Iron Skillet — Restaurant in Laramie

For me to leave a review, the service & experience at a place must either be horrible or exceptional. I cannot comment about the food, but the service at this restaurant is some of the worst I have experienced. We came in around 8am in the morning & most of the dining room was full. Not an issue. To comply with social distancing rules and to keep ourselves safe, we opted to sit in the front the restaurant where no one was sitting but an older man by himself. The waitress very rudely told us that because of social distancing we could not sit in her section. I don’t mind being told to comply with social distancing or being asked to move, but I do mind being spoken to in that manner as a customer & as someone who goes out of their way to be nice to those who work in the service industry. We moved to the dining room without complaint, because we understood that there were rules. However, in the dining room, social distancing was not possible as most of the tables were full. We were confused by this but sat down anyways. We waited for about 15 minutes to be served but no waitress came by our table. As we were on a schedule, we opted to leave & eat elsewhere. On the way out, the waitress that had spoken to us before ask why we were leaving & my grandfather said plainly that we were too close to others & also couldn’t wait too long to be served. She was very quick to catch an attitude. If we had been disrespectful or disruptive guests, I could try to understand her mood. But her negative energy was unprompted by our family & as I have read in other reviews apparently we are not the first to have an encounter with her of that nature. Perhaps if the service was better, we could have stayed & enjoyed what they had to offer. I hope that she isn’t fired but instead reprimanded properly so that she can continue to earn a living, but her manners were absent. She very obviously did not care about social distancing if she sat everyone so close together in the dining room & she was not wearing protective gear like a mask or gloves. We could not figure out the real reason why we needed to be sat in a different section. While we waited to be served, we observed her keeping a long conversation with the only customer in her section. This did not bother us but the fact that it got in the way of us being greeted...

We recently visited this establishment and, unfortunately, had a disappointing experience. I usually try to be understanding, especially if someone is new, but a few key issues made the visit uncomfortable....

From the beginning, it took quite a while to get drinks and even longer for someone to take our order. Once we finally ordered, we had to ask for basic things like silverware, and EVERY SINGLE ITEM either came out cold or were missing. My meal didn’t include the toast it was supposed to come with, and the toast we did get was cold. (How do you get cold toast??) The mozzarella sticks were undercooked, and the marinara sauce was fridge-cold. (Since when don't we warm up the marinara??) Same for the queso, which was also so cold it was stiff and not enjoyable at all.

It also took way too long to get simple condiments like ranch and ketchup, and no one checked on us throughout the entire meal!!! Not until she came to drop the check!! At that point we were so frustrated we didn't ask for anything else. We just wanted to pay and leave.

The waitress said she was new, which we tried to be patient about, but she stood over us while we were filling out the tip and mentioned it again. She also complained out loud to another server about only getting a $2 tip from a previous table, which is outrageous!!! Regardless of experience level, professionalism and basic courtesy should still be expected. Just be nice for crying out loud??

On top of all that, we weren’t allowed to sit at a regular table and were told we had to sit at either a booth or the bar, even though there were open tables.

This is the first and only time I have EVER left without tipping. I've had new waitresses and waiters, I've had places so short staffed I've been half tempted to get up and help, and I STILL have never left without leaving a decent tip.

I hope the management takes this as helpful feedback. Every restaurant has off days, and every server starts somewhere. But attention to the small details and BASIC CUSTOMER SERVICE make a huge...

If you are a trucker coming through here, get food somewhere else! They do not treat truckers right and given it is a truck stop, they should be treating the population they serve better. So we have come through here many times for years. My husband goes in to order a meal as we haven’t eaten all day and she says they don’t do to go orders and refused to serve us. Since when? After a little bit of digging, come to find out it is the waitresses choice apparently if they do to go orders or not. But why? Do you think you will get better tips if people eat inside? Why does the waitress get to choose how you serve us truckers and then change it the next minute? Also, why if the waiters get upset, are they allowed to kick out all the customers and shut down the restaurant entirely.This doesn’t make sense and you are losing out on so much business. I am upset with the inconsistencies lately (not honoring more than one credit when we travel together, when we are allowed 2 each day). Truckers work hard as hell and don't always have time to sit down and eat in the restaurant. We rely on these services to live healthy on the road. Why do we continue to trust these truck stops that don’t respect us, are inconsistent, and treat us poorly. I will be going a little further down the road from now on and if you are a trucker, I recommend you do the same. Why support a business that stopped respecting us and doesn’t treat the population they serve right? Plus there is some really good butter chicken here in Laramie and I’ve never had a bad experience in their restaurant. Also, if corporate is reading this, a lot happens there that you do not know about and the waiting staff you have there is the cause. Ask your other employees because they are dealing with the waitresses...