SuperDeluxe — Restaurant in Portland

I genuinely love this place. I have introduced at least seven new clients to Super Deluxe and I always speak highly of the food. Unfortunately, today I had a very frustrating experience at the drive thru, one of several similar incidents I have had here, which is why I am taking the time to write this review.

While in line, I received an unexpected but important phone call from an attorney representing a university out of state. The call concerned my best friend, who had recently been assaulted and suffered a concussion, so I had to take it immediately.

As I was speaking on the phone, I arrived at the window, handed over my debit card, and was clearly signaling yes and no responses while multitasking. Despite this, the drive thru attendant raised their voice, to the point of SHOUTING, to get my attention even though I was clearly engaged and cooperating. It felt unnecessary and VERY disrespectful.

It is not a customer’s job to facilitate an employee’s convenience; it is the employee’s role to facilitate the customer’s. Some situations simply cannot be paused, and being momentarily on the phone should not be treated as a personal slight. Even if I had been on the phone for anything else, it would still not justify yelling at me, a customer. The line was moving, I was responsive, and there was no delay being caused by me. The employee’s tone was performative, condescending, and disrespectful, as if to make a point about how they feel at my expense.

This is not the first time I have had issues at this drive thru. On a prior visit, the speaker box was blocked by a vehicle in front of me, making it impossible to be heard. Despite that, the attendant kept repeating “Welcome to Super Deluxe, what can I get you?” over and over again. When I finally pulled up and explained the situation, I was met with confrontation instead of understanding. I was lectured that I had been asked "five times" and had not responded. My answer was simple: because you would not have heard me anyway and I was not about to yell.

I do not appreciate being spoken to in that manner at all, especially when I am being patient, cooperative, and spending my money here. Situations like this make me hesitate to return, even though I truly enjoy the food.

Super Deluxe, your food remains excellent, five out of five, but your service continues to fall short of MINIMUM expectations, especially since tipping is integrated into your POS system. Your employees often seem impatient, defensive, and untrained in basic customer communication. I sincerely believe that with better training in professionalism and emotional awareness, this place could be awesome.

I would visit far more often if I did not have to brace myself for a 50% chance of an unpleasant interaction. I am certain I am not the only one who...

I can’t rate the food because the store closed an hour and a half early. The only way to find that out was the handwritten paper taped to the door that said “Closed @ 9:30” with no reason given.

No one acknowledged us when we pulled up to the speaker box. After sitting there for several minutes, we pulled up to window where our existence was ignored by a young woman counting money. There were no hours posted on the window, so we pulled up to the front where the hours are clearly marked, and the store is supposed to be open until 11:00PM. Finally we saw the aforementioned sign indicating the early closure. There we were yet again ignored by the 4 people standing around inside. They didn’t even bother to point at the sign.

I called the restaurant and the phone rang until it was transferred to a fax machine. I called again and a woman answered with “sorry, we’re closed right now.” With no other information. I mentioned that I thought the restaurant was open until 11:00, and her response was only “we had to close early.” I asked why, and I was told to “have a good night”, and hung up on.

I’ve wanted to try this restaurant for over two years. I don’t live close and I drove out of my way to come during normal business hours, and I can’t even say I was turn away, I was just plain ignored. The people inside who chose to close the store early for apparently no reason at all didn’t even have the decency to tell me they had closed early, apologize for the inconvenience or give a reason. If you ran out of a necessary product, had a staffing issue or equipment breakdown, wouldn’t you be forthcoming with that?

I’ll conclude by saying that one time I got a fingernail in my burrito at Chipotle. That was still a better experience than this. At least they had the decency...

The first-day employee deserves 5 stars, and may be the sole reason for this review getting 2 instead of 1 star. That poor new hire had to deal with the restaurant equivalent of a TPS Report mishap by putting in my order for hash browns after 11am- no joke 3 people in 30 seconds came up to correct this mortal sin... One that could have been prevented with a short sentence on the lobby signage. Help the kid out by saying breakfast SANDWICHES are served all day, but hash browns switch to French fries for lunch.

Your website does.

No big deal. Swap one potato for another. Your trainee maintains an excellent attitude, keeps a smile, and adjusts on the fly. Easy to see why they got the job. Give that kid a raise.

Grab a seat & go to log in to the WiFi "superdeluxeguest" while I wait...

Password required.

No worries, I'll just ask for it when I pick up my purchase. I ask the trainee, who defers to an experienced employee.... Who just looks me square in the eyes and says "no" before returning to the grille.

No?

Well, then, please tell me: who qualifies as a "guest" of super deluxe?

Between setting up an excellent employee for failure and what almost felt like getting flipped the bird with their eyes for such heinous and abhorrent request during my dine-in experience, my meal lost its flavor. I have no idea if it was good, or worth it. But I was literally so off-put that the fries tasted oily and bland, no matter how much I tried to rescue them by drowning them in my spicy ketchup concoction. No dice. No flavor. No joy.

Been a customer since launch, but that absolutely will be my last stop. Do not recommend.

Btw, I'm writing this from the Taco Bell across the street. For some reason l found my appetite still short...