Hook Burger — Restaurant in Oxnard

NOTE: I seriously have NO ISSUE with the fact that some people don't speak, read or understand English. I actually feel kinda dumb for not knowing Spanish by now, honestly. But if I'm paying for a "convenient" service, then that's what I should receive. How can someone be expected to deliver goods, reliably, if they can't read the delivery instructions on the receipt or understand what I'm trying to tell them when they call me?

Hook Burger Order & Delivery, 1/19:

We had company over last Friday evening and placed a very typical order for dinner. DoorDash, Hook Burger's chosen delivery service, updated the delivery time twice, adding 45 min to the turnaround time. Then, just when we thought that was settled, I received notice that our order was canceled... by DoorDash! On top of that, I just had to call Hook Burger to reverse the $60 charge!! Even though DoorDash canceled on us, Hook Burger never received notice so they thought everything turned out ok. If I hadn't remembered to circle back on that, we would've been charged $60 for the inconvenience, too!

I don't have a problem with Hook Burger, generally. I like the food, their location is nice and the people are friendly. That processing error/gap needs to be dealt with, obviously; DoorDash should've communicated the cancelation to Hook Burger's system. But this is the 3rd problem related to a delivery from Hook Burger in the last few months, and it's the 6th or 7th problem with DoorDash deliveries, overall. To put it bluntly, DoorDash sucks!

This cancelation scenario aside, we've had 2 other times when the delivery was botched because the delivery person didn't speak or read English! I don't have a rule that "my delivery person must speak and/or read English," generally, but if I'm paying a service fee for convenience, then the service should be convenient! In one case, the driver called me and became flustered when he realized that I don't speak Spanish, and he left the order outside of the front gate to the building. He didn't stick around to make sure that the order was received properly, and I couldn't ask him to do that because he didn't understand English. He just gave up and left the order in front of the gate to my building, in public, for anyone to take. The other time, we managed to get the person to wait and give us time to go downstairs to meet her. Not very convenient.

And I've had weird issues with other DoorDash deliveries, too. Not going to discuss them because this is about last Friday's order with Hook Burger.

But I'll end with this: In business, you are accountable for services that you outsource to other vendors, period. This review is very intentional and so is this recommendation: dump DoorDash because they are not convenient, and they obviously don't know how to manage their workforce or workflow. They're so bad at it, that their system failed to inform you of a cancelation that was triggered by their side. Additionally, the people that they hire are not always qualified to interact with your customers. And in this case, it almost cost you two of them.

I don't believe that we're the only ones experiencing these...

Hickory Burger ($6.50 for single, add $1.50 for a double) starts with a 100% fresh USDA lean beef patty and freshly toasted bakery bun topped with thick cut bacon, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, homemade crispy onions, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. The patty is seasoned well and has a bold beefy, meaty taste. It has the perfect amount of BBQ sauce which complement the overall flavor without being overwhelming. Overall, the burger has a good balance of flavors. The onions could have been a little crispier and the bun is not quite sturdy enough for a double patty. The sauce plus the juice from the patties make the bun soggy. You’ll need to decide whether you’ll just reside yourself to messy hands or commit to a knife and fork. Either way, it’s worth it! Rating: 4.5/5

Pretzel Burger ($6.50 for single, add $1.50 for a double) starts with a 100% fresh USDA lean beef patty and warm pretzel bun topped with smoky BBQ sauce, caramelized bourbon onions, chipotle mayo, and melted American cheese. The pretzel bun is very sturdy and handles the juiciness of the burger patties and sauces with ease. The patties are nicely seasoned and juicy. The BBQ sauce is a tad too sweet when coupled with the caramelized onions. The flavor profile is reminiscent of a “Western” cheeseburger. So why not go all the way and add bacon? It would be a great addition to this burger. Switching the cheese from American to cheddar might also be a nice touch. Rating: 4.5/5

Onion Rings have a crispy, crunchy exterior. They are very flavorful with their sweet onion interior. Beer batter would be preferable, maybe showcasing one of the beers on tap as part of the batter. Rating: 3.8/5

French Fries are shoestring cut for a faster cook time and while they are by no means bad, thicker fries would be preferable. Also, the fries were a little bland and really need to be salted right out of the fryer. The presentation in the cone is a very nice...

Edit: contacted hook burger to let them know about my experience. The manger of operations was very helpful, assured me it wouldn't happen again and that this was not how they treated their guests, and gave me a gift card to try the place again. Took my family of 4 cost about $45 and the food and experience was excellent. They were extremely busy however the food and shake was brought to the table quickly and service was 10x better then the first time. I would definitely go again. Everyone can make a mistake, I appreciated how they took care of it and got a second chance to show me how they operate. Very Pleased will go again.

Good food ruined by poor customer service. Food arrived without the shake I had ordered, server mentioned the shake was coming. 20 minutes later the shake finally arrives. During this time I had walked up to the manager to ask about the shake and was dismissed with "were working on it". Not so much as an apology or recognition that they had forgotten the shake or were having some type of issue. Food was good but for $15 for one person I would expect a higher...