Tropical Smoothie Cafe — Restaurant in Shallotte

Stopped in today for a smoothie & sandwich. I was the only one in the store & one employee was seated at the counter as one of the employees handed her a smoothie. The other three employees that I saw were not doing much - they never greeted me, said "hello" or "can I help you?". I have been in your store several times since you opened & this seems to be the standard - no smiling face, no greetings, appearances that it's just plain difficult & tiresome to wait on a paying customer for overpriced items.

The young girl (I would say the one with a nose ring but that could have been any one of the three - BTW those things just look nasty - something hanging out of your nose while serving food). At any rate, I told her I had either a text or an email that offered a free smoothie w/a food purchase & was told that she knew nothing about that - all with a blank stare and never asking what else she might help me with. I did order only because it was getting late in the day & I didn't feel like driving to the much nicer Tropical Cafe in Leland where they actually greet me.

While I waited on my smoothie, I went to the ladies' room - big mistake there. Paper all over the floor & just dirty.

I couldn't find a clean table to sit at & wait so I stood - again, I'm the only one in the store. I began to notice how dirty the floor was as well as the tile beneath the counter. Boxes behind the counter were opened & it just looked like a mess - not really very clean. The ceiling fans are covered with black around the edges of the blades. This store looks like it has been open for years & never cleaned when I know it's only been open a short while.

I reached for napkins as I was leaving & there were none in the dirty dispenser; the employee at the end of the counter reached into the dispenser that was in the corner next to her & handed me several.

As unfortunate as it is, I'll drive the extra mileage & go the Leland store next time.

Mr./Mrs. Owner - Please clean up your store & offer your employees a course in how to smile and greet customers. Such a...

I absolutely love this location. I work across the street so it’s very convenient for me on my way to work to grab breakfast. I always order before I leave my house and when you order online, it gives you a promise time which is usually 20-30 minutes and it’s always ready by then. Because the store is new, it’s going to take longer than an older more seasoned store would, no big deal. The staff are always pleasant, I think her name is Haile always diligent and I’ve seen her run all of the smoothie machines by herself at once. There is one other girl there, her name is Kayla and she is also very friendly and diligent. The owner Brandon is very friendly and outgoing, he makes sure to greet each customer that walks in and thank them for their visit. I have yet to have a bad experience with them. If you don’t want to wait, go to McDonalds. I can still promise that you will wait because I’ve waited 30 minutes in their drive thru line before as well. Overall, be patient and give the staff a chance, they are working as hard as they can to learn and serve...

This is my third time having an issue with this particular location. First visit, my order is wrong. I articulate my words clearly and maybe these kids don’t quite understand English language that well. Secondly, the bland attitude was enough, so I started going through the drive through. Today, I ordered the same thing and apparently cash over 20$ isn’t accepted? I patiently waited just to hear that bills over 20$ aren’t accepted? So if someone made a large order and it came up to 50$ or more, you’re telling me this person can’t pay in cash to purchase that order? Just baffling. Now make that make sense. Can these kids not count correctly? Is math too difficult for one to add or subtract? If that is the policy, make it known! This is by far the worst experience I have ever had a tropical smoothie. Hire people with skill and experience. Stop hiring these uneducated, preschoolers. I’m so sorry...