Denny's — Restaurant in Norfolk

As a professional reviewer, I have to say that I was very disappointed in this place. This location really needs improved management. That is the culprit of the issues I experienced. When leadership takes their eye off of providing a good customer experience, that lack of energy trickles down and that is the case here. Let me start off by saying in no way did I allow the unprofessionalism and poor service upset me, nor did I complain. I put on a smile, stayed polite and endured the disappointment.

| IT BEGINS WITH THE WALK-IN | When we first walked in, we stood up front and waited to be seated. There was only 2 people ahead of us, however we stood there for 10 minutes and waited. It was very confusing, we were not sure if someone was going to help us or if we were supposed to seat ourselves. After 10 minutes, the lady who appeared to be the on duty manager asked us if we had been helped. We told her "no" and she seated us.

| THE EXPERIENCE CONTINUES | From the time we (my wife and I) ordered (around 10:30AM 5/19/18), it took us about 45min to receive our order. Not a big deal. I don't mind waiting. However, what went un-noticed is we saw a couple different cases of people walking out as a result. I wanted to walk out, but I was more eager to see if the experience would turn around. I was looking for management or our server to keep us informed on the delay / long wait. It never happened. We were brought our drinks and no one stopped by or spoke to us for the next 35-40 minutes. Doing so would have said a lot for itself. Unfortunately, it did not happen.

| THE CULPRIT | We also noticed that many of the employees were non productive. This was a big contributing factor to the delays. They would periodically huddle in the corner (near the drink station) to chit chat and laugh with each other and the manager. Having a culture that can laugh and talking while working is a good thing. However, this seemed a little unprofessional due to the fact that we were surrounded by "un-informed" and frustrated customers. The servers and cashiers barely communicated with the servers and were more focused on laughing and joking with each other.

| THE VERDICT | We stuck around only because we wanted to give this place a chance. This place seems to get the business, however that likely won't last if the management isn't improved.

Steve Jobs once said that - " Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people". That said, it's going to take more than just one or two employees who choose to remain customer centric when the majority have fallen by the wayside. It's going to take an entire team and good leadership to rescue that which has fallen off the ship. Starting...

Would give zero. Went in. Staff arguing with people waiting to be seated. Finally sat down place order. Waitress came back to table after young man took order and blasted him for taking it wrong instead of taking him to the back just embarrassed him in front of everyone. He kept apologizing for everything after. Forgot my order and another person from group. Heard staff fussing. No drinks order just water we had been driving 9 hours from Ohio. Hungry and thirsty thought having a Denny's across from our hotel would be nice. Wrong. Should have known if parking lots were empty and condom pack in front of the building with other trash outside. Inside unmanaged dirty. Counters cluttered. Staff couldn't get juice machine to work didn't look clean. Staff didn't look clean. Cook came out of kitchen and walked out . another argument. Staff person yelling at each other. Talking loud ignoring customer. Awful service. No one wore hair nets or cover for hair that was unmanaged. No gloves when preparing for. Cook clothes were dirty and not neat. No hair net or gloves on. When doors open you could see dirty floors and counters. Did not go to restroom. Who knows . Usually if I go to the restroom and it's dirty I don't eat there . Didn't need to do this I this case. Building. Staff . Food supposed to be Nacho's out of ingredients and gave what looks like mush not ground beef and cheese. Nachos got soggy . Salsa or so said it was watery. Only thing ok was onion rings . they forgot whole meal. So have onion rings. Still waiting on orders one hour later. I left family members 7 total still waiting. One family member diabetes. Baby had no order. Wanted ice cream but too upset and didn't trust food after cook walked out. Was afraid ice cream machine not clean. Staying at hotel in same parking lot for 4 days and never saw cars coming or going to restaurant. Need to be closed and update while training new staff clean clothes and manners. Would not return again. Hotel would not even suggest restaurant to eat at. Said nothing when told about experience not even a look of shock. I have never seen a Denny's so discusting and Ill ran.. staff was so concerned about whether or not we would leave a good tip because we had ordered water initially. We would have left a great tip for great service but my only tip that I am leaving is close or remodel or get act together. Business should never be ran this way. Need new management. This review is to warm others not to waste time and money here or to let management know improvements are...

The one positive thing I can say about this location is that it's clean/looks nice. After that, the visit went downhill. I'll preface this by stating that as someone who used to work in the restaurant industry I try to be patient and understanding. But there are certain things that are unacceptable.

When we entered the restaurant (around 6pm on a Sunday evening) there were four tables of 2-4 people each. There were two servers working, at least two in the kitchen, and the manager. Our party of four was seated relatively quick, but it took our server a couple minutes to get our drink order. No big deal, people were in the process of cashing out.

From there it took our server about five minutes to get our drinks. Only three of the four drinks were brought, and one of those was incorrect. After a few more minutes it was corrected and we put our food order in. It took about half an hour for food to come out, and only three of the four orders were ready.

We go ahead and start eating as we wait for the fourth item, thinking it would be just a minute or two. The first visible sign that something was wrong was that the "sizzling skillet" was not "sizzling," as the companion noted. The food was lukewarm at best. When he informed the server she said it was "sizzling when she walked it." The time it takes to go from the pass to the table is not that long. Eventually she had the meal taken off, and our companion decided against ordering something else.

The worst was the eggs in a basket. The hashbrowns being lukewarm I can forgive. But the eggs being raw (as in the uncooked white of the yolk was oozing out) immediately ruined my appetite. When I informed the server she offered a replacement, which I refused as we were still waiting on the fourth item. The resolution to this? A partial discount on the item (25%). No manager checking in. Nothing. It looked as if he was avoiding tables, sitting at a table away from the diners.

When the fourth meal finally arrived it was also lukewarm. At this point we had given up, waiting for our companion to finish and leave.

I try to give places a second chance, especially since I've had good experiences with this location at it's previous location across the street. But this was ineptitude...