Denny's — Restaurant in Wilmer

I travel the country on business from state to state and stop at dennys alot as I know brand standards because I was a graveyard cook for them for 2 years......on 03/05/22 around 7pm I got great service for what my server had to deal with... Her name was destiny she was attentive and very welcoming and she was doing great but the dishwasher sat in the dishpit for atleast 20 mins eating and then came to the floor and sat down and ate some more at a table while his server was asking for dishes and while he got up and got her some ....he should have and would have had them done had he not spent the previous 45 mins gabbing with 1 of the cooks and on top of that she had probably 8 tables walk in around the same time and not one of the cooks or the dishwasher tried to help bust a table on top of that they were playing some very rude music in the kitchen so loud I couldnt hear the dennys store music so I decided to bust my table for her since they were being lazy and wouldnt help her ..... Mind u she is 17 and has a way better work ethic than the men in this restraunt. She deserves a raise but prolly wont get one because shes a server so I encourage yall to come in when she is there and tip her well because she works with a bunch of grown men that dont work half as hard as she does ...... The GM needs to have a talk with them ..... U should always help ur server when u have all that extra...

Really I think I would rate this location 3.5 or 3.75 but rounded up to 4 based on an older visit. The staff were great. There were more customers present than I expected at around 10am mid week, but it was much slower than a Sunday bunch time. It looks like they were looking for staff but I didn't feel completely ignored like I have at other locations (even before the worker shortages).

My issue was the food. I ordered the cookie dough pancakes, which were a promotional/seasonal product. I'm not sure if they were out of stock of the cookie dough but I had only 3 little bits of raw cookie dough and chips on each pancake. The pictures showed a ton of chips and cookie dough. They were essentially plain, slightly raw pancakes with sugar icing on top. Plus the bacon was a bit cold and limp. I was served fairly quickly so I don't think it was sitting in the back long - I think the bacon needed refreshing on the griddle because of the odd time of day and was probably left over from earlier.

Again front of house staff and service 5, especially if they are understaffed. Food a 2. Unfortunately it's still a restaurant so the food definitely matters. If they were low on stock, I should have just been offered another option instead of getting what was essentially plain pancakes. I've eaten here before (pre covid) and it wasn't too bad, so I'll just blame it on the covid effects on...

Chase, our server, was so incredibly kind and patient. He had a group of about 25 individuals who all had separate tabs, were very rude and standing in the walk ways, making Chase’ job even harder… Chase was the only server and he had 4 other tables, in addition to the group of 25. Our food came out fast and hot, he was attentive… as this huge group left, being in hospitality management, I was being nosy and watching what he made in tips… (a lot of them paid cash)

We became friendly, and I was paying close attention to how he’d been treated and how TRASHED these customers left their tables and area. I asked him what he made and unfortunately it was less than $1/customer. It wasn’t that that even upset him as much as how LONG it would’ve taken him to clean up (by himself, only person working on floor) and have other tables ready for the next rush that was walking in.

My husband and I snapped into action and helped bus/clear his tables so he could tend to the next customer groups coming in.

Denny’s should recognize him as an outstanding employee AND consider adding another server or busser to the overnight shift.

Chase, you changed my life tonight. Thank you for your...