Panda Express — Restaurant in Sioux Falls Township

To start off, I am the general manager of a different restaurant. I am aware of health code and food safety requirements. The prepping table at this location is front and center of the kitchen. An employee was cutting broccoli right there in front of me while I was selecting my food. First thing I noticed was that he was handling fresh produce without gloves on. The second thing that astounded me, was that he put the head of broccoli down, reached in his pocket, pulled out his cell phone and replied to a couple messages twice. After both times, he put his phone back in his pocket and then picked up the head of broccoli and knife to begin cutting it again. Without washing his hands. I was going to wait until we were leaving to say something, but when I turned around, he was back by the drive through window area - on his phone once again, and drinking out of a large Fiji water container. Without washing his hands, he not only resumed cutting broccoli, but he ALSO set his open water bottle directly next to the open box of vegetables he was cutting, on the cutting board he was using. I politely asked him to come speak to me, and he was absolutely indifferent to what I had to say. That is people's food he is handling, the general public trusts us that work in the restaurants they get their food from to be sanitary and follow food safety requirements. I told him exactly that, and he said it was not a big deal. That they are allowed to be on their phones in the kitchen, it's not against any rules. I wasn't aware that Panda Express doesn't have to follow ServSafe and state health code and food safety requirements. Not to mention, I'm sure Panda Express also has company policies against cell phone usage not on breaks. If this is a common practice at this location, perhaps it's time a customer followed up with an outside agency to check food safety knowledge of the employees. And also, if the employees are under the impression that there is no problem with using germy cell phones while handling raw produce, I wonder what other food handling techniques are deemed okay. I thought it was bad enough the chicken was cold and no one knew how long things had been up in the window on the warmers, but the food handling turned my...

I visit this location at least 5 times during the 7 day week. I am a regular customer and have never had trouble with the staff. The lady that "helped us" name is xara. I went to order my food as I normally do. The Kung pow chicken was nearly out so I asked to wait for fresh. I let her know I will have the bigger plate, however I wanted 2 fresh Kung pow chicken when it comes up and on a separate plate I wanted the honey chicken (for my wife). She begins scooping it onto my plate. I tell her no I want on the other plate for her. Xara sighed loudly saying oh my god and flung the food off of the plate back into the dish (not even getting all of it off of my plate). I then told her again that I was waiting for the fresh Kung pow chicken. She did not listen and started scooping the old Kung pow onto my plate so I repeated again for the 3rd time no I would like the fresh stuff that just came up. She slammed the plate down again, grabbed the fresh stuff and poured the old stuff on top and then scooped the old stuff back onto my plate. I asked her if there is a problem with me or something and she said no. We sat down and tried to enjoy our meal only to find out that my food was mixed with the honey chicken because she didn't scoop it off of my plate. She continued to laugh and look at us rudely, and talk about us to the other staff the entire time. After I threw my food away and was ready to leave I went up to the counter and asked her what we did to her that made her think it was OK to be this rude to us. She said she's frustrated (wouldn't explain about what). I told her I have never felt so disrespected at a place of business and she gave a cocky "sorry". I told her I don't think she is really sorry after she was talking about us the whole time and continuing giving attitude and she says "or not". I then told her we will not be coming back and that they lost a great customer and she said Okay and started laughing! I then told her that being a B.. to customers is not a great way to do business and smashed my pop on the ground and walked out. After that I will not go back here and will not recommend to anyone! ...

My recent experience at Panda Express was absolutely appalling. I have never encountered such disrespectful and rude behavior from an employee in my life. When my wife and I arrived at the window, the employee, Devonte, started harassing us about donating to a charity. Despite us politely declining, he continued to pressure us, asking multiple times if we would donate.

Additionally, Devonte kept asking how our day was going. Even after we politely told him we were having a good day, he persisted, sarcastically questioning our response with comments like, “Oh, just good? Only good? You’re just having a good day?” This made us extremely uncomfortable and turned what should have been a simple transaction into a stressful and unpleasant experience.

When we finally received our food, Devonte refused to make eye contact and just stuck his limp hand out the window. We had specifically requested some sauce, which he didn’t provide. When we pointed this out, he repeated the same behavior, extending his limp hand out the window without acknowledging us or the situation.

This was one of the worst experiences I have ever had at a restaurant, fast food or otherwise. The lack of basic courtesy and professional behavior was astonishing. Panda Express should be ashamed for employing someone with such a poor attitude and character. The entire ordeal was distressing and has left a lasting negative impression. I will certainly think twice before returning to any Panda Express location after...