Tropical Smoothie Cafe — Restaurant in Savannah

I usually order online from this location and get the sausage, egg, and cheese quesadilla with a Peanut Paradise smoothie with whey. On January 31, 2025 around 6:30pm, I placed my order as usual and went through the drive-thru to pick it up. Before pulling up, I looked through the windows to ensure staff were inside. I saw a shift lead sitting by the smoothie area, drinking a smoothie and eating a wrap, which made me assume she was on her break. There was also one other employee making smoothies, so I figured it was fine to proceed.

When I reached the window and gave my order name, the employee making the smoothies was very kind and made my smoothie fresh. It tasted great—no complaints there. However, I had to wait about ten minutes for my quesadilla. Eventually, the same shift lead I had seen earlier brought it out. At that moment, I questioned why someone on their break was the one making my food. It didn’t make sense, and I knew right away that my quesadilla wouldn’t be made properly. Unfortunately, I was right.

The cheese wasn’t fully melted, the tortilla was still cold, and it clearly hadn’t been pressed at all. To make matters worse, the way it was cut made it nearly impossible to pick up the slices properly. I had paid around $16 for my meal, with the quesadilla alone costing $8.59, and what I received was completely unacceptable.

Frustrated, I went inside to request a remake. The same shift lead was still sitting there on her break, eating and drinking her smoothie. I showed her the quesadilla and pointed out that the cheese wasn’t even melted. Instead of making a fresh one, she simply took the quesadilla—after I had already handled it—threw it back on the press for a few seconds, melted the cheese slightly, and handed it back to me. There were no napkins in my bag, no effort to correct the issue properly, and no regard for food safety.

This is poor customer service, especially from a shift lead. If you’re in a leadership position, you should be setting an example. That being said, I also recognize that this may be a staffing issue. If the store were properly staffed, she wouldn’t have had to get up on her break to make my food, and maybe she could have taken her break at a better time. However, none of that excuses serving poorly made food and refusing to correct mistakes properly.

This is my first time leaving a review for this store, and I’m only doing so because I was genuinely frustrated by this experience. The employee who made my smoothie was great—friendly and professional. But the way my quesadilla was handled, from preparation to the lack of care in fixing the issue, was beyond disappointing. If customers are paying a premium for food, they deserve to receive it properly made the first time, and if a mistake happens, it should be corrected with care.

I hope management addresses this because this kind of service is...

the new staff at the montgomery crossroads location have very poor customer service skills. first, after the cashier took my money, i was trying to tell him while he was still at the register that i had even change but he just ignored me & counted out the change fast. no sweat, I just accepted it. then as i was waiting for my order i realized i was never asked what side item i wanted with my meal. which isn't a big deal because mistakes happen. so i started signaling the employees with me clearly in their view but again i was ignored. moments later the cashier just came to the window with my meal & a side of chips. i respectfully brought it to the cashier's attention that i was never asked about the side item & preferred kale apple slaw instead of chips. he aggressively responded with, "we don't have any kale apple slaw prepped this early (roughly 10:30). we're doing the best we can!" there was no, "sorry about that. can i replace your chips with one of our other side items?" because at that point i would've probably traded for fruit. but his demeanor was so off putting, it made me feel as if i would've been a nuisance if i insisted on something else. or to just wait on the kale apple slaw. so instead of suggesting a replacement. i just silently pulled off. before today, i was a long time customer of tropical smoothie cafe since year one. i ate here regularly at least five times or more every month. but the new staff have ruined my experience to the point where i think i'll just bow out for a while. if not for good. no one who's loyally spending there money should be treated subhuman like this. but that's the story of my life. i bet if i looked like someone that staff favored i would've gotten catering like treatment. it's such bs because I loved tropical...

Last Friday my 2 teenage sons had a half day at school and were instructed to have lunch and get haircuts. They decided to visit Tropical smoothie in Savannah. While placing food orders my oldest son requested cash back( as many business offer). The associate stared blankly at him for a while then said ‘ I don’t understand.’ Justin (my 17 yr old son) again asked if he could get cash back, like four $10 bills. The associate then went to a manager to have a discussion. The manager and associate again asked what my son was asking for. He again asked for cash back, four $10 bills. The manager quickly understood his request and told him that service isn’t available, which my son understood. However, the associate then states “ I thought we were getting robbed” “I thought you were robbing us.” After this interaction both of my sons are now confused and feeling uneasy about the situation, however they sit down to wait for their food. The associate brought my boys their food, and again mentions how she thought my sons were trying to rob the establishment. To say how disheartening this situation is, would be an understatement. My sons frustration, after being profiled for simple asking for cash back, is warranted. This scenario could have had many different outcomes. There were other customers in store who could’ve heard word ‘robbed’ and took one actions in their own hands, got police involvement etc…. All over my son asking for cash back for a haircut . Nothing about this is OK. I’m not sure if the associate felt intimated about my son stature or complexion but I’m writing this email to bring to light a situation that could have been...