The Honey Baked Ham Company — Restaurant in Pleasanton

Pre-ordered with also pre-paying my order for a bone-in 4-4.99 lbs honeybaked ham to pick up on Wednesday, 11/27/24, the day before Thanksgiving. My pick-up time/window was 4pm. When I got to this location at 3:30pm (anticipating a line to wait in) I was welcomed with a lengthy line that went towards the market across from AT&T. I waited in line and it slowly started to move little by little, but I was barely at the entrance of the doors at 4:15pm. With having an appointment at 5pm in a different city (needing to get on 580), I knew I would risk missing my 5pm appointment if I waited in line, so I exited planning to come back later. This was me assuming that since I pre-ordered and pre-paid, I would have my order ready to go with my name. I could not get back to Honey Baked until 7pm due to traffic. When I arrived, I was re-welcomed with another lengthy line. This time, individuals appeared frustrated and I was told that they had ran out of ham and they were giving refunds back if you waited in line or could call on Friday, 11/29. Shortly after, I was approached by a worker who said they were the Manager and they explained that they had ran out of product and ham and provided the details for receiving a refund. Some individuals left the line to call for a refund on Friday while the rest of us waited in line for a refund to avoid the busy phone lines on Friday. As we were waiting, an announcement from a man came about that only a part of the line was getting ham. Most of us were confused because they had just made a huge announcement that they were out of ham. Then this same worker (man) who was cutting the line off told the rest of the line that we could not get ham. I made a comment, "even if we already prepaid?" And he asked, " Have you all pre-paid? Are you walk-ins?" And all of us in line (frustrated) stated that we all pre-paid online. At this point, the workers went back inside and then shortly after came back outside to say that they do have enough ham for all of us, but that they were cooked (or uncooked) 10lbs hams.

I ended up staying in line as I wanted a refund. When I approached the register, they scanned my QR code and said that they did not have anymore of what I ordered. It was overheard by the Manager (woman) and I was told that it's because I missed my time/window. I did not need to hear that and thought that was rude. They don't know what I went through that day. They don't know that I was in fact there EARLY and could not get to the doors. AND it was likely because their machine was down then as well, because I overheard this Manager stating that the machine had gone down a couple of times today and during the week.

Clearly, they were unprepared for a Thanksgiving rush. This location already knew about malfunction equipment and did not take the steps to repair it or have a back up plan before a huge holiday?! Also, there was clearly no closed-loop communication amongst their team and with their customers.

I feel bad for customers who were in that line who pre-ordered and pre-paid just as I did and was planning their entire Thanksgiving meal on The Honey Baked Ham Company. The least they could have done was own their mistake and began calling customers to not come. There were individuals there walking away with nothing who drove out far from Tracy and Fremont! Horrible.

The Honey Baked Ham Company - Pleasanton. You need...

This is regarding takeout. I ordered garlic herb sliders. Idk what I got. If you look online and see any picture on their website, instagram, or any video of this garlic herb slider you will see a light butter. We have all had a garlic herb something and it’s similar to garlic bread. What i got was a dark looking sauce. If you look at what comes in the packet of sliders it’s sauce and honey bbq mustard thing. Apparently mine was already spread on and it was drizzled not in a way i would like. I called and the lady i spoke to was rude. When i describe what i had she said i had the right stuff she was rude as if i didnt know what i was doing. So i went ahead and made it. it tastes nothing like garlic herb.Bc she was so rude i called corporate customer service explained what happened and they said that they guarantee the quality of their food it’s policy and the establishment should give your refund no hassle and you do not need to bring the food back. I called back and was speaking to an associate. I asked for a manager. He said she was not in at the moment. I explained what happened and he said it’s dark bc we put rotisserie seasoning in it. I asked why and he said he’s just doing what he’s told I asked for a refund and said i couldnt come back today.finally the manager comes in i ask to speak to her and he puts me on hold instead of her coming on she’s telling him what to say in the background. he said to bring my receipt and the sliders back for a refund… excuse me??? bring the sliders back? what kind of establishment wants food back? what are you going to do just throw it. plus thats so unsanitary considering it has left the building. Rather then waste my time I am just going to put you on blast for the audacity and unprofessionalism you have. Pictures are what I thought i was buying and what i got. No it’s not burnt that’s the sauce given to me. Tasted like a sweet peppery chicken sliders.

pictures below are online pics and the dark mess of “garlic herb butter” i received and what it looked like...

We ordered ham for our Thanksgiving. Apparently, we have to wait more than one hour to get our orders. The problem is that the line is very long and that it’s mostly for people who prepaid their orders or made reservations. Then right when I’m about to enter the place, the staff decided to split the lines into two (one for prepaid orders and one for reservations).

Not only that it took us too long to get our orders, but also their ham machine is broken, which is what I heard. Also, we were told that they no longer can serve us ham I think larger than 9lbs. I feel for those who purchased ham larger than that since they will slightly get ripped off. I also feel for the staff too since they are really overwhelmed with handling more than 100 people’s orders and having to rush through things. I believe that they should implement a better system to speed up the line and to make options more available for us, but it is what it is. Nothing they can really do about it. Perhaps, expect more customers to come by preparing in advance. The “two lines” could have been dealt earlier.

Aside from all this, it is actually worth getting the ham since it’s very delicious. Basically could feed at least 10 people despite having to reduce the size of ham. Usually my family and I go here for Thanksgiving. It’s still worth the wait.

My advice for everyone is to come here very early about an hour prior to the pickup time of the order. Expect the line to be very long (approximately about an hour to get your order) and be patient. Happy...