Buffalo Wild Wings — Restaurant in Smithfield

(So, I lowered my rating... let me explain! It's a long one.) We always come here after EVERY Home Coming/Dance/Large end of school year/Sport season function. Myself and most times a few other moms tag along. Which means we understand how this large group of "kids"(we've been doing this since they were all 12-13. Now they're all 16-17) appears to a waitress when we're assigned to their section. So us moms are there to encourage timely ordering, to keep order amongst the chaos, TIP, and usually order adult beverages on top of the huge meal order we put in for ATLEAST 8 "kids" plus US each visit. This HomeComing was no different! Seating was quick and easy. 10 "kids" 4 Adults = 6 appetizers, 14 drinks & entrees, 4 adult beverages.... Our crowd stayed quiet and orderly, other than the occasional outburst of laughter. Ordered promptly, no special requests. From start to finish, we stayed around an hour. BUT this time was DIFFERENT!! It felt strained and awkward. I think our waitress, seeing our crowd, entered this as if it was going to be hard? Maybe she doesn't like kids? Thinking they would be difficult or Loud? Maybe messy? Making way more work for her and Probably wouldn't tip because they're kids? Kind of attitude. Then: •One "kid" was given a wrong side (which he didn't eat!) But was told he couldn't substitute it out NOW... like it was too late? I've never heard of this. •We were never asked if our food turned out ok or if we needed anything else. • 3 of our "Loaded" nachos- with an add on of meat because they don't come with meat anymore? Were NOT loaded... they were dry! The cheese, salsa, sauce, were nonexistent. The extra 2bucks worth of shredded chicken was there, thankfully, but who wants dry chicken on dry tortilla chips!? •No One -kid or adult- was offered a refill... of ANY beverage (EVEN the adult ones! Which would've benefited B-Dub's pocket, right? Those refills aren't free!) •We weren't offered desert? •We had to request take out boxes. That we had to request again after receiving our bill. • We had to ask for our bill... When I'm describing this total avoidance, I mean it lol. •AND she vacuumed around us WHILE we ate!? What was the hurry and rudeness about? It wasn't closing time. It was only 11pm on a night that they close at 1am. After receiving our bill, AS ALWAYS, I instructed our group to bus our own tables. Wiped every surface, left all dishes perfectly stacked, all silverware was placed inside of their empty glasses, all the trash was placed in the paper boats. Still, but FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY WHOLE ADULT LIFE, I collected the !MINIMAL! tip allotted for each order. I SHOULDN'T have but I did! We left and I didn't feel bad about it. Our waitress probably didn't either though. As she still recieved A tip and didn't have to do anything past taking an order... I probably should've just tipped the kitchen staff individually who brought our food out. But I wanted to show her! Big groups pay off! If she'd of done her job correctly it would've monetarily payed off waaaay more! On top of our cleaning up for her as well... Maybe she'll think about it and be better for the next group? Or maybe she'll realize waitressing is NOT for her? Either way, we're looking for a new venue for our...

My recent visit to Buffalo Wild Wings was, without a doubt, the worst dining experience I’ve had at any restaurant in recent memory. From the moment we walked in, it was clear that this location suffers from a serious lack of professionalism, management oversight, and basic customer service —let alone one that’s part of a national chain known for its game-day atmosphere and service.

We waited 1 minute and 47 seconds just to be greeted upon entering. Once we were finally acknowledged and seated at 5:22 PM, the hostess dropped the menus on the table without a word and immediately walked away. We had small children with us, and no high chairs were offered or brought out. We were left standing until another server—not even our assigned one—noticed and kindly brought them over. The hostess showed no regard for whether we were properly situated before walking off.

While we stood waiting, five employees were huddled around a table eating food and chatting, showing zero urgency or interest in the guests coming in. None of the employees were wearing name tags, including the one person in a silver shirt—presumably a manager—who was also part of the same group sitting around eating. It was impossible to tell who was responsible for anything.

Even more disturbing, the table directly next to ours remained dirty for the entire duration of our visit. Plates, napkins, and leftover food sat untouched while employees walked past it repeatedly. This location was clearly well-staffed—there were plenty of people in uniform—but almost no one seemed to actually be working. There was no sense of urgency, no attention to cleanliness, and absolutely no team accountability.

When it came to the food, it didn’t get any better. The kids’ meal came out in 12 minutes and 4 seconds, but our adult meals took another 10 minutes and 35 seconds, arriving lukewarm and underwhelming, like basic bar food that had been sitting under a heat lamp. There was no apology for the delay, no follow-up about the status of our meals, and certainly no explanation.

To make matters worse, we witnessed three employees openly vaping across the restaurant, blowing clouds of smoke into the air. This was in full view of customers, including families with children, and no one made any effort to stop or address it. It was absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable.

When we were ready to pay, it took 2 minutes and 58 seconds to receive the check, and then another 49 seconds for someone to return to retrieve it. We finally left at 6:12 PM, thoroughly disappointed by the entire experience.

The only positive note was our waitress, who stood out among the chaos. She was friendly, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed. Her service was appreciated, but unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to save the visit.

In summary, this Buffalo Wild Wings location is a disaster. The lack of leadership, poor hygiene standards, employee conduct, and slow service all point to a place that desperately needs better management. I won’t be returning, and I wouldn’t recommend this...

If I could rate them a negative star I would. Friday night visit around 7:30pm Sat at the bar, first impression dirty - Bar had not been cleaned up from the last customersssss and trash on the floor. When sat we picked up the trash from the floor, the bartender came and picked up the trash - not touching the dirty dishes sitting next to me or wiping the counter down in front of us. He said he would be a few minutes and then disappeared to the kitchen. I helped myself to my own menu and my husband and I checked out what we wanted to eat. Bartender came back 15 minutes later we ordered our drinks- margirita for me and a long island tea for him - and our food at the same time.... while waiting we observed the customers at the bar. across from the bar was a lady and her two kids receipt with card our ready to pay, two males - both waiting to get their beer glasses refilled - with female who wasn't drink. There is now two people Behind the bar, 15 minutes no drinks for us. While we waited, we asked someone coming out of the kitchen if the channel on one the TVs could be changed- no issues a young lady( said she was assistant manager) came and helped us. 15 more minutes have passed, no drinks still... again we asked for a manager from someone coming from the kitchen area. Same young lady came up to us, my husband who has no patients for the crappie service we were getting, told her we have been waiting and also asked if a manager could help the people at the bar because none of us are getting helped. The lady with the two kids asked for refunds because they have been waiting so long and the to go food was cold because they have been waiting for an hour. Bar stepped up, the two men finally received refills. Kitchen staff brought us our meal minus our veggies... STILL have not received our alcoholic beverages. We asked the bartender about our drinks he acted stupid, we asked for a manager, bartender boy disappeared to the kitchen again came back to tell us we had been cut off because we were intoxicated already. 🤦‍♀️we asked for a manager lady named Karen - she had been behind the bar earlier - she said we were cut off because they couldn't understand us when we were talking to the assistant manager about our LONG wait for our drinks and pointing out customers needed assistance. Said we sounded drunk already... I told them if they could keep the kitchen and bar help and the girls in the red shirt from hunching in the kitchen maybe things would flow smoothly...lol we left shortly after, as we walked out we heard other customers tell people waiting they hoped they received better service because the service sucks.. I will be reaching out to...