Grady's Snack N' Dine — Restaurant in Thornton Township

Normally, I like this place. I've gone several times. However, today's experience may change that. Today, I met up with a friend to have brunch at Grady's, a favorite of both of ours. When we got there, the waitress told us that there were bees outside and if we sat outside, we can't decide to come back in later. I was at Grady's recently with clients where we sat outside and encountered a few bees. At that time, the bees were few and mostly docile. So, remembering that experience, my friend and I said okay, and sat outside. When we go outside, I learned that these weren't bees, but they were actually wasps - very aggressive wasps. For the most part, while we were sitting, the wasps didn't bother us too badly. However, when our food arrived, that story quickly changed. Our table was swarmed by the wasps, and I got stung. Now, yes, I remember, they did give us a disclaimer. However, bees and wasps are very different. Had they said, "We have some very aggressive wasps outside that's making dining outside difficult for most customers than normal," as opposed to, "there are some bees outside that you'll encounter while you dine," then I would have made a different decision. However, my frustration isn't' about us sitting outside, and I know being stung isn't their fault. Instead, my frustrations lie with the following. When I got stung, the staff ran inside and refused to come back outside. One of the waitresses acted like she was mad at me because I got stung. No one asked if I was okay if I needed anything etc. (NOTE: We went to another restaurant to eat later, and while they had nothing to do with me being stung and noting that I wasn't stung on their premises, they still offered me an ice packet to help ease my new wound) After I got stung, the wasps immediately swarmed my food, making it no longer something a human wants to eat. Do you want to eat food after it's been swarmed by wasps? I only took one bite of my food and never had the chance to finish. One waitress was really nice and said I could come in and eat, but the manager, Ian, was very cavalier about the situation and said that I had to either pay for my food twice or eat the contaminated food. This is the most absurd thing I've ever heard. My friend later negotiated that we leave without paying, which Ian agreed to eventually. When my friend tried to talk to the manager, Ian, about me getting stung, his demeanor and disposition really just gave a sense of someone not wanting to provide good customer service. He was most concerned with money. He didn't care about the customer experience or experience we had at that time. And he also communicated to my friend and me in a belittling way. Ian disregarded that great customer service would have led to us ordering more food, more drinks, coming more, tipping more, and recommending the establishment to other friends. My friend suggested that they close the outdoor area, so no one else has the chance to get hurt, but Ian outright refused this suggestion. I hate that I have to stop coming here. But Ian just made this experience so unbearable. How could...

Food is amazing... online ordering is USELESS, ordered 3 times online, was given a specific time the order will be done. All 3 times I showed up about 5 -10 minutes after pick up time just to give them extra time. And all 3 times my order wasn't ready, and instead I had to wait for an extra 10-20 minutes for the order to get done while I sat inside the restaurant. One time the restaurant was packed, so I understood the hold up, but the other 2 times, they had 4 employees and 2 customers inside, but i had to wait for my food. I have a 30 minute lunch brake, it takes me over 10 minutes to come pick up my food, and when I have to wait an extra 20 minutes for the order inside, I dont get to eat my lunch unless I do it while driving 😡😡. Love the food, but I highly recommend avoiding online ordering.

Update: may 3rd 2021, called and placed the order this time instead of using online system. Were told 15-20 min wait. Came in a little over 20 min after placing the order. Got told the same thing "just a couple more minutes" and waited my lunch brake away sitting waiting for my food again. Restaurant yet again pretty empty with a bunch of employees. I've been sitting with another person who made a pick up order 35 min ago... looks like online ordering or calling is pointless.

JUST AVOID THIS PLACE IF YOU DONT PLAN TO SIT DOWN AND EAT. PLACING TO GO ORDERS...

I dine here often and I am usually an extremely satisfied customer. However, today was the opposite. I’m big on principles. I added my name to the waiting list for a party of 3. We patiently sat and waited. I noticed that a group of people were leaving from the bar area so I asked one of the hostess if there was a wait for those seats. She said let me check. Meanwhile a group came in after me and went straight to Ian who was the manager on duty and asked if they could sit there. He sat them. Now there is a waiting list for a reason. The right thing to do would’ve been to check the waiting list and extend those seats to those who were already there and waiting. Giving the seats away to a group that just walked in and skipped the list was completely wrong of Ian to do. The hostess apologized and said the group went over her head and straight to Ian. She asked if I wanted to speak to the manager about what he had just done but I already knew that speaking to him would’ve been pointless because as a manager he should’ve known better. I decided to write a review instead. I am totally appalled by a department head’s inability to follow protocol and simply do what’s right. Right is right and wrong is wrong. I will never dine...