought was in the bathroom. There is always an issue at this taco bell. Always out of something or forgetting part of your order, unclean, slow wait, etc, but this just takes the cake. Every time we go we say to ourselves its going to be awhile before we go back, we usually give it a couple months because sometimes we just need a taco bell fix. We are getting real tired of giving taco bell chances. Seems to get worse and...

DO NOT ORDER ON MOBILE. In case you were not aware, they will not start preparing your order until you have checked in. This evening we made this mistake and then checked in at the front door (where you pick up mobile orders). We were told then that our wait would be 10 minutes. 40 minutes later we left with our food. If the wait wasnt bad enough, server was rude and mispronounced my girlfriend's name after being corrected twice. Surprisingly of my many times coming to this specific establishment, this was the only occasion they got the order correct. If you are craving Taco Bell, I can only imagine the drive to the next nearest Taco Bell would cost you less then the wait at this one. After coming here for the last 8 years, I can adamantly say that I will be driving to another Taco Bell for any fixes in the future. 0/10 would not reccomend.

UPDATE: unfortunately, I had spoken too soon. We were ordering for a vegetarian, who was eagerly waiting to try a chalupa. Who would of thought, but our chalupa, which we had ordered as a black bean, was actually full of chicken and bacon. Additionally, extras, that were paid for, were missing on other items. If you are looking at the taco bell reviews, please, I could not encourage you enough to find somewhere else. I could have went to giant, baught taco supplies and made my own tacos and still be finished with dishes before I got back home tonight. Please learn from my mistakes.

Update: decided to give this taco bell another chance. They do not open before noon, on a Saturday. What kind of establishment does this. I just hope I am strong willed enough to never try to come...