Tropical Smoothie Cafe — Restaurant in Montgomery

I am writing because what happened at your Tropical Smoothie Café location on August 17, 2025 at 9:53 AM was not just a mistake — it was a reflection of a much bigger problem with your business management. And as the owner, the shame of this falls directly on your shoulders.

Let me explain. I walked into your store, spent $38.48, and ordered a Hummus Veggie Wrap ($9.69) with clear instructions: no rice, no beans, no dairy. I am Vegan. Yet somehow, your employee still added cheese. I discovered this when I bit into it and had to spit it out. Immediately, I called the store to explain the issue — calmly — and told them I could not turn around because I was already 25–30 minutes away, passing through on a road trip.

Instead of professionalism, I got disrespect. The male employee who answered the phone told me he needed the sandwich back before he could do anything — even though he knew I wasn’t able to return. He then asked in the background, “Did you make this?” put me on mute, and hung up the phone. No apology. No solution. No integrity.

Here’s the bigger shame: there was no manager on duty. At that time, there were four females in the front and two in the back (a male and female). The female made my order, the male handled the call. Together, they failed. Why? Because there was no leadership in the store to guide them. When employees don’t know the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), that is not their failure alone — that is a failure of ownership.

Mistakes happen in food service. What matters is how they are corrected. In this case, the mistake was not corrected at all. It was brushed off, ignored, and handled with complete disrespect. And that reflects on you, because the way your employees treat customers is a direct reflection of the culture you have (or haven’t) built in your store.

Think about it: a paying customer with dietary needs was disrespected, mishandled, and hung up on. The integrity of your brand was thrown out the window because the people you put in charge of your store were not trained, not managed, and not supervised. That is embarrassing.

And if this continues, here’s the reality of what will happen to your business: • Customers will stop trusting this location and choose your competitors. • Word-of-mouth and online reviews will damage your reputation. • Repeat business, which is the lifeblood of your store, will disappear. • Corporate may eventually step in, because this is the type of service that puts the entire brand name at risk.

I should not have to spend money on food I can’t eat. I should not be disrespected on the phone when I call to fix a mistake. And I should not be able to say that an entire team of employees had no idea how to handle one simple order correction.

As the owner, this is your wake-up call. Either put integrity, accountability, and proper management back into your business, or accept the fact that this store will continue to embarrass you and drag down your name.

Right now, this location is running without pride, without leadership, and without care for its customers.

Realistically, if nothing changes — this store will be in serious decline within 6 months, and facing possible closure in 1–2 years.

The sad part? They could stop this spiral immediately by putting integrity and leadership back in place — but the way you described it, they’re...

Tropical Smoothie on Zelda Road - Do Better!! First of all, I'd notice that the staff has changed on a period of several months while visiting this location and the one in Halcyon. I have only been a fan of the smoothies for years now but today is a sad review for me and my quest. On last night around 7pm; we were driving down Ann Street & Zelda Road attempting to select a quick place to eat. After passing everything under the sun, we decided on Tropical Smoothie. We ordered 2 smoothies and the Caribbean Jerk Chicken (rice, black beans, lettuce, cheese, and pineapple salsa) & the Supergreen Ceasar Chicken Wrap. Needless to say after 2 bites, I was disappointed for lack of a better and nice word. My guest ate a portion and we both decided that after spending $30.67 on both meals was beyond pitiful. Spending money and not being satisfied is unacceptable in todays economic climate. We ended up eating the bananas and order hot fries from McDonald's! What a way to spend a Saturday evening. I would have given them Zero 🌟; but the Mango Magic & Blueberry Bliss were as usual good. TROPICAL SMOOTHIE on ZELDA ROAD in Montgomery, Alabama- DO BETTER! If it's management, do quality control. ** Almost forgot, wasted Smoothie down my blouse due to the top portion of the cup was cracked / missing and spilled out over me. And staff attempted to put the same busted cup inside another cup....

Worst customer service ever!! I’ve been to this location twice in the past few weeks as I’ve passed through Montgomery. First time I came in neither employee spoke, kept their backs turned working on orders as I stood there. No one else was in the store at this time. After 8 minutes, I was finally addressed with “did you place your order online” not a hey how are you or any sort of welcome to TS greeting. Online doesn’t allow you to add a side sauce. But she made sure to collect pennies on a dollar on my debit card for it anyway. Second experience, 4 workers this time, no acknowledgement once again and when approached its “you ready to order”. Now mind you it’s Mother’s Day and I have two little people who want a smoothie. They love Sunrise Sunset and every location we go to splits it into two little cups. But not this location, she tells me she can’t do that and wants to force me to pick one from the kids menu of which neither of them like seeing that we’ve tried them all. She offers to give me two water cups, I ask for lids but of course that’s not an option either. So what would a 3 & 6 year old do with a smoothie with no lid, make a mess! This location definitely has some of the rudest employees and this really bothers me as I frequently reference Tropical Smoothie in the same sentence...