Sonic Drive-In — Restaurant in Troy

I used the new app function to place an order and checked in at a stall as the drive thru was really busy. I watched the status of the order on the screen and it eventually told me the order was brought to me. It wasn't. I waited a few minutes and finally hit the button to talk to someone. I was asked to hold. I did, for ten minutes. I pressed the button again and was again asked to hold. A different person came on after 2 minutes and said the order was just being worked on now.

I ordered a drink, a corn dog, and an ice cream waffle cone. Certainly not super complicated. Meanwhile people who had arrived after me at the stalls and drive thru were leaving as I waited still.

Finally a girl brings my order and tells me the ice cream machine is broken and if I'd like to replace the cone with something else. I declined and asked for a refund. She went back inside and then came out and told me as it was ordered on the app they are not able to process a refund. At this point I had been sitting at a stall for 40 minutes and asked to speak to a manager.

I was shocked that the reply was we're swamped and about to close, he's really backed up. I checked the order in at roughly 8:20 PM, they close at 10. It's not like they were getting a massive rush 5 minutes before closing. I insisted because the whole situation is ridiculous.

I remarked about the time I had been waiting. The girl insisted that she had just seen my order when I talked to her. I let her know that the order was checked in, confirmed, in the kitchen, and delivered per the status on the bar and then I still had to wait 20 plus minutes to be told when my order is brought to me that they couldn't fulfill it. After mentioning how I understand how pulling a car forward works and I know they saw the order and did the equivalent of pulling me forward by pushing the order through and how the better part of an hour was spent waiting, not being told they couldn't make my order until much later, and that if I had to waste time the manager could talk to me she returned inside.

The assistant manager came out and confirmed that they couldn't refund me due to the app. At which point I said that surely they can put the amount on a gift card if nothing else. The assistant manager then offered to put my name in a book with a $25 credit that can be used the next time I go.

This was more than I was asking for. I appreciate it. The staff members I spoke with were courteous. But at the end of the day there's no excuse for the length of time before I was informed they couldn't fill the order. The fact that they obviously ignored me while they took care of others who arrived after me is downright poor service. And the inability to refund a payment method you accept is ludicrous at best.

If it weren't for the credit I'd never go here again. Let's hope the next visit isn't on par with this one.

Update 10/17/18 - Went back to use the credit I had been given. Even that was wrong as they would only give me a $20 credit as opposed to the $25 I had been told I'd receive. This place is kind...

I pulled up to the drive thru menu around 1205 and sat there for a minute or so before checking to see if anyone was on the other end, the woman answered that she was busy and would be with me in a minute. 5 minutes later I asked if she was still there and was told there were only two people working and they needed the catch up on orders. That she would be with me in five minutes. Seeing as I was the only one at the drive thru, and only counted four cars at the car hop spots, I imagined that inside must have been bum rushed by a mob of pedestrians as I didn't remember seeing a lot of cars in the lot either. Another 5 minutes go by, now I am realizing how long I have been sitting at a drive thru and was wondering if this was some kinda hidden camera prank or psychology experiment. 1218. By now another customer who drove up to the other lane rolled down the window and asked if I had heard anything. Another poor soul rolled up behind us. I told the guy what I had been told and continued to wait, trying to give the crew on the other end of the speaker box the benefit of the doubt. 1222. Having given significantly more than a the six minutes I had been asked to provide I asked again and if I could place my order. I was told again there was only two people working and it would be another 5 minutes. Not sure if the woman realized I was the same person she had told that to before, I finally had it. If sonic doesn't wat my business they won't have it. I wished the guy next to me good luck and proclaimed I would go to McDonald's a block down rt7. And flipped the bird to the security cameras. I got through the drive thru at McDonald's and drove past Sonic at 1232, need once empty line bent around the building. Bless those unsuspecting souls stuck in the middle.

On the three hour drive I had following, I really felt bad for whom ever was working, while I was frustrated at being ignored as a customer, I have been in their position and realized they are dealing with working for horrible management. Either through incompetency or frugality, the franchisee failed to provide their staff with the resources to do their job.

This was my first time going to this location, and I have only been to a handful of Sonics in my life, but one flippant and frustrating experience has resulted undone any good will I had towards the brand. In a day and age of data analytics and brand management, one cheap or incompetent manager was unable to manage a franchise in a manner that resulted in my loss of trust as a consumer, undoing millions of dollars and in marketing.

To the woman at the drive thru, I apologise if you thought my inappropriate hand gesture was directed at you. To the management who doesn't understand the social contact implicitly linking speed of service with fast food, no provides their employees with the resources needed to provide that service, I make...

This location is not only one of the worst Sonics, but one of the worst fast food establishments I’ve been to. I come from a long history of working in fast food, customer service and hospitality so I understand ALL of the attached struggles but there are ZERO excuses for how bad this place is. We just waited over forty minutes for a mobile order and left empty handed. A mobile order we placed before even arriving to the parking lot. Our entire Sunday evening wasted for the smallest most simple order. When we arrived we picked our “slot” for pick up and waited so long the screen timed out. So we went to the window where we sat an additional fifteen minutes (which has happened several times before) Nobody came to the window ONCE. Nobody acknowledged us ONCE. Not once.

I tried going inside but the people in the lobby told me not to bother cause they had been waiting an immeasurable amount of time.

Finally someone came to the car at the 35 minute mark now to asking what we were here waiting for and then what the name on the order was. No apology. No explanation . No customer service ability to be found. This was after NOT being acknowledged in the assigned parking spot and not being acknowledged at the drive through AT ALL. We give the name, frustrated, and continue waiting another ten minutes or so for him to come out yet again, EMTPY HANDED, asking us if we happened to remember what we ordered. Things were APPARENTLY so complicated in there from the empty parking lot and four people waiting inside that they no longer even had our order.

Supposedly during the shift change our order, and all the information with it,was lost. THATS the excuse we were given.

Ummm WHAT?!! it shouldn’t have taken so long for a couple of sodas that it affected shift change at all… and two.. how the hell does that even happen?

What is the point of online ordering and what is the point of the app making us pick a “spot” and everything if nobody EVER comes out to bring us our order. Every single time we wait so long that the screen times out. Completely starts over. We always have to go to the window and wait crazy amounts of time for anyone to ever get us what we asked for.

We just spent our whole Sunday night waiting for a couple of sodas because the app wouldn’t refund us. Only to still leave emtpy handed.

You guys sell soda and fryer food, the most basic menu in all of fast food. It’s almost impossible to be bad at that, but this location manages to constantly flop.

We have no idea how to even get our money back because they wouldn’t help refund us and neither will the app so that’s also pretty unfortunate.

The franchise owner should be very embarrassed of this staff and location.

Also guys “I’m sorry for the wait” goes a long way. Next time start with that. there was not even an acknowledgment of how horribly...