Panda Express — Restaurant in South Plainfield

My significant other and I visited the South Plainfield, NJ Panda Express restaurant on Wednesday, April 17, 2024, for dinner near 8:45pm. Per usual, the restaurant was busy with guests waiting to place and pick up their order. As we approached the server at the food bar (a young lady) I began to place our order for two plates (3 options meal), and I noticed the remainder of the food items were nearly empty. Also, the guests before me, approximately 10-15 people, were all aligned waiting for fresh food to be refilled. Therefore, I was still debating on the other items to choose because I didn’t want leftover items. I respected the space of other patrons and did not crowd them. The young lady was very patient and moved our order to the next server beside her, (Apple was the next server’s name). Apple began to have a conversation with the young lady regarding our order and said to her, “why can’t she just look up at the menu and read”. Since, I overheard the conversation and asked Apple, “Is there something you would like to address with me?” Apple said, “you can just look at the menu above and read it, it’s the same items.” I was appalled because it was communicated disrespectfully, and I said, “excuse me, what did you say to me” and Apple repeated it again. I was flabbergasted and embarrassed standing in an audience of 15 more strangers. I expressed to Apple that they were out of line, and I no longer wanted my order. The young lady apologized for Apple’s behavior and said that they were wrong for communicating to me in that manner offered a discount to resolve the matter. But I politely declined and communicate that this matter would be escalated. My significant other was completely unaware of what had occurred because the incident was brief, but my frustration and humiliation alarmed him, and I just wanted to leave. Before exiting the Panda Express, I explained to my partner what occurred, and he returned to the food bar and spoke with Apple politely and expressed that his disrespectfulness was unwarranted towards me, and he owed me an apology. I returned to the food bar and Apple apologized to my partner but not me. My partner then spoke to one of the two managers on staff, Jamar, and expressed that Apple’s behavior was disgusting and that an apology would have diffused the matter. But Jamar was completely dismissive and told my significant “you’ll have to wait; I have to get these other customer’s food order first”. Tyrone, the other manager on staff, did absolutely nothing, but just looked from the kitchen and ignored the matter. Had I received an apology from Apple that night, this letter would not have been written today. As a customer, I did nothing wrong. However, due to the treatment of your food server Apple and managers on duty Jamar and Tyrone, I felt like I was their scapegoat for a chaotic dinner rush evening which is unacceptable. I understand if the staff is overwhelmed with duties and short of help to facilitate the demands of a busy time with the customer. But it’s unfair treatment for the customer to feel as if they are in the wrong because their staff is overwhelmed due to the demand. There were two members of management that did absolutely nothing to mitigate and make the customer feel heard. I left there feeling dismissed, unheard, wronged and disrespected by Apple, Jamar and Tyrone. This staff NEEDS HOSPITALITY TRAINING!! And neither of the three should be in any position to continue to serve a community with such high demand, if the position itself is overwhelming for each of them. I recommend offering professional employees that benefits the customer and your establishment. Employing individuals that are unequipped to manage and not properly trained to diffuse matters efficiently is a disservice to the Panda Express of South Plainfield. I was treated extremely poorly and disrespectfully as a customer. I patronized that location frequently as a resident of Piscataway, but as of result of this matter, I will no longer and be sure to communicate with others my...

Today 12/03/2022 at 9:06pm I walked into this Panda Express location and I wanted to place a family meal which includes 3 entrees and 2 sides of your choice. I also ordered 2 chicken egg rolls and 2 large drinks.

I make the long line and waited my turn. The person that took my order wasn’t so welcoming or pleasing, more-so bitter and he was a male and had a black button up shirt dressed differently than the other employees (assuming he was the manger of the location).

I disregard the dryness from him and I proceed to order my food and I ask for super greens and rice as my 2 sides and for the 3 entrees, I asked for string bean chicken, grilled teriyaki chicken, and black pepper chicken. They didn’t have any grilled teriyaki chicken readily available and I was told that they didn’t have anymore and so I had to settle for Beijing beef as an alternate side for my order. They also didn’t black pepper chicken readily available either but he said I could wait for it which I did.

I pay for my order and had to wait for the black pepper side order to come out so they can finish my family meal order. As I am waiting for the black pepper chicken to come out, I see that they had prepared some fresh grilled teriyaki chicken to be served to customers who would want that as a side for their order.

With me seeing this happening I ask the cashier if I can replace my Beijing beef side order for the grilled teriyaki chicken that had just came out. The cashier proceeds to tell me that he/she was going to ask the manager. It turns out to be that my assumptions about the person that took my order which had the black button up shirt was in fact the manager.

The manager tells the cashier that I cannot change my side order because it was paid for already. There is no price difference for any side that you choose to order in a family meal, so I would think that it wouldn’t be a problem for me switch sides. Also let me add that I did not have my family meal order in hand because they were still waiting for the black pepper chicken side to come out. I never touched the food at all as it was on standby in the serving section.

For me to get the grilled teriyaki chicken I had place an extra separate side order and pay for it.

Paul (the manager)you have no customer service skills and do not know how to greet people coming into a business. Also you do not know how to satisfy the needs of a paying customer. I had a very unpleasant time and was...

This was my first time eating at Panda Express. Typically I see this chain in the food court of malls so the interior was nicer than expected.

The food was ok and fairly more authentic than I anticipated. Most fast food Chinese restaurants have random veggies thrown in as fillers but I didn't see too much of that here which is good but some dishes did have those random.vegetable fillers thrown in. Portions were decent depending on what side you choose. The teriyaki chicken was on the skimpier side. I guess because it was all white meat. It was good. Most of the other chickens are breaded which I am not a fan of and some dishes had a premium if you chose it.

Overall, if health conscious, this is one of the healthier meals in terms of fast food.

Catering order review update:

I ordered catering for a birthday party online. The package I chose was for around 30 people and I placed my order 3 days in advance. I called the next day to confirm my order and whether I could pick up my order 30 min early. I was told this was fine. Cool. On the day of my order pickup, I called again to confirm my order as well as indicate I would be picking up 30 min earlier than my selected time. Again, I was told no issues. When I arrived to pickup my order, it was not ready at all!! Honestly, this was quite irritating as a customer considering I called twice to confirm the early pickup.

The only positive was that the cashier was very nice and apologetic and asked the kitchen to get my order ready ASAP.

I ordered 2 sides of fried rice and 2 sides of chow mein. For the entrees, I ordered walnut shrimp, orange chicken, beef with broccoli, and Kung pao chicken.

First, this was definitely NOT portioned to feed 30 people unless everyone eats like a squirrel. There was 11 people and we just about finished all the 4 main entrees on the first helping. The fried rice was very bland. It needed more seasoning. I wasn't sure if this was because they were rushing my order? The walnut shrimp serving was extremely little. It didn't fill the tray at all considering they charge extra for this dish. Very disappointed. I didn't think it was worth the extra money at all. The beef and broccoli had barely any beef in it. The orange chicken and Kung pan...