Denny's — Restaurant in Payson

Yes, I just gave this Dennys 5 stars. Five reasons:

1. I don’t have anything to complain about! Haha! Do you know how NICE is. I’m driving, through Payson, AZ, on my way to visit family back East. I Love Payson. Beautiful country, Love the small town quality of life.

Stopped in at Dennys because the cool morning mountain air gave me a taste for Pancakes.

2. The customer service was great! They only had two servers on staff and this place can easily keep the whole dining room full. But there was no abnormal wait time for seating or for the food. My server made his rounds like pro touching every table with a “how ya doing, How is Everything, Can I get you anything?” He checked on my coffee refill. He got me everything in proper, timely and very courteous way! I FREAKING LOVE THAT!! Customer Service is the easiest thing to provide, the most appealing asset of any business and yet the hardest thing to find. My server saw his job as his business. This is the correct perspective. He treated everyone the same. And everyone was happy. It created a very comforting environment.

3. The food was good. The cook is a good cook. I had an omelette that was very well made. Fluffy. Not Burt. Good flavors. You can’t ask for much in the way of quality ingredients when it comes to Dennys, this I know, but you go back hoping for the restaurant to show up in others ways. Service is one. The other is how the food is prepared. A cook who can take average quality ingredients and make it worth the price they charge is really a Generous Soul and a Genius no doubt. We know they are not paid much to take on the work load of turning 40 or 50 full orders in an hour, but to do it anyway and with such care, deserves some recognition. I appreciate you Sir.

4. It was CLEAN. Ok, I know I said I love Customer Service the Most, But no matter how supposed the customer service may be to your face, if it ain’t clean, it’s just lip service and they don’t care about you, themselves or their job.

That’s why I Really Really Really appreciate these guys here, today. My table was clean and ready for me. The server picked up my dirty empty plates on one of his walk arounds. The tables around me were clean and when the customer left, the table was quickly turned.

But the best part… THE Restroom. It was clean. No, I mean it really was clean. There was no grotesque odor upon entering. There was no trash on the floor, anywhere. There was no disgusting crime scene inside the stalls. There was no mess in the sinks. Everything was clean. And they had hot water to wash your hands. That’s amazing! No paper towels thrown anywhere. This is a testament to the type of customer ie the people of Payson as much as anything. They are respectful and courteous and well mannered. And for only two busy servers on staff, i really expected to have to tip toe my way through, holding my breath, and running out as fast as I could. But it was completely the opposite. It was as a restaurant restroom should be. Clean and well stocked! AWESOME. THANK YOU.

5. The two servers stayed busy. They were even a little overwhelmed with their load of customers but they kept right on through, doing their best, doing what they knew how to do. I saw no hiccups. If there were mistakes they didn’t let in to the customers. They weren’t kicked back, smoking, texting, chatting it up in the corner or with a customer. They stayed on top of their game. Pros all the way!

This is what I love to see in the food industry. Bring this back to America and America will be great...

All I did was pick up an online order, but somehow the crew here managed to deliver the worst service I have ever experienced in any restaurant anywhere.

I had given up on dining in at this location after receiving poor service in the past, so we decided to order online. Just a couple burgers with fries. What could go wrong?

Well, when I arrived and stood at the area designated for picking up orders, there were about ten people seated in the restaurant, and at least three servers running back and forth. Basically, I was quite simply ignored. Twice, someone said "someone will be right with you" as they raced past me, but most didn't even look in my direction.

Finally, I had had enough, so I flagged down one young woman. I assume she was new and didn't understand the standard operating procedure is to avoid eye contact at all costs. She came over and pulled out a menu in preparation to seat me. I pointed at the bag behind the counter and said, "No, I'm just here to pick up my order." She handed me the bag and began tapping on the computer but seemed utterly defeated by it. Eventually, she told me she had to get help and left me standing there again until returning later with a coworker.

Now, I don't know if this coworker was a manager or just the most unhelpful person available, but she managed to make a somewhat irritating experience dramatically worse. She obviously had no clue what the situation was, so she came out, held out her hands in disbelief and annoyance and said, "What's the problem?" as if I had exposed myself or demanded someone cut up my hamburger and feed it to me with their fingers.

I said, "You tell me. I just came in here to pick up my order, which I have already paid for." She replied, "You ordered online?" and I said yes, thinking we were finally making progress. Her response?

"So, what's the problem?"

What's the problem? I've been standing here like an idiot while you have all assiduously ignored me in a remarkable show of teamwork. When someone finally paid me any attention at all, they didn't know what to do and left me standing there like an idiot again. Meanwhile, my food is getting cold as I stand there, regretting the tip I included on my order. And then you come out and challenge me to tell you what the problem is? Are you kidding me?

Apparently, someone was supposed to just hand me my order and send me on my way. I was supposed to know this somehow, even though the online ordering message said that I would have to present the card I used online. Not only was I supposed to know this, I was evidently expected to guide ill-trained Denny's employees through Denny's procedures so there would not be "a problem."

So, as I came to find out, "the problem" was,...

We arrived around 2:30 am stood around for 5 minutes no one showed up to greet us, then we walked in little more and saw a guy at the counter eating and drinking coffee. We finally asked if it was open or is anyone around because there was no one there. The gentleman ignored us even after we asked 3 times not sure if it was a race thing or he was just rude. I wanted to leave, but the husband was hungry, we were passing through, and that was the only restraunt open at that time. A couple more minutes passed, and a young lady came out and asked how many, and sat us at the only clean table in the restaurant, then took off for another 10 to 15 minutes. She came back saying she had to wash the glasses and utensils we were going to be using to eat. Apparently, she was the server, busser, cook, and dishwasher that shift. She went to get our drinks and took another 5 minutes to come back and get our order and another 35 to 40 minutes to get our food. We didn't have anything to drink with our food. When we tried to ask for refill she just dropped our plates off and walked off. Even after saying excuse me a couple times to get her attention. Remind you besides that guy at the counter we were the only 3 people in the restraunt. My husband stood there for a little bit by the counter to see if we can get refills and the guy at counter said good luck she cant hear you back there. We finished our food. And we sat there another 17 minutes, and she brought out the check and walked away. We figured she'll be waiting for us at the front to pay the bill. She wasn't. She was MIA for another 10 minutes before coming out. We couldn't just leave without paying, so we waited until she finally came out.

I can't imagine how the restraunt runs every day if that hows its going to be, especially in the morning. I'm sure that within the next hour, more people will be showing up for breakfast. I wouldn't recommend stopping here for breakfast, especially late night or early mornings. Especially if you are driving by. It's better to stop at gas station and get something there to eat or drive further down and find...