McAlister's Deli — Restaurant in Lower Paxton Township

I’m writing this so maybe you can take it into consideration, I’ve never reviewed anything on google before but in this case there was an option inside the store persuading you to leave a review. I was appalled at this customer service, I’ve been here about 4 times. The first visit was great however I was never asked how everything was going with my meal. This was around 6:35 pm. Bunch of young girls up front laughing and talking, blatantly ignoring customers, only time they did anything was when someone would order or an older man would tell them to do something. There was several dirty tables. There was about 8 tables for me to chose from and when I picked my table it still had crumbs, food, and water circles from the bottom of the cup. I had to switch to a different table than the one I said initially. After my food was brought to me I was ignored. I even heard the one young lady say something along the lines of “Why do people always have to switch their table, are they that stupid that they can’t see it’s dirty”. I was appalled by this, if you’re going to talk poorly on people at least try to be quiet. There was a ton of swearing coming from the back which doesn’t bother me but I still find that very unprofessional. My seconds visit went better, I was attended to and everything was great. While i was ordering however there was an older blonde woman barking orders at a young girl. When the young lady tried to asking a question it would get disregarded and the older lady would bark another order. Clearly it upset the young lady, she went straight to the back and pushed the kitchen doors roughly. I do not expect this criticism to be taken to the young lady, I’d hope the older woman can see her faults. My third visit was great no questions asked, the same young lady from my previous visit took my order and was very polite and attentive. My forth visit however was not so great. I came in and ordered then was told in a rude manner that I had to pick another item, totally fine I don’t mind choosing another item, it was the way she rolled her eyes and said “This is the fifth time” and spoke to me slowly like I wasn’t competent enough to listen to her speak at a regular pace. She then proceeded to laugh and look at the other young girls for validation. There is clearly a difference between the day and Night Shift. Always great during the day aside from the mistreatment of staff by the older woman. Terrible service at night. I pray for this place to get passed this cause me and my wife love the food here. We would hate to stop coming here because of faulty staff. I don’t go out much as I work from home so I have no need to....

I had lunch here with a friend a week ago. We arrived at 11:45 to avoid the noon rush. The food is excellent. The service was very slow considering the lunch rush hadn't started yet. It was frustrating. I really enjoyed their chicken salad sandwich. I decided to order online today since I had a meeting and didn't want to take a chance I'd get caught in line. I ordered around 11:20 for pick up at 12:15 pm. I went inside to pick up my order. The shift leader went to get it, couldn't find it, came back out asked me my name again and went to the back again. She came back after a couple of minutes to tell me that it wasn't ready yet because they got hit with their lunch rush. This is why I ordered 45-50 minutes in advance. I asked her how long it would be and she said it would be at least 10 minutes. I asked for a refund because I was both frustrated that it wasn't ready and wasn't confident that given how busy they were that it would even ready within the 10 minutes and I had a meeting I needed to be at on time. She was very gracious about it and did refund my money. She wasn't able to complete the full refund though because it wouldn't allow her to refund the service fee I was charged at online checkout. I asked her for the full refund. She went and did have the general manager who was in the back do it. I appreciate that rather than arguing with you they do issue the refund. My review is that while the food is good it's not worth having to wait through the slow service unless you have the patience and the time built into your day. I would have found it more understandable if I had ordered 15 minutes before arriving or if my friend and I had arrived during the lunch rush instead...

Sorry to say, I'm taking my previous 5 star review down to a 2 star review.... Has this location changed owners already? I loved McAllisters when it first opened. The food was great and I liked being able to order my own food and have it brought to my table. The biggest selling point was that since I was not interacting with a waitstaff, tipping was not expected when paying with my order. However, now the app has changed and tipping is now expected BEFORE I even see a person or get my food. I left a generous tip and received the worst meal we've had since this location opened. I do understand that tipping is not required, but when it is on the receipt for the staff to see before I even get my food, it feels like an obligation. Also, while we were trying to eat, one of the owners/managers was sitting at a rear table and was berating every single employee that was called out to his table. He then went to the front where the kitchen/cashiers are and was berating the team in front of the entire restaurant. This was extremely unprofessional and unpleasant to witness. We used to eat at this location once a week when we ran our errands, however it will be a long time until I visit again. I have encouraged so many of my friends and family to stop in at this great new restaurant, I will not be telling anyone else to go.

** I am NOT opposed to tipping. However, it was presented as a progressive move forward that this restaurant paid their staff a fair wage not stipulant on tips. I highly object to tip requests being presented before I even see my food or talk...