Steak 'n Shake — Restaurant in Normal

Wonderful! Really. My wife and I are "foodies." Steak & Shake is a connoisseur's choice for all-American fast food. The Steakburger is truly deserving of its name. Always has been since I was a kid. Steak & Shake fries define what a french fry should be. Lightly salted. Always crisp. Always fresh.

Normally I would not take the time to share this because, as far as I am concerned, if one does not already know this about Steak & Shake, I would have to wonder whether they live under a rock. McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King are nowhere near being in the same league. No comparison. Nada. What motivates me today was wonderful service my wife and I just got there as we dropped our youngest off to ISU this afternoon. Steak & Shake staff are always polite, pleasant and efficient. Every order is freshly made. Service is not fast. You are going to wait a little longer for your takeout order. That is the price of perfection. So, you always get to know the folks at the counter because you wait a little and they usually keep a watchful eye and give you a heads up when the order is coming together. Today we were served by a wonderful young lady whose name I did not get. Wished I had. She was just so pleasant and cheerful. My wife and I screwed up when giving the order. It was our fault. We kept changing what we wanted on our Steakburgers (they deserve capitalization) as we put our takeout order in at the cash register. And our server just rolled with it and got things done and chuckled at our indecision, warmly and with a patient desire to make sure we got it just right. I observed the manager schedule an interview for a young lady who popped in and asked for an application. That manager is doing something right. She had a good team in there this afternoon. Anyway we got in the car ready to drive out and eat while making our way back north on 55. But we sat in the parking lot instead because the food once we had pulled it out of the sack and arranged it was just too good not to focus on it and finish it without the stress of driving. The Steakburger, fully loaded, is after all a two-fisted entree.Thanks to the Raab Road Steak & Shake.

Found my receipt later: Our server was Holly W....

Usually 5/5 for convenience and it’s fair priced, but I had the worst experience last night (8pm ish).

Came in for dinner I got a shake and to go chili 5-way, and she got a chicken and fries. A different lady brought her chicken and no fries we waited a while to find someone to get her fries. I notice a few impatient people waiting on paying and getting their take out, glad I ordered mine when we started. Most of the servers were on their phone or drinking a soda can in the back. We got our waitress’ attention as she seated another table and she brought the check with her fries. My to-go was not on the check. Another 15-20 min goes by and we are long done, waiting on her to come back, and ask her to bring my to-go. A few people during this time come in from ordering in the car with part of their order missing or wrong and waiting a long time to get anyone’s attention.

She finally comes back as to clear the table and goes would you like me to put that to-go order in now? And I was horribly disappointed to realize here goes another 20-40 min wait for something that should have been done, since I ordered it about an hour ago.

We went to go pay and the table was cleared before we could go sit back down. I was briefly shorted changed, I was then handed the second bill for my to go. We had to go sit in the pick up area. We waited and saw another group of girls come in and also order to go. They ended up getting their food and leaving before us. The manager asked what I was waiting on and I briefly said the chili Mac figuring I was the only order for pick up like that and he would see on the order it was the 5-way. A few more min pass by and he brings my food, I go to make sure it’s all there due to seeing others not get it all, and I had only the regular Mac. I called him back which took a few min and he apologized profusely and got the rest quickly. He did a good job, a guy in a purple shirt tucked in, I liked him.

Food was ok, the shake quality was bad, the people were ok, the prices were tolerable I suppose. But that wait time and...

Being born and raised in Normal, IL Steak n Shake has always been a part of my life and one of the main reasons I liked it was because they have "real" cherry coke (syrup added). In 53 years I've always bought cherry coke at Steak n Shake, until today.

My mom and I decided to try dining in even though we aren't fans of kiosk ordering we thought we'd try. Well you can't select cherry coke when ordering off the kiosk, so after we finalized our order I went to the counter to ask about getting the cherry soda and was just told that wasn't an option when you order on the kiosk and if I wanted a cherry coke I'd have to go through the drive through!!!

Seriously?!?! I think it's like maybe 35 cents extra for the cherry syrup to be added and they couldn't just put the syrup in the drink cup I already paid for nor were they willing to ring up a cherry soda at the drive through lane and hand it to me inside the restaurant (I was even willing to pay for the soda in addition to one I already bought).

But, no, if I wanted to drink a Steak n Shake cherry coke inside the restaurant I would have to buy it at the drive through first and then go inside.

I know I'm turning into a crabby old lady, but I miss customer service more and more every day, larger businesses just don't care if they lose a few customers. Definitely reminds me how important it is to support local small businesses and restaurants where relationships can be formed and customer service...