Denny's Restaurant — Restaurant in San Antonio

Terrible Management, Zero Accountability – A Disgrace to the Denny’s Name

As someone with over 30 years in the restaurant industry, I know firsthand that running a restaurant means stepping up when things get busy—whether that means checking on customers, bussing tables, or even cooking if necessary. Unfortunately, the management at this Denny’s has no clue how to do any of that.

From the start, we were seated at a table that hadn’t been properly cleaned from the previous diners. After receiving our food, our server disappeared, and for over 15 minutes, none of the occupied tables saw a single employee check in. Meanwhile, we could hear the staff joking around in the kitchen instead of actually doing their jobs. One couple got so fed up that they left.

I called the manager directly using the number on Google, letting him know that this was ridiculous—there were no servers attending to the dine-in customers. Instead of taking responsibility and ensuring we were served, he got defensive because he didn’t like my tone. Well, I don’t appreciate a manager who doesn’t manage. Instead of stepping up, he stormed out of his office just to argue and make excuses about being "busy in the back."

To be clear, when the waitstaff finally came out, I could tell they were sincerely apologetic. The waitress explained that she had been on break, and I told her she had every right to take her break—but someone still needed to be on the floor taking care of customers. That responsibility falls on management. The fact that the manager never returned to our table to make things right speaks volumes.

Now, I know some people might roll their eyes and say, “Well, it’s just a Denny’s.” But that reasoning doesn’t hold up. Denny’s has been a backbone of Americana for decades. People trust its food quality, welcoming atmosphere, and dependable customer service. It’s an institution that many—myself included—have relied on for good, simple, and friendly dining experiences.

Unfortunately, this location completely missed the mark. Poor management, a lack of accountability, and an unwillingness to step up when things went wrong made this visit a complete disappointment. If you’re looking for a place where management actually cares about customers, go...

Tgis happened aboit a month ago. I stopped by to have lunch with my baby. AS soon as I walked in, i noticed the manager (female) was a little off. She asked other people to wait and told me to follow her. No, hello no, how can I help you? Nothing. She told me I was going to sit on a booth. I asked if she could please bring me a high chair while I was going to the restroom to change the baby. When I came out, there was nothing on the table, no menus, no napkins, no utensils, and no chair. She was yelling at the employees back there and treating them like they were nothing. One young lady was cleaning the table. I told her they told me to sit there, and she said she was asked to clean NOW. I stepped back and waited. She brought me the chair and menu. I could see the employees were not happy and they were definitely disrespected by their manager or assistant. Who knows.

If you want to remember this day, you might now after this. The server took my order she was very sweet and respectful. She asked if I wanted the fruit first for the baby because she noticed the baby wasn't comfortable. I said yes.

While all this was happening, the manager was insisting on moping the floors where we were at. I think she should've waited for clients to leave close the area and then clean. It wasn't really dirty at the time. The server brought me the water, and when it was time to bring the fruits, she slipped and fell on the hard floor. The wet sign was on, but she was doing her job. I fell so bad, especially because she was pregnant. My hope is that she is OK and as well as her baby.

After this 3 or 4 tables full of clients cancel orders and left including myself. I know the stress of not having staff. Maybe that was the problem, but there's so many other ways this could've been managed. As I'm walking to leave, I saw a gentleman praying for the mom to be. I hope she's ok.

But to be honest I'm not going to that...

So the food was perfect. The Beetlejuice menu was awesome. However, when my kids received their burgers and I see kids, they're grown kids but they received a beetle cheeseburgers there was no Beetlejuice and there was no bacon and those were the two main things that showed on the menu for that burger. So when I brought it to the waitress's attention she said that she'll do the best that she can to make up for it. My son ordered an extra one with jalapenos. He doesn't like veggies on his burger. So you know he got bacon jalapenos cheese. No sauce on that one so when I got to the register and I've worked at Denny's before, I asked them about the no bacon and how they could compensate it well first you would also ask well, do you have any coupons or anything that you would like to use as well? They never asked that I had to speak up and say well. I have a 20% coupon as well. Well I'm sorry man and this is exactly what the cashier says. I'm sorry man but we can either compensate or use the coupon so you tell me how is that fair? Not fair whatsoever. You've compensating the bacon because your cook did not put it on there. Also the sauce okay getting a discount is being a loyalty member of Denny's. Me and my daughter go there all the time on San Pedro. No Blanco and 410 so we always have a coupon to use. What she should have done is said. Sure, I can use your 20% coupon and I can also give you a free meal for your problem but reluctantly she did not give us our discount of 20% and they only compensated for the bacon. I have not dealt with customer service like that before in a while should I say and I kind of don't like going downtown to eat now so it was in 50/50 to me. I liked it but I didn't like the service people and how are compensation and coupons turned out to be at the end. Hope you enjoy it...