Denny's — Restaurant in Portage

My 3 kids and I stopped in for some dinner at about 7:30 pm. There were only a few other tables occupied, so I figured we would be in and out in less than an hour. From the time we walked in the door until our orders were taken was probably 20 minutes of waiting. Out waitress was new so I was trying to not get upset at all of the issues we experienced while we were there. She had to return to the table 3 times after taking our order because she couldn't read her handwriting and needed to know what my drink was. Then she had to come back again because she forgot to ask my daughter what she wanted as one of her sides for her meal. And then returned a 3rd time because we ordered turkey bacon with 2 of our meals and they were out. During this time the other diners in the restaurant that were there when we arrived were either eating or had finished and left. So we were the only customers actually waiting on food. By the time we finally received our meals it was almost 8:30. We were missing items that we ordered. My hash browns that I had to order in place of the turkey bacon were way overcooked, my eggs were barely warm, and my toast too hard. My kids all seemed happy with their meals. Also my drink and my daughter's drink tasted funky. I don't know if it's their water or ice, but it was not good. The waitress also informed us that a cook was being trained that night. So there's at least 2 cooks in the kitchen and we were the only ones waiting on food and we still waited at least 30 minutes for our food. The only good part of the experience was when I paid. The main reason for us going there besides the convenience of location was that my meal was going to be free for my birthday. So the other waitress that took care of our bill separated my check into 2 so my meal would be free and my 2 younger kids meals would also be free as kids eat free on Tuesdays. So my total bill was almost cut in half, which was the only thing that kept me from asking to speak to the manager before we left. Just totally unacceptable service for the almost 90 minutes we were there. I will not be returning to this location...

I really hate to make this post, but I feel I should because no matter how you look at it, it was bad service.

The lot was clean with plenty of parking, upon entering the restaurant it was clean And smelled freshly mopped. I feel the staff took pride their work space.

We were seated and the table was clean.

Now the bad...

We waited a 5 minutes longer than we should (an issue when you are really hungry). When our waitress finally came to help us (an older lady) she pulled out her pad to take the order, and her hands and fingernails were dirty. She kept asking if my wife wanted cheese in her eggs, then questions about my meal.

She brought my plate out but never brought my wife's plate. I was halfway through eating my food before my wife flagged another waitress who apologized and brought my wife's plate. My wife never received her pancakes. My food although was brought first, it was room temperature. My steak was over seasoned and tough. Our waitress never came back to see if we needed anything, ever. Other staff informed her that we were waiting for the to-go box and the check, it took her 3 trips to bring us the check and 2 boxes. The cashier fully aware we were dissatisfied with the service did not asked "how was your meal?".

With all that I would like to say, everyone that wants to work, should be able to work. However everyone does not or should not be in employeed in positions that they cannot handle. This was not a job this particular senior should have been doing. My experience at Danny's was terrible because the hiring staff placed a person that clearly should not be a waitress as my waitress.

I feel for the lady because she is struggling with issues, I hope she finds appropriate employment.

....also the cook needs to lay off the salt...

Don't go here if you actually want service. Been here twice in as many years as both time were less than stellar. We were there around 5pm. The place was rather empty. That really should have been a red flag right there. We ordered without incident and our server was pleasant if not knowledgeable about the menu. After putting in our order the server sat at an extra unoccupied table back to all customers and scrolled on her phone. My dinner partner could see the kitchen window and saw when his sandwich was ready and 7 minutes later my plate was beside it. We then continued to wait for our server to stop scrolling. When we got our food (over 20 minutes after ordering in an almost empty restaurant) she was quite friendly. I asked for more water as I had been out for quite some time, which she promptly delivered. She then went back to the empty table back to us and out came the phone. We ate mediocre sandwiches and then waited for a check. I tried to catch her attention to no avail. The another employee came out and sat next to her sonthey could scroll together. I FINALLY got this new person's attention to motion that I needed our server. I asked for a box and our checks, which again she did with a friendly manner. When she actually DID her job she was great; it was just getting her to do her job that was the main issue. She told ua we could go to the front to pay. Where we were greeted with an empty desk... No employee. Stood there for a couple minutes before the person who had joined our server to scroll on their phones decided to come and take our money. Total lack of professionalism or any sense of service. 1/10 would strongly...