Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews — Restaurant in Plainfield

We recently had a dining experience at Red Robin that left us puzzled and disappointed, particularly due to our server's attitude. The most striking moment was when he bluntly refused to provide a new glass of Coke, stating, "No, I don't wanna wash a bunch of cups." This was not only surprising but also contradicted service industry standards.

Our server’s approach throughout the meal seemed off. He started by bringing out our dessert first, followed oddly by a solo side of broccoli, and then our main courses. But the earlier incident with the drink was truly baffling. During the meal, he grabs my half-full glass and holds it in front of my face and says, "What is this?" I took a second to understand what he was doing, and I said, "It's Coke." He takes off with my drink leaving me with nothing to drink, then comes back a few minutes later with a refilled glass with my straw still in in. Given the meal is burgers and fries, you get thirsty, so that was weird. Later he comes back and grabs my half-full glass again. I said, "Hey, wait, can't you just bring me another glass of coke and take this one when it's empty?" He says, "No, I don't wanna wash a bunch of cups." So I said, "Then leave that here so I can drink it while I eat." He sets it down without a word and walks off. Later he comes up with a new glass of coke and plops it down on the table stalks off giving me the cold shoulder. I didn't think what I was asking for was crazy, and washing "a bunch of cups" is kind of part of the normal course of business for a restaurant, right? His flat refusal and subsequent cold demeanor were both unprofessional and rude.

The initial interaction was no less perplexing. We simply asked for a regular glass of water for our son, to which he cryptically remarked, "I saw the kids menu," and left us wondering. He did return with water, but the encounter set a strange tone for the rest of our visit.

Our attempt to leave feedback through the table kiosk was thwarted by a request for an email address to send a survey link, which we never received. Additionally, the kiosk was out of paper, and we didn’t feel inclined to ask our server for a receipt, nor did we see any manager to speak with.

Overall, this experience at Red Robin was marked by a series of odd service choices and an unexpected attitude from our server. While I understand that everyone can have an off day, the basic expectation of customer service, especially in a restaurant setting, was unmet. I hope this feedback is taken constructively so that future patrons can enjoy a more welcoming and...

Our experience at Red Robin was great! My son and I planned a day of fun and decided to have lunch at Red Robin then paint some pottery down the road. We had such a great server named Bill with the best personality. He always has a smile on his face and was happy to be our server.

Unfortunately, our experience didn’t begin that way. When we arrived we sat at the bar. We were approached by the bartender, Rachael, who took our drink orders. As she started to fill my coke I realized they had a large variety of bottomless drinks. I asked if we could get something different with the refill since the price was the same. She sternly said “no” with a glare. So I told her that I would like to change my drink order. She grabbed the untouched drink that she mistakenly placed in front of my son and poured it down the sink in front of us. Apparently, she he would rather waste a whole drink as the customer watched than allow a customer to get a different drink for the refill. When she brought my new drink she slammed it down, spilling some on the bar top. Appalled by her actions, we didn’t want her behavior to ruin our day so we decided to discretely let the host know and ask if we could be seated in the dining room. He happily arranged this and we moved to a table.

Once seated, we told our server, Bill, that we had not paid for our drinks yet and why we needed to move from the bar into the dining room. He was so polite and understanding. He said would figure it out for us. Soon after he walked away, Rachael, the bartender, hunted us down and slammed our bill down on our table then put her hands on her hips as she glared at my son. We were speechless and taken aback by her hostile behavior. Before he could react, she said “You will be paying me”. After he paid and she walked away Bill passed her, noticing her behavior. He seemed shocked and apologized to us. The general manager came to our table soon after and apologized. She and Bill were so accommodating and turned a bad experience into a good one.

Our day out wasn’t ruined by Rachael because Bill was amazing! Thank you, Bill!!! Rachael, you might want to find another place to work away from...

I called for call ahead seating. I was told by a person named Aaron that they were not busy to come on in we would be seated right away. I flat out asked him are you sure because we won’t be there for another 20 minutes. He said oh yeah there won’t be a wait. Come on in. We walked in and there were standing room only in the lobby, but we were refused to be put on the waitlist. I voiced my concern to the hostess and even told her it wasn’t her fault, but that I was upset that we were not put on the call ahead waitlist. Then I tried to give the hostess my name. She said she didn’t need it. We stood to the side until some seats became free and we became next to be seated. She then proceeded to seat people that walked in after us that were not on the waitlist. Another gentleman in the lobby got upset and started voicing his concerns to another employee at the front. I walked up to the hostess stand because clearly he was advocating for my family because we were here before these other people because he watched those other people walk in as he was here before them as well. But yet they got seated. They were not on the call ahead seating list or anything. I proceeded to tell the other lady that we weren’t even allowed to be put on the call ahead waitlist and then I was upset when I came in and yet, the person at the front still seated people that came in after us. This was not a great experience. I could’ve made of scene. I could have asked for a manager, but I didn’t. But I will review my experience. The server we had was great. You could tell he was new and that’s OK . However, I think it was a disservice for the girl at the front, whomever was training the young girl, to leave her on her own if she didn’t know how to run a hostess stand and couldn’t handle the crowd. She should be taking peoples names and putting them in the iPad so that she could keep track of who gets...