Jollibee — Restaurant in Newark

First time here in the US (last time was 30+ yrs ago in Philippines).. when I first walked in, long line waiting.. I stood at the end.. 5 mins go by and we were told that left line (facing counter) is mobile/online orders, walkin come to the front.. so we split accordingly (80% moved to mobile line).. the line moved slowly with people picking up orders when they announced names (I was a number according to order info on app) .. one person cut line and asked about a number, and worker checked something and told him a time . So I asked about my order and then was given a bag.. I went out to car and checked bag.. I was missing my aloha chicken sandwich and an order of fries.. I go back in and request items which I was given promptly.. in total, I was in store about 20 mins..

I got home and everything was pretty good.. besides what I mentioned, I got a 6pc half and half, mango-peach pies, adobo rice, and pineapple quencher.. I would definitely get everything again.. I'd have to say the chicken was tasty, but not as flavorful as expected it to be.. fries were good because they were crispy and longer than other chains fries.. chicken sandwich was a little sloppy, but somewhat expected since it made a 15 min trip home and had a slice of pineapple in it..

.. so the short is the food is good. The setup of pickup needs to be improved.. I noticed that the couple of walk-ins had ordered after I got there, and received their food before me.. perhaps they should shift the staff putting orders together based on current demand (maybe 1 walk to 1 online until one of the lines clears then fulfill the rest until another line forms).. and more constant announcement of orders completed.. and more aggressive management of lines (I might've gotten my food 10 mins earlier if they...

What COULD have been a great experience and addition to Newark to turned out to be a huge disappointment. The food is similar to other Jollibees in the NJ area (American Dream, Jersey City). However, the biggest issue with this location is the disorganization.

I went during a late Monday evening, when it should have been more quiet and quicker to get food. I ordered on the app around 7:20 PM with a friend. We arrived 15-20 minutes later and neither of our ordered were prepared.

Instead, around 8-10 other people were crowding the counter because they had waited over 20 mins to 1 HOUR for their orders. Foods were piling up and receipts were disorganized across the kitchen. No one was properly dispatching the orders and coordinating which orders were being worked on, what items were needed for the order, and who was grabbing which order for the customer. It was greatly disorganized and the staff could do better with better team communication, training, and management.

I had been looking forward to this opening since December, when it had first originally appeared on Google Maps to open near the middle or end of December. I'm extremely disappointed by this location's disorganization upon their first few weeks of opening. Hopefully, this location will settle and the team may learn more in the next few months. I hope to revisit this location to give it another shot and see if their management and organization skills have improved since opening. There's always room to grow and I hope this location manages...

Extremely Disappointed – This Location Needs Serious Attention

I’ve given this place five chances since it opened, and I can confidently say the service is consistently terrible. Every time, I’ve waited 30–45 minutes for food, with no communication or sense of urgency from the staff. It’s like they just don’t care.

To make things worse, the drive-thru is often closed with no signage or heads-up. When it is open, the service inside is still chaotic and slow.

The restaurant is unsanitary, and the environment is uncomfortable. There are always people loitering—some homeless, some clearly under the influence—and there’s no management presence to address it. It feels unsafe and unprofessional.

What’s frustrating is that I’ve been to the American Dream Mall location in NJ, and the experience there is night and day—fast, clean, and friendly.

The only highlights at this location are two employees: • Jay, a Spanish girl who showed urgency and professionalism inside the store. • Vanessa, who took my order twice at the drive-thru and gave excellent service both times.

They are the only reasons I even gave this location more than one chance—but two good employees can’t fix an entire operation that’s failing.

This location needs serious management intervention. It’s hurting the brand and driving...