Call Your Mother Deli – Barracks Row / Capitol Hill D.C. — Restaurant in Washington

Let me start by saying I have not tried any of the food at this establishment. My review is strictly based on customer service. I attempted to order a bagel sandwich from this spot Two weeks ago and after standing in line was told they only accept online orders on the weekends. They actually had a sign up that said that and I missed it so that was my fault. This morning my sisters and I went there with the intention of placing an online order and returning for pick up. My sister asked if we had to order online or if we could place the order at the window. She was informed that the order must be placed online. I had questions about a sandwich and was having some issues with finding the sandwiches on the website. The employee at the window told me where to find it on my phone. Less than five minutes later three women came to the window and asked if they could place an order there or if they had to do it online and that same employee told them he would take their order at the window.....wth??!! When we questioned why we were not offered that same option he started stumbling over his words. It felt like we were discriminated against and that really sucks because as I indicated this was my second attempt at ordering...

I recently placed an order for pick up that gave us a pick up time for 12:15pm. We waited for over 45 minutes with no communication. I noticed a bag on the counter and asked if that was order, they said it wasn’t ready, 15 minutes later I asked again only to find out the bagel I wanted was sold out, and after 45 minutes and me asking twice about my order did they tell me that was part of my order sitting on the counter but it was missing one sandwich and did I want my sandwich made with another bagel. I said yes they said it would be at least another 15 minutes, for me to wait over an hour with no communication is very poor customer service. At that time I asked to cancel the order entirely and would like refund. I contacted the store via email and the only response I got is:

Thank you. Again, we're so sorry about this. It certainly doesn't reflect the kind of experience we want you to have and we're going to look into it immediately. Your refund might take 2-3 business days to process but you're all set there. Thanks again for letting us know and please share anything else that would be helpful in the...

I feel like I'm in an alternate reality reading the glowing reviews. I grew up in the DC area which has no shortage of good bagels for about a buck apiece. Then I lived in NYC for a decade which obviously also has great cheap bagels. Then I moved to West Florida which has AWFUL bagels... So I was excited when I was in the Eastern Market area visiting with a friend and saw this place with all its foodie-signaling aspects and suspected it would be delicious, even if overpriced. Well, I bought an everything bagel with just butter on it, and it was one of the driest, most flavorless pieces of bread I have ever had, including terrible chains like Einstein. To top it all off, the butter wasn't even spread on the bagel, and after tip, this came out to about five bucks, whereas at a typical highly regarded counter service bagel place in nyc it would be less than two. This was the first time in my life I've ever thrown away part of a bagel. Maybe it was an off day, but WOW I...