Panda Express — Restaurant in Virginia

I visited this location for the first time 3 days ago. While ordering in the Drive Thru, I ordered the "Wok Fired Shrimp" dish and was told they no longer sold it. I explained to the cashier that I had recently started eating Panda Express, loved that entrée and was willing to try the "Hot Orange Chicken" dish. I asked a few questions to ensure I was ordering the "Bigger Plate" correctly, and she appeared frustrated, as she loudly & abruptly yelled, "Ma'am!" I felt compelled to come inside and show what I wanted to ensure accuracy of my order & informed her I was coming inside. Once arriving at the door, the doors were locked, and as I looked inside, I could see Jacob (Introduced as The Mgr), looking back at the drive-thru server, while they all laughed at me. As a customer was coming out, I asked if they were still open & encouraged me & and the customers behind me to come in. It appeared the store was still open, as other customers were sitting down eating. As I got to the food line, I proceeded to ask questions & the drive thru server ignored me as the mgr. informed me the store was closed inside & failed to assist, yet allowed the other customers to stay in. As I drive back to the drive thru, she had me waiting a long period of time before taking my order. I still had questions about the menu options & instead of assisting, she simply said, "Ok." As I proceeded to pay, she explained she needed to take my entire phone from me, instead of allowing me to tap pay from my car. I found that strange & said, "That seems a bit unsanitary," asking if she washed her hands after each tap? She said, "You want me to do it or not?" I agreed since she was already holding the phone. Oddly enough, once she tap paid, she didn't immediately give my phone back and returned it with orange sauce on it and scrolled to another screen. Once giving me my food, phone & receipt back, she intentionally smears food on my hands. Based on the energy she provided, I carefully ate my food and just as I thought, there was a long piece of black hair weave strand on the inside of my plate.(Please see attached pics of hair). I was so disgusted as I sped back to the drive thru intercom where she refused to acknowledge me, so I got in line behind the last 2 vehicles at the window. She peaks through the window, leans in, looks at me, and walks away from the window. Finally, the manager opened the window and acknowledged me. I informed him that I was aware of the laughing going on earlier, explained she intentionally placed hair in my food, requested a refund, and told him I was reporting him and his staff for their behaviors. He explained that I couldn't get a refund since he'd already counted his drawer & told me to come back tomorrow to get a replacement. I told him I wanted an immediate refund & asked for the corporate #, along with his name, and told him based on how I was treated, I never wanted to see his store again. I also confronted the cashier who just quietly stood there and didn't deny what she did. I was provided with a general feedback number instead. Finally, the manager asked for my receipt and magically provided the refund he initially said he couldn't. I'm still disgusted and disappointed with the treatment at this store. The refund on my account still doesn't show, so hopefully, I'll get that soon. Being ignored, laughed at, having food smeared on me and my phone, having my food played in and hair intentionally placed in it, and refusal of a refund is definitely not my idea of world class...

REVIEW EDIT: IMPROVEMENT!!

I am leaving my prior review below for posterity and replacing it with a new review addendum. I don't like leaving 1 star reviews hanging, so I went back.

The young man at the counter was literally running too and fro, talking into his headset while simultaneously arranging a catering order, the customers in front of him, and the drive through. I wish I had caught his name for the shout out, but he was the Johnny on the spot at around 12 PM on a weekday.

I asked him "You all are short staffed, aren't you" he just laughed and said a few people didn't work out! He then put my order together. This time, it was good. Really good. Nothing wrong with the chicken, nothing wrong with the rice.

There are some new hires in here and that guy they put in front was top tier. I recognized the hustle a mile away. He was doing the job of three people, running a drive through, customer service at the counter, and order preparation. He also did it right.

5 stars this time, with 1 star taken off for prior experiences overall.

My rule is I never leave a bad review anywhere unless I have three bad experiences. Which usually means I leave no bad reviews because usually after one bad experience I never go back. However, I am a Panda Express junkie, and this store is the closest to me. Where to begin. I guess I will start with bad experience 1, which is actually a group of bad experiences. The drive through.

Going through the drive through here is a wildly different experience to the drive through at staples mill. They often don't have what you ordered available. If you want a side sauce or chopsticks and ask for them, they won't end up in the bag. After several times going back into the store to ask for random items I gave up on the drive through.

Second strike came after I started going in. For one thing, I overheard a staffer telling a new hire to give "the old food" to the drive through, before switching out "the new food". Thanks for confirming to never go through the drive through again. Also, as someone who has worked in resteraunts, do NOT tell the customer how the sausage is made. Even with "the new stuff" the orange chicken was chewy, the rice was dry and barely edible and whoever was cooking clearly had no idea how to make the items.

Third strike was today. I walked in, and there was literally nothing ready. A half pan of orange chicken, some dry looking roasted chicken and everything else scraping the dregs. Either they had a massive rush 15 minutes before I walked in the door, or nobody was buying anything to justify making anything. Considering how empty the dining room and drive through was, I assume the latter. Ordered rice and double orange chicken. Rice was dry, and chicken chewy.

This was painful to write as I am a big panda express fan. Never going to this location again. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra 10 minutes to drive to the nearby Parham Road location. They are...

5 yrs later....My second time eating at a Panda Express. 1pm Had lunch and dined inside. Ordered food and paid without any problems. Went to get my drink from fountain. Had tea dispenser and nothing in it. Asked if they had tea and was told no. Checked out the fountain sodas and had 1 not working. I'm disappointed as I do not drink soda's, especially with sugar in them. I already paid for the cup and didn't want to wait in line to get a refund. Next, I noticed the utensils, napkins, sauces were empty. Found the cleanest table as most were dirty with spills on the tables. Cleaned it off then went to front counter to get utensils, napkins and sauces. I ordered the black pepper chicken and mushroom chicken. These were actually really good tasting. Also has the mixed veggies. There's were basically raw with a little white/clear sauce and not steamed. The raw vegetables were not appealing. One of the folks in my group had the chow mein. The noodles were not cooked completely and had the raw dough taste. They also had a slab of cabbage in it. 4"diameter and 1/4 " thickness that was raw. The teriyaki chicken and orange chicken was very good. I would give the entrees 4 stars, sides would be 2 stars (knowing that some of it needs to be cooked a few more mins) but the other things wrong, bring my rating down. Maybe I'll try it again in...