Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen — Restaurant in Morrisville

It takes a lot for me to leave a bad review for a restaurant, but this Popeye's in the RDU airport has my jaw on the floor for what an absolute hot mess it was when I ate there yesterday. This was probably the 5th or 6th time I've eaten at this one, and the place is always a tad chaotic, but it's usually not too bad.

The last time I ate here was 2 years ago so I imagine the staff has mostly turned over since then, and the staff was the entire problem yesterday. We got there at a busy time and placed our orders via the touchscreen terminals, per usual. We then waited for our number to be called. Problem #1 is that there is no microphone or any kind of system to ensure people can hear or know when their order is being called. Problem #2 is that the employee announcing the orders was speaking at volume 2 while the volume in the restaurant and airport was at volume 50.

Problem #3 is the reason I am flabbergasted enough to leave this review: The employee calling out / handing out the orders was the most maniacal and nonsensical chaos agent I've witnessed in quite a while. He followed no rulebook and had zero rhyme or reason to the methods he was using to announce the orders. For one order, he'd call out the number. For the next order, he'd call out the name. For the next order - and this is the insane one - he would simply call out the contents of the meal. Like, "#2 with mashed potatoes!?" This restaurant has like literally 5 different meals on its entire menu!! This is like going to the counter and yelling, "Who ordered the fried chicken?" Literally ALL of us, dude! Who do you mean?? Why do the orders have order numbers on them if you are not going to USE THEM!? Are we supposed to just see which person can run to the counter fast enough to grab the chicken tendies you just called out that ALL of us just ordered??

We were there waiting a looonnnng time and this unhinged method of calling out the orders continued the entire time. And this brings me to problem #4: This dude's method for calling out the orders was so incoherent that about a third of the orders he called out were not getting any response. Everyone would just stand there in confusion. So picture this: He'd say, "#3 with fries?" and then get no response, and then he would make no effort whatsoever to call it out in a different way, using the order number or name or anything. Instead, he would just take the order back into the kitchen somewhere and leave it there. Then he would walk back up to the counter again with the next order and continue rolling the dice on which method he'd use to call it out.

Not surprisingly, there were a lot of us standing there who were starting to wonder where our orders were. When I finally gave up and asked why they were way past our number without it being called yet, he went to check in the back, and then came back and berated us with, "O.k. ladies I need you all to pay attention because I called that order a long time ago!" NO YOU DID NOT!! We were standing there the entire time and you did not call this order. And even if you had, why would you just throw it in the back and never try calling it again?? In my 48 years on this earth I don't think I've ever witnessed a fast food restaurant this chaotic or an order announcement system anywhere near this deranged. It was truly mind-blowing.

On the bright side, there was one employee who kept walking out to check on the folks eating at the tables and checking if people needed anything. He was very sweet. The guy calling out the orders though, I'm not sure what kind of job he'd be good at, but it...

Whoever was working at the Popeye’s today 09/01/24 at 3:30 should be fired and sent home. Some of the laziest employees I’ve encountered in a while. There are two registers at the counter but not one employee manning them, even though I can see at least 8 employees walking back and forth. I had to order from the kiosks, but the kiosk could not get my order right - 3 piece chicken (breast, thigh, drumstick). The kiosk allows you to choose the 3 piece mixed, but not which/how to mix them up. So I needed to go to the counter to flag someone down to tell them. While I’m standing at the counter I counted 4 people doing nothing, make direct eye contact and just turned around went back into the kitchen. The lack of service was ASTOUNDING. I you are the owner of this establishment please watch some tape or do a secret shopper to see how awful your employees are. How did these people even get hired? Have they not been trained to greet customers with a very basic, simple and crucial “hello, how can I help you?”

These guys don’t care about the customers and are not there to work or help. I saw them throw a few boxes (no trays at this restaurant, but it’s now a big deal) on the counter hard enough to almost slide off the counter. The manager came out at some point and she may be the reason all the other employees suck at their job and their attitude towards customer service. As I stood waiting for my order I never heard her once ask “how can I help you?”, never smiled and did the absolute minimum. She never once smiled or said “thank you.”

If this is the best they can do at this Popeye’s then they should close up shop.

I should continue, because there’s more, but I feel this is enough to get my...

Visited the location within Terminal 2 of the Raleigh-Durham Airport on Sunday, 8/1/21. Terrible. Waited in a long line, and when my husband and I finally approached the free-standing board to scan the barcode and place our order through our phone, a younger man came out & told us that we now had to get back in the regular line while proceeding to flip the sign around. While ordering, zero eye-contact. Did not ask us what sauces we wanted. Then, while waiting to pick up our order, a woman was tossing boxes on the counter & calling out random numbers. There were a lot of people picking up, so when we approached her & asked her what was the order number on a specific box, her response was “I have no idea.” And then she just walked away. This is both unacceptable, and rude. We hoped for the best, grabbed a random order and walked to our gate. The order was all wrong. Also, no spoons, or sauces were included. Popeyes, I think it’s time to start retraining your employees. I pass through this airport a lot & will NOT be going to...