Panda Express — Restaurant in Tumwater

This used to be our favorite place to grab takeout on the go. NOT ANYMORE. I even spoke with a manager the last time I went here, and he actually agreed with the issues I discussed, but nothing has changed in the weeks since I was last there. These issues have been ongoing at this location for the last year and a half, maybe 2 years. It's time for a manager to LISTEN to your customers. Read your reviews that all state the same problem: the issue is a complete lack of management and training. Their organization in dealing with customers is appalling. We timed it, and we waited 65 minutes from entering to exiting, and there were only 7 people waiting in front of us. It was almost 20 minutes before the FIRST person in line got to place their order!!!! We listened to a lot of complaints, watched people walk out, and sympathized with a man who started loudly asking to pay for his order which had been filled, and just sitting there, getting cold, for over 10 minutes!! I don't work in this field, and never have, but even I could see what needs to be done: You ALWAYS put the customers in front of you first. You don't fill 10 online orders before even serving the first person in a long line of customers standing right inside your restaurant. Because of this they ran out of food, and one cook tried to cook many items at once. When this happens, the quality of the food drops. Scheduling: 1 cook and 2 staff??? Seriously?? A third person was there when we arrived, but left---or went on break? It was nearly 7 pm on a weekend!!! Schedule at least 2-3 cooks for busy times. Should there ever be just ONE cook?? TRAIN THEM PROPERLY: The two staff seemed very unsure who was doing what. One boy, who really seemed very disinterested in his job (no emotion when greeting guests), was not able to do the job he was tasked. He would partially filled orders, put them aside, and reopen the boxes multiple times, without doing anything. This was so inefficient. He did this even when not waiting on food dishes to cook!! He wrote down the wrong entrees, and spent more time wiping down areas than filling boxes with food. The second gal working seemed only willing to ring up orders on the register when he desperately needed help filling orders. She did literally NOTHING to help. Food shouldn't run out: Let your cook know dishes are needed before they run out. When this busy, let them know when half is gone. Have one extra staff to deal with online orders and pick ups. Some of them were waiting as long as we were and were angry. Many restaurants close down online orders when they get backed up. Do that so you let your customers in front of you know they are important, too.

Due to all these issues, I won't be coming here anymore. I usually eat here once a week because the food WAS so good. But due to these issues, the quality has dwindled: the portions are smaller when busy and not the same amount as other locations. The quality is not as good---our chow mein had noodles not even covered in sauce and stuck together --which is from a rushed cooking. You add in a 60 minute wait? Forget it. I'll drive all the way to Lacey and get home with Panda Express in 40 minutes. And it will taste better and I'll have more food for my money. Please improve...

When I came here with my daughter and my niece, we had to stand in a super long line. The line gets super crowded cause you have to move for every person coming and leaving. Then when u finally get to the counter to order your basically standing around the corner where you can only see a few of the entrées and the people working behind the counter were extremely rude and I think so stoned they were slow as can be. I told the guy all the sizes I wanted. I said I wanted 1 order of orange chicken by itself,then 1 bowl with orange chicken and fried rice, and one plate with kung pao chicken and I wanted to wait till I can see the rest of the food around the corner. For some reason, the guy got confused about that and was super rude and started pointing at the other food I couldn't see. He was like, what 1 do u want? I said idk I can't see the names of them. I can just wait till the other 5 people that are still in front of me move so I can read the names of everything. Then the guy was rude again and said "okaaaay" with a long pause and wrote something on the bag. So I just kinda ignored that and stood there waiting. Then, when I was able to walk around the corner, I had to talk to a different person, and I told him I wanted some of the honey walnut shrimp. He said okay with an attitude for literally no reason. Then I went to pay and I got 1 bowl and 1 plate. And 1 small little container with orange chicken. I looked at the plate, and it only had shrimp. I told them that "I wanted a plate." The plate is 2 entrées and a side. He said u have 1. The little container is part of the plate. I was like, what? I wanted Kung pao chicken and shrimp in the plate and a separate order of just orange chicken. Then that guy looked at the other guys, and they all acted like it was such a big deal and such a hassle to fix it. It really made me feel uncomfortable and upset. It's not my fault they tried to rush everyone through, but they were so stoned they didn't even understand what's going on. We were going to dine in but they made such a big deal about it other people in line were looking at us like what is taking so long i ended up just leaving cause the whole environment after that...

3 Stars – Frustrating Experience with Mobile Orders Visited: Friday

I recently visited Panda Express to pick up multiple mobile orders for others, and the experience was frustrating enough to leave a review. The orders were placed well in advance, yet they weren’t ready when I arrived, and I ended up waiting over 30 minutes. Other customers were also visibly annoyed, complaining about long wait times.

The main issue seems to be with how they handle mobile orders. There’s no dedicated area or staff member to manage them efficiently. The person handling mobile pickups seemed either new or poorly trained—when I asked how long it would take for my second order, he just said, “I don’t know.” That’s not reassuring when you’re already behind schedule.

The worst part is that mobile orders were being skipped in favor of in-person orders. I watched customers come in, order at the counter, and leave with food before I even got my pre-ordered items. At one point, the staff offered me a free drink for the wait, which was appreciated, but it didn’t make up for the disorganized system.

When I finally received the order, the packaging wasn’t sealed properly, and the manager handed it to me without even acknowledging the delay—no apology, nothing. The whole process lacked basic customer service and attention.

I came back later that day for another mobile order and decided to wait in line instead, just to avoid the headache. Even then, when I asked if the order was ready, I got the same vague answer: “If it’s not there, I don’t know.” That’s not acceptable.

Panda Express really needs to rethink how they handle mobile orders. At the very least, there should be a dedicated station or staff for it, or a clearer system based on when the order was placed. Right now, it feels like mobile customers are an afterthought simply because we’re not standing in front of them.

If Panda Express wants to keep offering mobile ordering, they need to improve the process and treat those orders with the same urgency and respect...