Panda Express — Restaurant in Maricopa

I know that there are at least a couple of competent people employed here because about 1 in every 6-7 orders has been completely correct. But, every other time either we’re missing parts of our order or it’s wrong items altogether. And if you get it through delivery, you’re screwed because they NEVER ANSWER THEIR PHONE. Even when you call outside of busy dining hours.

Tonight we ended up working late and thought, “let’s just order in”, because we are exhausted and the last thing any of us wants to do is either stand in the kitchen cooking something after a 15 hr workday, or drag ourselves into the car to go to one of the few sit down restaurants around town. Maricopa being what it is, you’ve basically got Mexican food, burgers, pizza, chicken, or Panda for delivery, and the teens wanted Panda, so it was decided - we’ll try again. Order arrives and stickers are clearly marked on each container with what should be in it. EVERY container, except for one, is missing something or wrong. It’s like they started out good, got the containers to the end of the line, and the last person who is supposed to put the final item in the container before checking to make sure it’s correct, decided they just weren’t gonna do their job tonight.

We still got enough food to go around and didn’t have to make it ourselves - totally what we were going for when we ordered takeout. HOWEVER, the huge deal for me is PAYING for something, and not getting everything you pay for. And whatever happened to caring about doing your job right and paying attention? Not to mention that when you try to remedy the situation or at least report the lack of care/quality, you can’t even get someone on the phone. Could I haul myself down there and talk to them in person? Yes. But doesn’t that negate the whole reason we ordered takeout in the first place? It’s laughable that they have stickers that literally spell out what goes into the container and it’s too much to check the sticker to make sure the container contains what was ordered/paid for before it leaves the restaurant to be delivered.

First world problems, I know…. I wish I could say with an angry fist raised, “We’ll never darken their doorstep again after this!”, but I know that we’ll probably be back because my teens like Panda and we only have this one in town. It’s a vicious cycle of anticipation, disappointment, regret, and then frustration every time we order - like a toxic relationship. We’ll probably never breakup and I’ll just keep venting to strangers on Google Reviews...

Please save your time and money I decided to order 2 bowls which was $18 bucks. I thought that was a little pricey but hey it's always good to treat yourself. I received my food and pulled off. While I pulled off there was an odor spilling out of the bag, you would have thought something died, man. I tried so hard to just ignore the smell I thought to myself maybe that's just how panda express smells. I open up my bowl, man, when I tell you I almost crashed aka had a car accident. I don't know if that food was spoiled but the orange chicken was burnt how do you burn orange chicken. At this point I felt like I just got finessed.

I called and told them what my problem was. They told me just bring my receipt. I get there and go to the window. I told the little girl hey I'm here for a remake. She just stares at me for 2 minutes. Then says can I have your receipt. I gave her my receipt and proceeded to hand her the bowls. She told me you can keep those. I said OKAY. Then her manger comes up behind her and they started talking to each other. The little girl now asks for the bowls. I said yes and then she backs up and closes the window. Her and the manger call another employee over and all 3 huddles in a pack. Laughing like a wild pack of hyenas as they inspected the bowls, as if I was overexaggerating about the food being burnt. This went on for a good 6 minutes, I felt so uncomfortable I was looking at them preparing a new meal. I see the manager bend down, while the other employees were looking around like they were on a stake out. Once she bagged the food up, I told her it's fine, can I just have my money back? She starts yelling, this is fresh. I told her I'm okay. She wanted me to take the food like they did something pretty weird.

Moral of the story don't spend your money here. The employees are a joke and ruthless like a bunch of thugs. You're better off going to McDonald's and...

Oh geez! How do I summarize the disappointment?!?!

To be fair, I waited until tonight to report the Panda Express shenanigans, but after having been shorted food, served burnt chicken, given fried rice when I asked for steamed rice, and being harassed when I said no to making a donation to Children's hospital (I know and I get it. We are talking about pennies here but still...why ask multiple times? As if my answer was going to change). I think I have been very tolerant with this company.

The location in Maricopa, AZ has just fallen short of expectations so many times. I have experienced it all. From receiving no utensils and napkins to not getting teriyaki sauce when I ask for it, from burnt chicken to undercooked noodles, from being shorted food to receiving food I never asked for and was never charged for, I mean...what is happening at this location?

Well Panda, you are not the only Asian food joint in the area and I have had enough of you. You just lost a customer. I will never eat Panda Express ever again. I hope this serves as a wake up call for upper management here. The fact that this location is allowed to run rampant is a direct reflection on its management team. At the end of the day, food gets burnt, stuff gets missed, and team members just have bad days but the lack of quality in food service is just plain bad management and the expectations for a better quality service have clearly never been established and followed up with.

I hope you take a page from the In and Out Burger playbook. Time for this management team to...