Denny's — Restaurant in Terre Haute

"The Diner of Disdain: A 5 A.M. Character Study in Neglect"

It’s five in the morning. The hour when the world is raw and honest—when silence still wraps the streets in velvet and the weary wander in search of warmth, a seat, and caffeine. An all-night diner, by design, should serve as a haven for insomniacs, truckers, thinkers, and those of us who greet the dawn before it’s properly dressed. Yet what I encountered was less a sanctuary and more a slow-motion parody of service.

Ten minutes I sat—thirsty, hopeful, patient, surrounded by the faint hum of refrigeration units with overhead lights that flickered like a dying promise. Ten minutes, not for eggs or toast, not for some complicated latte pulled by an espresso-schooled barista—but for coffee, the sacred elixir of the early riser, the expected baseline offering of any establishment that dares to remain open round the clock.

That the coffee had not yet been made by dawn is not just an inconvenience—it’s a philosophical failure. This wasn’t a forgotten condiment or a misplaced napkin; this was a cornerstone ritual neglected. As if the diner had lost the script of its own existence.

When it finally arrived, tepid and apologetic in a chipped mug, it came without a spoon. No stir stick, no grace, no gesture. Just silence, and a waitress immersed in an uninterrupted personal phone call, undoubtedly weaving tales of her ex-boyfriend with a volume that challenged my own thoughts.

I scavenged sugar packets from nearby tables, like a raccoon searching for scraps. Then stirred with a straw—plastic surrender to absurdity. No eye contact. No awareness. No care. The scene was performance art in neglect.

This wasn’t just bad service. It was emblematic of the diner’s descent into apathy: a place that had forgotten why it existed, or for whom. And in that moment, as I sipped the bitter brew of indifference, I realized I hadn’t come just for coffee—I’d come to remember civility, and left instead with a taste of its absence.

ADDENDUM:

And as if the scene hadn't already steeped itself in a peculiar blend of indifference and inconvenience, each table—mine included—bore the final insult to sincerity: a small card, crisp and cheerful, proudly displaying a QR code beneath a hollow plea. “Please leave us a 5 star review!” it chirped, in fonts carefully selected to simulate warmth and gratitude.

It is a curious thing to observe: the eagerness to harvest praise from a well so evidently untended. The very institution that delayed its most basic offering, overlooked the simplest utensil, and whose staff was absorbed in phone-bound soliloquy, now extends its hand not for accountability, but for accolade. Not content with providing a baseline experience, it seeks digital flattery—an algorithmic bouquet tossed into the void to mask the scent of stale coffee and absent courtesy.

This isn't marketing. It's the commodification of feedback—a quiet assumption that patrons, perhaps softened by caffeine and resignation, will dutifully scan and oblige. Yet no gesture of customer service is present to earn such tribute. The card becomes less a request and more a monument to obliviousness; a shrine to self-praise built atop the ruins of forgotten...

One of the worse experiences that I've had at a restaurant in awhile. The waitress brought me French Vanilla creamer instead of half and half. It took about 10 minutes before she came back to my area so that I could ask her for regular creamer. She told me that she'd be right back. She got into a conversation with another waitress and totally forgot about the half and half. My coffee was cold by the time she finally brought me creamer.

The lady at the table next to me asked if somebody could check on her husband who had been in the bathroom for awhile. When he returned, he told the waitress that his food was under cooked and that he been throwing up in the bathroom. The waitress without asking the customer had the kitchen cook him another meal. He refused the food after which the waitress said that she didn't need to have another meal cooked because it was his fault for continuing to eat the food and not asking that it be sent back to the kitchen to be fully cooked and that she was going above and beyond by taking the initiative to have a new meal prepared.

After 30 minutes, the waitress brought out the lasagna that I ordered. It was terrible; it just didn't taste right! The bread was burnt so badly that I couldn't eat it. I just wanted to get out of there, but guess what, my waitress was on cigarette break for what seemed like forever. I got sick of waiting for the waitress to bring me the bill and walked up to the counter. Luckily, she was smoking where she could see me and rushed in. She seemed annoyed that I interrupted her smoke break and conversation with another waitress who was also on a smoke break. Horrible service!

As I'm sitting in my car writing this review, it appears that a customer is taking a picture of 3 waitresses taking a smoke break. Good...

Absolutely disgusting!

My daughter and I visited this restaurant after a soccer game. We walked in and stood at the hostess station and waited to be seated. I heard someone off in the distance say, "two?". It took me a few seconds to register this was thr hostess asking how many people we had in our party. But she was across the restaurant sweeping the floor so we had to almost yell back at her. She told us which section to sit in and we say ourselves. The waitress came to take our order and I ordered fish for my daughter and a sandwich for myself. I went to use the restroom. The restroom is absolutely disgusting. I will attach pictures. I was instantly disgusted and lost my appetite. If a public area looks that bad, how nasty do you think their kitchen is?? But we had already ordered, so there was no turning back. I sat back down and my daughter told me ahe is getting chicken instead of fish. I was confused and she finally told me that the waitress came back and told her they were out of fish and asked if she wanted chicken. My daughter does not know how to talk to waitresses or order her own food. So she just didnt eat the chicken when it came. She was going to eat the Mac n cheese, but it was also disgusting. I will put a picture of what it looks like on the menu vs what she got.

While we were sitting and trying to eat, I heard the hostess "seat" three more customers by yelling at them and twlling them where to go without stopped what she is doing. One our waitress realized we both had empty drinks, she stopped scraping the grout on the floor with a knife and grabbed refills immediately, without washing her hands.

I highly suggest the health department take a look into...