Farmer Boys — Restaurant in Lodi

4 visits, problems everytime!

Let's talk onion rings. The batter here is absolutely flavorless and hard, hard as extra thick stale corn chips. I only ate one and a half. I mentioned it to the manager and was not offered compensation. Btw, they were not overcooked, just plain awful and expensive.

2nd visit: my hamburger was not cooked..literally raw as raw can be. I was given a replacement and a $3 off coupon, definitely worth the risk(sarcastic).

3rd visit: Thought I would try the Chilli fries. Their chilli had extreamly low flavor and the potatoes were barley warm. Don't waste the cash on any of these overpriced sides. Oh! I went with my family, two adults and two kids, and the bill came close to $50.00, this place is the most expensive Dru Tru type burger joint that I have ever been to or heard of.

4th and last visit. I only went back because the app sent me a free entree offer for my birthday with no strings attached. Their burgers do have good flavor, when they are cook properly, so I went. Dinner went off without a hitch, but...when we got into our car, the smell was detected...that aweful greasy diner smell that gets trapped in your hair and clothing. My wife's expensive wool coat must be sent to the dry cleaners. We both had to shower as soon as we got home, and the clothes put in the wash immedatly.

I used the app after the first visit to contact the company. I got an auto generated reply seconds later that said they would get back to me. Never happened. Couple weeks later I sent an email, highly describing the onion ring problem, two weeks later I get a reply asking for a detailed description. Seemed very suspiciously like another auto generated response with a built-in two week delay, likey with the hope that I had forgotten and "let it go".

Not letting it go. Not returning. The Beef patties taste good...but I suggest you...

I've wanted to try this place for some time now but have been talked away for various reasons by locals: mostly for price and quality.

So I finally went to go see for myself. This is what I found:

Going through the drive through I placed my order. There are no prices listed for the cost of a meal from what I saw just for the individual items. I placed my order and was asked if I wanted to make them combos. I said sure and the employee told me they would have my total at the window. Now that's not exactly what any of us want to hear but it's not the first time I've heard it nor will it be the last from any drive through.

I sat in the drive through for a good 15 minutes before I got to the window. When I finally got there they asked me if "this was my order" and read me the receipt for a different order. I told them no and told them what my order was. They spent the next 10 minutes going through receipts on the counter and eventually discovered that they took my order wrong. After finally figuring that out I was charged 30 dollars for 2 meals.

30 dollars for 2 meals is a lot of money.

The burger it's self actually was not horrible. It was described to me as some kind of combination of a whopper and a super star. I disagree I think the quality was pretty alright. The ingredients were fresh (the tomatoes sucked) and the patties, while dry, had a good flavor. The patties are very thin mind you.

I did some research on the company and they seem to use local suppliers and ranchers for their products and I appreciate that. I also understand that that incurs a higher cost as well as more time to prepare.

However no burger is worth 10 dollars (or these day more as seems to be common). Next time I will make my own hamburger or go down the street to in n out, the line...

Before the fire, the time in the drive-thru was abysimal as was the customer service.

I had hoped that with the rebuild, the team would be better trained. Nope. Sadly, I received the incorrect order, after repeating the exact order, including the most important thing that needed to be left off the order, three (3) times.

When I went back to get my money back (I didn't have time to wait for them to remake it), I found out that it wasn't fully the order taker's problem. Yes, she didn't ASK her co-workers, when she didn't know how to ring it up, but it also is the trainer's issue because she wasn't trained properly on where things were on the order board.

Now, before folks go all woke on me, I started my working career working in fast food and waitressing positions. I know exactly how crazy it can get. I understand some things take time and that occasionally things can get missed between ordering and making the food. I also understand that it has to be more than a paycheck. Take a moment to care about the job, even if it is something that is considered a beginning job. It will serve will in the future when the employees move to a position that give more responsibility.

I try to give grace to each restaurant, especially fast food, when I go because I've been in those positions, however I will no longer return to Farmer Boys. It was just one time too many. It's sad, because when it was correct, they actually had...