Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in Sherman

4/19/2024 around 8:30 PM. We went out eat this restaurant for the first time, reading all these positive reviews. Ambiance is okay. Server greet good. We ordered for 2 order of southern fried chicken. The server told me their brown gravy is running out, so no gravy for mash potatoes (understandable).so he went into kitchen after We made an order. Server comes back in a minute and tells me that they have last 1 order left for the fried chicken for that night, they have 2 fried chicken breast instead to replace for other. I said ok that’s fine. Then I gave a thought, if that is the last order left probably that is old nasty fried chicken maybe, so doubting it I called the server and asked,” don’t you guys make a fried chicken from the scratch breading or you already make them and put in the hot box? He told me that have a different badge time when they make and told me it will take longer like 20 minutes waiting time if I want fried chicken. I said Yes, I will wait, that’s why we came here for, to eat fresh chicken. Sever said ok will do. After he left, I still doubt that the chicken that is going to come gonna be one order will be Old nasty fried chicken that has been sitting there for a while ( the last order one) and the fresh one that is taking 20 minutes to be cooked. guess what? What I really thought in mind came to be true. The food came. My wife ate her fresh made fried chicken, what I got was the last order left old nasty burnt fried chicken which was RE DEEP-FRIED in the frying oil , which make the chicken look burn and black in color rather than crispy brown. I was done after tasting the first chicken. I was so upset and frustrate at that time thinking about is this how they want to do food business. Is that cook worth it to still be working there, who was not interested enough to make a fresh fried chicken for both the order instead of refrying the old chicken and making one order of fresh fried chicken. The main downplayer is the cook here who not only want to make a fresh chicken but asked the server to offer the breast which they already have, so that they don’t have to cook more. After I told my unsatisfaction to the server, he offered me to cut down 2 sodas drink price for this issue, I mean price is not the problem, the problem here is how bad food they are serving the customers and that can make person sick. The manager came and told me that they will take off the price of that nasty chicken and charged only for one person meal. End of the story here are my takeaways:

1. people come to restaurant to taste the food so they have some expectations. My expectations was turned off and I was upset.
2. a restaurant should never cheat their customer by re deep-frying the old fried chicken.
3. if cook doesn’t want to take order, then they shouldn’t be working there. Hire someone else who want to feed.
4. never say we are out of brown gravy if you are serving mash potatoes on menu. Have some one quick to make aware of running out and make them ASAP before saying we are just out. This is a food business. there should be a back plan always if something run out.
5. Never tell server to offer other food in the menu because they don’t want to make them. customer choose what they want to eat and why they came to restaurant to eat what ? Cook chef is not the one to decide. Customer comes in the restaurant because they want to eat that specific food.
6. Never make a money/refund as a primary solution. focus on how you can better serve and do beyond to make customer go smile and happy when they leave the restaurant. Don’t offer them saying we will take off your drinks price. That’s really cheap to think that way.
7. focus on why the customer is upset and how can you fix that to make their visit satisfactory.
8. Manager comes and told infront of us cut their price half. Decide that already with your staff in private.
9. Have customer seen, felt, heard. If you make it this way, customers is always your side and come back to try again for second time. Whatever happen today was not ethical and...

My family and I love to get together and go eat at cracker barrel on Sundays. We kinda started this maybe 2 months ago. We normally have okay service while eating. My fav. Is the store, the atmosphere, and just the whole theme. So, I'm kinda okay on the so so so service, just due to the over all experience. So, this last Sunday me, my husband, and my youngest went. Let me start off with the fact the waitress was RUDE. Anytime I would ask for something; for ex. "hey can we have our biscuits before the meal?" She replied ugh yeah I've been doing that all day. I was like ok. She asked if we wanted Xtra condiments. Which we asked for syrup. She brings biscuits out and says oh yeah yall wanted syrup. And I picked thru the condiment bowl and sd u mind bringing jelly and she replies with we only bring butter and jelly in the mornings u have to make a special request for jelly in afternoons. I'm like ok again. Remind u, she is being overly nice to my husband. Like basically making sure his tea glass is full and has everything and just overly making sure he is SATISFiEd. Which I get there are waitresses out there like that. I have worked in the service industry all my life. Most of the time it's cuz they think that's the one footing the bill and paying the tip. Well needless to say I sat there with an empty coke while she has filled my husband's tea glass twice. And just giving me that, "oh wait what were u drinking? Do you want more?" Like yeah I've asked ya 3 times aint no one trying to drink their own spit while eating cracker barrel biscuits. Also a lil FYI it wasn't busy at all. It was in the middle of the afternoon.

Which remind u I was never rude 2 this waitress. Which I prob. Should of been due to the fact I could see thru her BS.

We get done eating roam around the store. Buy a few items, cash out. My stomach starts hurting. I'm like ok maybe something didn't settle. Get home like 45 mins later and I kid u not it felt like I took a laxative. I do not know if something was terribly rotten or if that waitress had something to do with it. But, I do know I won't be going back there for a little awhile. Because I was sooooo sick. It was exactly like I took a laxative kinda sick. Either way, I really hate that it was a bad experience because my family and I always have such a good time regardless of the waitresses services and me getting terribly sick. It was almost instant. So, if ya go 2 cracker barrel in sherman watch who serves you. Because I really do believe it wasn't the food. I always check my food. Always. All I know it was a terrible feeling and I never want that...

I used to love Cracker Barrel and we have honestly tried to give this one 2nd chance after 2nd chance, but they consistently fail to provide good service and food so I've given up.

Visit #1: there was an issue with Sherman's city water and instead of using bottled water to cook with and serve customers, they kept using the nasty, sewer tasting water. The tea and anything cooked with water was horrid. We told them and the response we got was "I'm sorry", but still charged us for everything.

Visit #2: I ordered the breakfast with eggs, bacon and French toast. I ate the eggs and bacon first, and still had most of my French toast. You can't make this up......the waitress came over to the table and without a single word to me, grabbed my plate of French toast and started to take it away to throw it in rhe trash. Over half a plate of French toast and my fork in my hand. She didn't even ask if I was done with it. She just reached over and picked up my plate from in front of me. I had to quickly say "Ma'am I'm still eating!" She just said "Oh, sorry." That one still baffles me.

Visit #3: Once again, I ordered the breakfast with French toast. The plate of French toast brought to me was the most sorry looking plate of French toast I have ever seen. Ive had this same meal several times in the past so i know what it normally looks like. This time, it looked like they used the thinnest, smallest pieces of bread, including a heel, to make my French toast. It was clear the person who made it didn't care at all about what they were doing and put only the bare minimum effort into it. I couldn't believe the waiter didn't take one look at it and immediately refuse to serve it to a customer.

The price of going out to eat has increased significantly. If you want to charge more and give this kind of service and food, you may as well just shut...