Red Lobster — Restaurant in Valdosta

I have enjoyed Red Lobster since I was a child and will most likely continue doing so. However, this last visit has me a tad disappointed. To begin with, the entryway had an odd smell (sort of like a wet dog). We were seated promptly and were assigned a most polite server. The menu had a promotion for a house punch that came with a take-home decorative glass, so I ordered that along with a simple fish and chips platter. The drink came out and I was informed that they were out of the take-home glasses. Disappointing, but I could get past that. Next our orders came out. I was presented with 4 pieces of greasy frozen-breaded fish. By frozen, I mean that you could tell they were pre-breaded and packaged frozen. They had so much grease on them, I had to dig the fish out of the breading to eat it. After we "finished", I complimented the server on his job and advised him of my disappointment with the fish. He then suggested that the manager come over. I was then greeted by the manager; I began by complimenting the waiter and then offered my opinion on the fish. He agreed with me, saying that he often gets complaints on the fish and went on to tell me how the fish used to be beer battered when cooked, however he was embarrassed to say that they come pre-breaded, just like Gorton's brand frozen fish. He advised me that the management has complained multiple times with no success and suggested that I go to the website and register a complaint. He then left our table, offering nothing more than the suggestion of complaining online. Our server returned and thanked us for the compliment. He then advised me that they had some more of the glasses that were supposed to come with the drink I ordered and asked if I wanted one. I agreed and was then told that it would be $1.99 more, after I had already signed my credit card receipt. So, to sum up; after ordering a promo drink that comes with a glass, I did not get a glass. I received a greasy version of Dollar General frozen fish. The manager took a complaint and pawned it off of the website, then after giving a compliment on the waiter, I was told that more glasses "magically" just arrived, however I would need to pay extra. So there you go... that was my disappointing trip to Red Lobster. I have had great trips and not-so-great. The good ones are always shared with review sites as are the bad ones, like this one... Oh yeah, to add insult to "injury", I was reminded of the foul smell of the entryway as I exited the restaurant. It went well with the greasy remnants of fish I had...

It was beyond horrible!! I have never had such lousy service and treatment at a Red Lobster before. It was not busy at all, mostly completely empty. The waitress, Abbi was the worst server I've ever encountered anywhere. She was totally incompetent. We asked 4 times for a straw and all she ever said was "oh yeah". My wife finally got up and found us some straws. It took over an hour to get our food. People that came in well after us were served first, finished and were leaving before our food came out. We could not even get her to refill our drinks. The whole time we were there, almost 3 hours, Abbi was too busy flirting with all the men, giggling and cooing over them to do her job. It was so bad, our kids, ages 10 & 12, commented on how disgusting her behavior was! We waited over another hour to get the check so we could leave. She never would get us any to-go boxes. Finally another nice server went and got them for us. After over an hour and having to get the manager, I finally was able to check out, but the bill was wrong. Abbi didn't clear the kiosk so it was trying to make me pay for other people's food. The manager wasn't much help. Some of the other servers tried to help and even apologized for something that didn't really even concern them. That's way more than the manager did. He seemed aggravated about the whole thing and finally handed me a stinking $10 gift card for my trouble. A slap in the face would've been nicer at that point! We are not demanding people and always try to make our servers job easier, compliment and encourage them, and leave a decent to very good tip. My wife used to wait tables, so she has a soft spot for hard working servers. We firmly believe in trying to encourage and uplift people, especially if they're having a tough day. That being said, the treatment we received tonight was incorrigible!! When my wife walks out and says don't you dare leave a tip, you can't imagine how bad it has to be!! For the manager's attitude to not be much better is incomprehensible! I'm not sure when or if we'll be back to the Valdosta,GA Red Lobster, which is sad since we've been going there regularly since it opened over...

Valdosta is filled with amazing restaurants and places to eat. As a former EMPLOYEE, this red lobster is a sorry excuse for a restaurant and should have closed their doors when the other one’s went out of business. There’s no AC (thermostats have been “locked” for months, with no money to fix them) so everyone, customers and employees alike are a sweltering mess by the time the food comes out. Just peek at the ceiling and carpets when you go in this place. Nothing has been cleaned, gutted, or renovated in probably years, if at all. Endless work orders for important appliances needed to cook and store food properly have gone unfulfilled for weeks to months at a time, countless cockroaches in the kitchen, horrible turnover rate because of not only these work conditions, but because of how the managers speak to their employees. and if you’re coming for FRESH seafood, lol baby…. you’re better off going literally anywhere else. Everything is frozen. Nothing is “imported” or “caught fresh” even though that’s all part of the script to give to our consumers to keep them coming back. I have been a server for over 6 years, including a red lobster in south Florida, and despite ups and downs in every company, i’ve always had pride in who I work for. In the 8 months of working here I have never been met with such poor management, favoritism, dead end excuses, empty promises, unprofessionalism, lack of consideration for everything from plate presentation to customer and employee feedback, and profiting off selling LIES to our customers. If you’re gonna spend your hard earned money, I implore you go to a company that isn’t just trying to hit your pockets, and is actually out to give you a pleasurable and memorable experience. This red lobster does not care about food quality, or even about making you a regular customer. They’ll throw incessant apologies and coupons at you before they actually try to make it a good experience. They only care about keeping their doors open. Mind you, not every RL is run like this. Avoid this one like the plague, though. Sincerely, A server with a...