Perkins American Food Co. — Restaurant in Rochester

If I take time to write a review it's normally to give a place good remarks- unfortunately this is not the case today. It has been years since I have stopped in a Perkins, but I had multiple days of doctors visits at Mayo Clinic, so I thought I'd treat myself with some dessert. The female working the cash register however very friendly, struggled to operate the register. The first item I ordered she couldn't find on the register to ring in, and had to go back in the kitchen and ask them, to figure out how to do it. Once she got it rung in, she had problems charging me for it. The first time the register froze she claimed, so she helped the next customer in line on the second register on the other counter. Then she came back, and said she'd have to cancel the transaction, and start over. We re-did the order. She helped the next customers in which time I realized that when she showed me the dessert menu, the fresh strawberry pie as being advertised by the front door on a poster labeled ' strawberry season is back' was not being advertised in the pie case, or on the dessert menu for some reason. I asked if it was too late to get a slice of the strawberry pie for my dessert order, as that was more what I was looking for, and she said as long as they hadn't started my order in the kitchen it wouldn't be a problem (which was just another dessert item). She checked in the kitchen for me, and my order had not been made, she also said that the second time she had charged me that it again did not work. I smiled, and said, 'No worries, maybe 3rd time will be the charm then!' So she ran my card again this time for the slice of pie, and this time an error message comes up on the register saying I'm about to be charged twice. She gets her manager who tells me to ignore the message, and that she'll just refund it if I am. I explain that I don't live in the state, but the manager didn't care. Make sure you are able to check your account before you leave the establishment as that warning message was actually accurate despite what the manager claimed when she told me to 'just ignore it' . I pulled up my bank account while still in the store, and had sure enough had double charges, so I made sure to get my refund before I left. If that was my only issue I would not be leaving this bad review. Then I actually see my slice of 'pie', and after all that it was totally not worth any of it! This was supposed to be my doctor day treat, and there was practically ZERO pie! It was all topping, a small amount of crust, with only one small bite of pie, such a tease, and HUGE disappointment. I will not...

We were seated immediately- arrived on a Saturday evening about 6:10pm. We’re seated in the back area. Restaurant was moderately filled. Many, many empty tables that not been cleaned since last customers left. Three just in our section. I’m guessing they were short staffed? We ordered our beverages and looked at the menu. 10 minutes later our waitress comes by to tell us she is getting our drinks. I told her I’m ready to order, and she said she would be right back. She did return a few minutes later with water. Zero ice, but it was water. We ordered our food, which came very quickly and was a nice presentation. It was warm and looked delicious. I ordered the club without Mayo and it was prepared without as requested. I didn’t have much on it- usually at ripple decker club has turkey, ham and bacon. No ham and no cheese. Sand which was bland and toast burnt. The people behind us sent their food back, as it was cold. The waitress said she microwaved it for them, and brought it back out. Must have been better, as they did eat it. We were given our bill when our food was delivered. I thought that was odd, but she never came back by- so I’m guessing that why. I did flag her down to request a box for the rest of my dish that I didn’t eat. I also ordered a dessert to go, if chocolate cake. I was sad to find out they don’t have any of the advertised cake. We decided against any dessert, but they do have an extensive pie menu, and many types of muffins too. I saw done brownies and 2 types of cookies as well. They serve breakfast all day- one of the few places in town that still do. Their food all looks very appetizing and is plated well. They do offer lunch specials, kids menus, over 55 menu with smaller portions and full dinner meals with sides. Something for all tastes and appetites. Our server Jennifer was okay. Not a lot of personality and zero smile. Maybe she was just tired- so we gave her a bigger tip to try to make help her weekend improve. We waited a long time at the front to check out- over 8 minutes. I’m not sure anyone knew we were there. I think they would benefit from a bell or buzzer to alert them to a customer.

Many staff members were outside smoking, very unappealing as...

We hadn't been to a Perkins Restaurant in years. After a medical test, my husband was to have soft food. We had seen Perkins on the way to our motel, so we went back there. He had their Eggs Benedict. He said they were better than another local restaurant that listed them as a specialty. It came with choice of toast and potatoes. He had rye toast and their hashbrown casserole. It also came with a nice size cup of fresh fruit. The price was about the same as other restaurants. It looked very appealing. The fresh fruit cup was a very nice addition. Most other restaurants don't offer that unless you order it and pay extra. I just had a cheeseburger and fries. I had the cheeseburger well done and it was. Had everything on it. The burger was way bigger than the bun. The toppings were fresh and tasted good. The tomato was fresh and it was ripe. Don't get that very often. The fries were good. They tasted great. Couldn't eat the whole thing and had to take most of it to go. The price was a little cheaper than others in the area. The service was extremely friendly and cheery. Our server was attentive, but not overly so. Kept our cups/glasses filled and made us smile. We didn't know it, but Monday's are free pie day. She told us that when she came to the table to take our drink order. We had the coconut cream pie and took it back to the motel. It was a big piece of pie. Not just a sliver. Much more than we expected since it was free. And, it was good! The crust was the way I like it and the filling was perfect. The meringue was high and perfect. As far as the restaurant and the rest of the staff, it wasn't busy when we got there, but was filling up by the time we left. Our server was working the entire section we sat in, but never failed to make sure all of us were taken care of. We watched her tend to other customers. She seemed to make it a personal experience for everyone. Since she was busy, another person brought our food to us. She was just as friendly and made sure our food was ok before leaving the table. Our server was fast at getting to us shortly after taking our first bite to ensure everything was to our liking. We will definitely go back when we're in...