Newk's Eatery — Restaurant in Panama City

We called for an order for pick-up for 4:30. I was a little late, around 4:45 to pick-up. Upon entering, I was greeted by an employee. Told him of my pick-up and he seemed to know nothing about it. He had to check in the kitchen and I was told they were working on it. They weren't busy, but I said it was fine. I don't get upset about things like that. What was disconcerting was there were 5 other front of house employees just sitting and talking. Again, they weren't busy, so they might not have had anything to do. The phone starting ringing and these employees just sat talking, ignoring it. The gentleman who was helping me finally rushed to the phone. I had a birthday coupon to use, but the poor guy didn't seem to know how to input in the computer. Meanwhile, the 5 employees never moved. We figured out with the fine print that I had to get a bottled beverage per the wording. No problem, I got a bottled beverage, he rang it in and the coupon still didn't work. He asked what I assume was his supervisor about it. She finally stopped talking to turn around and say "it has to be a fountain drink." I told her the wording said bottled beverage, to which she replied "oh" and turned back to talk. I got my cup and filled it and when coming back one of the other front of house employees finally had gotten up and seemed annoyed that she had to get up and help him with the computer. got my food about 5pm. It was good as it always is. But, not sure it's worth going in and dealing with the lack of care being put into the customer service aspect that Newk's is displaying right now. Everytime I go in lately, there's always a group of employees just sitting talking while only one other person is...

JW JW JW - SEPTEMBER 10% DISCOUNT

(What a brilliant idea) All through September, every Saturday anyone who brings in a piece of literature or tract or card with the “JW” logo in it gets 10% off!

I’ve always been a fan of Newks, the food is great, the staff is effective and friendly. But when I heard about this JW Discount I had to stop by, not just to GET the discount but also to ask “WHY?”

I spoke with Nichole the manager of the day “why offer this discount” and basically what it sounded like was that the owners, husband and wife, have many friends and associates who are Jehovah’s Witnesses. They are also aware that JWs as a group generally go preaching every Saturday and they have favorite coffee shops and restaurants they visit for breaks in between preaching throughout the day. WHY NOT OFFER A DISCOUNT TO THEM AND IT WILL HELP THEM AND OUR BUSINESS???

Simply a brilliant idea! I’ve seen this done before in another State, but never in my hometown here in Panama City. I’ve lived here my entire life and never before have I seen a discount for JWs anywhere around town that I can remember.

YOU ARE ONTO SOMETHING HERE! OTHER BUSINESSES CONSIDER THIS AS WELL! ITS A WIN-WIN FOR EVERYONE!!!

NEWKS - It is very much appreciated! Thank you so much for my experience today, my respect has grown for you business, it’s ownership and management.

As I said before the FOOD & SERVICE was already great! Now I have another big reason to stop in more often especially if this discount were to continue past September and perhaps even be made a 7-day discount. Jehovah’s Witnesses preach during the week too! Just a thought. Lol...

If I could give zero stars I would. I use to enjoy Newk's but I will never go to this particular location again. I purchased an online order for my entire family. I had a family member who lived on that side to pick up the order on their way to visit us. The order was placed online curbside but when the family member arrived there was no designated curbside parking, very poor directions on how curbside worked. They called the store 4 times trying to find directions and no one picked up. Being a mom of a little one, the curbside was important. When they went inside, Newk's wasn't busy at all, the 2 teenage girls working the to-go area were standing there doing nothing. When the situation was explained to them they did not offer an apology or explanation. They literally pointed and said your order is over there. It was a large order and with a toddler in tow they just stood there staring and offering no help. When a comment was made of someone maybe helping, they pointed to where the drink carriers were. An actual customer who was eating their lunch, saw what was going on and got up to offer assistance. The lack of care by the staff was both astonishing and embarrassing. When I called to speak to the manager the manager was very argumentative and rude and told me that it was all our fault. She hung up on me twice. I have never before experienced this lack of customer service. I will be encouraging family and friends to stay away from this location because nobody should have to experience the lack of...