Red Lobster — Restaurant in West Melbourne

The only reason why I’m giving this review 2 stars were because of the manager Tracey and Tyleen (I’m completely butchering her name because now I can’t recall -so sorry, I’ll find out your name and edit this) went above to make things a little better for us. Ty was a hell of server for others and helped us out because our server, Olivia didn’t do much to make a good experience for us. After waiting 30 minutes we sat down and ordered drinks and food immediately so we can get everything we wanted served sooner. Olivia was almost done with her training from what we learned in the end of the service but her attitude was apathetic and you can tell she did not want to be there or serve us. I was super patient and kind with my family (this was a birthday dinner for my father’s 73rd Birthday). We waited about 15 minutes for our drink even after getting the cheddar biscuits. The server Ty brought us water (something Olivia should have done).

It felt like forever to receive our food which wasn’t Olivia’s fault but we ended up getting someone else’s order. Olivia seemed confused and had to go back to her notepad to double check what she wrote. She ended up taking the plate back.

Ty came back with the correct food and was super friendly and apologized for that error.

Olivia never checked on us, never served us napkins, never smiled and for the most part she was talking to other tables except us. I never throw the race card but honestly it was uncomfortable seeing her make more time and making others feel welcome except us Latinos.

My partner ordered the endless shrimp dish but pretty much got one plate. He had to find Ty to put in the second order because Olivia told him “one moment” and never came back to us.

By the time my partner got his shrimp everyone finished eating. It took forever to get boxes to go, and we ended up asking Ty to have the manager come speak with us.

Tracey took her time with us and heard our complaints and apologized and told us Olivia was almost done with her training at Red Lobster. She was very professional and gave us a small discount which we appreciate.

Olivia never apologized or tried to make things right. Didn’t even come out to our area. Not sure what her deal was specifically with us. It was just 4 of us and we are a nice family; we weren’t loud,rude nor disrespectful.

While we were walking out Olivia was at the register laughing and being sassy. It seemed like she was happy that we were leaving.

Olivia has A LOT to learn and honestly didn’t deserved to be tipped in the end. It should have been the other server who juggled her tables and Olivia’s tables.

I recommend to call ahead and make reservations and not have her serve you.

Red lobster really needs to step it up and pay their employees more as well as hire more people than burden the few handful hard workers here that have to work...

Red Lobster – Melbourne, FL: A Birthday Celebration Turned Disappointment

My recent visit to Red Lobster in Melbourne, Florida was meant to be a joyful birthday celebration with family—but it quickly became a masterclass in poor service and mismanagement.

The organizer of our event called ahead days in advance and confirmed that our group could be accommodated. We arrived on time at 6:30 PM and were seated by 6:45 PM. By 7:00 PM we had placed our drink orders, and by 7:15 PM we had ordered our food. So far, everything was going according to plan.

But by 7:45 PM—still no drinks. Not even water. Mind you, we were the first table in our party to place an order. At 8:00 PM, I personally walked to the bar to ask about the drinks, and only then did the manager step in to bring them over. We began noticing that everyone else at the event was getting their food before us. When we asked our waitress what was going on, she said she’d go check.

I then asked if she could at least bring out some biscuits to hold us over, and her response left me speechless: “The girl that makes biscuits is cooking food now, so we’re outta biscuits until she’s done.” I truly wish I were making that up.

The manager came over and asked what the issue was. I explained everything—again—and he said he’d personally go make the drinks (yes, again) and returned 10 minutes later with them.

By 8:30 PM, still no food. I walked toward the kitchen and asked for the manager once more. I told the waitress that I either needed to speak to the manager or I’d be leaving unless our meal was comped, given how we were treated despite doing everything right from the start. She said he would come speak to me.

At 8:50 PM, the manager finally returned and said, “I can’t comp the table, but I can offer a small discount.” A small discount? After 2 hours of waiting, no food, and nothing but excuses? I declined. At that point, it wasn’t even about the money—it was about the principle. We weren’t rude. We were patient and tried to be understanding.

The manager blamed their kitchen system, stating that “the register determines what food goes out first.” If that’s true, then Red Lobster needs to throw out that system immediately—because clearly, it’s failing.

Finally, at 9:00 PM, with still no food in sight, I said I was done and getting ready to leave. The manager had the audacity to say, “Let me get your check first!” Sir—check for what? I grabbed my purse and walked out.

To top it all off, besides our party, there were maybe 15 other customers in the whole restaurant. There’s simply no excuse.

This was a completely avoidable disaster of a dining experience. Red Lobster, you’ve reminded me why I stopped coming—and now you’ve lost a customer for good.

Totally...

We went on a Monday night for my sons birthday and we’re extremely disappointed for many reasons. First, it took 30 minutes from the time we were sat to even get menus much less put in a drink order-we got drinks probably 15 minutes after that. We repeatedly asked for bread because we had small children with us that were hungry and we were told it was being made. We saw bread being given to other tables multiple times over the 45 minutes we had been asking. Side note: how long does it take to bake a roll? After two hours we finally received our food with the exception of one meal that had been forgotten. We told the waitress to forget about it because we weren’t waiting any longer. The children were completely antsy and over it at this point. The food was over cooked and foul smelling (overly fishy like it had gone bad). We all took one bite and decided to ask for the manager. We had let multiple things slide at this point and we couldn’t do it any longer. When the manager, Skylar, approached he had an attitude and wouldn’t make eye contact. He said “what’s the problem?” We explained everything just like I just did and he response was “well you should call corporate and complain because I have to seat each waitress with 6 tables whether they can handle it or not.” Not once did he apologize or act like he cared. He refused to take any accountability and continued to deflect. He ended the conversation by yelling at us and stomping away in front of a restaurant full of people. The entire restaurant saw the spectacle he made and the waitress was mortified as were we. I contacted red lobster corporate and was told the director of operations would reach out within a few days. I never received a phone call but I did receive a scripted emailed from guest relations that I’m sure get sent to anyone that calls to complain and an e gift card. The point is that I want to speak to someone and feel like my concerns are heard and addressed. I don’t need a gift card because I will not be dining at this restaurant as long as they have that unprofessional and aggressive MANAGER working there. I am absolutely baffled by the lack of customer service and professionalism that has been displayed by all of red lobster. If that manager treats guests like that and is allowed to, I would hate to see the way he treats the employees. We ended the night at 9pm at Chick-fil-A and we’re met with amazing service. Do yourself a favor and save yourself time and money and go to...