Cracker Barrel Old Country Store — Restaurant in York Township

Most everybody loves cracker barrel, right? For me anyways it's always been one of those places that allows a little bit of calm and comfort as well as good food during the chaos of traveling. Course local stores are good as well, but they don't have the same effect as when you're traveling. Well, this wasn't that. My coworker and I stopped by before hitting the airport and heading out for a 12 hour trip home on a holiday weekend; so this last little stop to be taken care of and fed well while we relaxed was exactly what we needed. Instead we walk in and it's not busy, there was maybe 15 to 20 tables in the whole restaurant, small tables. But we sat at the hostess stand for 14 minutes, watching several servers, expeditors a cashier and either a manager or an assistant manager milling around in the dining room nearby, before we were even greeted. And even then I think the only reason we got greeted and set was because what appeared to be a manager of sorts came in from doing what she was doing out on the porch, and stopped to talk to us about the new cheesecake pancakes. A server happened to see her talking to us and proceeded to get us to a table. I do not remember the server's name, maroon apron, five-star, male with sandy blonde curly hair. And anytime I see a five star server, I get a little excited because I know they know their stuff, and we should be well taken care of by them. He was definitely quick to get our drink orders and take our food order as well. But the sweet tea that I got had two pieces of half melted ice, and was old and disgusting. We were not offered nor brought any biscuits or cornbread to the table. The food wait was incredibly long as well, 38 mins to specify ( I know that th ma to texting while I waited) though it was very tasty.... with the exception of the city/sugar ham; that was very dry and chewy, definitely nothing like I've had before. This wasn't a visit that I would say was horrible, but it was definitely far from the standard I am accustomed to as a customer and past long-time employee. The tea alone was bad enough to ruin the taste of most everything else, and definitely upset my stomach, even though I only drink about 2 inches of it. This meal was supposed to be my last little calm before the storm, but instead it just ended up being a prequel of things to come. And let me just tell you that being stuck in a incredibly crowded airport and airplane for the next 12 hours with an upset stomach from that tea ended up being the icing on the cake so to speak. I know I'm not the first person to say this, nor will I be the last, but it definitely feel that it bears repeating.. a sit-down meal could change a person's day, their mood, and their outlook. So it is so crucial for everyone in that store who sees a customer directly, or who does not, to try to give them the best exceptional experience they can. You never know what people are going through, and you never know how much you can help them. Not to mention it directly reflects...

Nearly a month ago, as my friends & I were returning from a trip to the Washington D.C. Latter-day Saint Temple Open House, we decided to stop somewhere for dinner. We were unfamiliar with the area, but we saw signs to a Cracker Barrel, and since we all loved Cracker Barrel, we followed the signs & ended up at the Cracker Barrel located at 236 Pauline Drive in York, PA. All 4 of us were famished, and were glad to be there. We took a minute to stretch our legs by walking around through the gift shop (always a delightful experience!), then the hostess called us to be seated. I ordered eggs, bacon and ham plus 2 sides...grits and baked apples. One of my friends ordered rainbow trout & the two others ordered breaded haddock with various sides. The food was scrumptious😋 & the service was great!! I was really happy that they served breakfast all day, because I was really up for bacon & eggs! Today, May 25th, nearly a month after our visit to this Cracker Barrel, I discovered that I had lost an item that was extremely important to me and by the process of elimination, concluded that I must have lost it at this Cracker Barrel. So I called and asked to speak to a manager. A young man by the name of Jason came to the phone. He was THE BEST!!! A lot of managers of a busy restaurant like Cracker Barrel might have blown me off, but Jason was quite the opposite. He was very empathetic with my plight. He listened patiently to my story then took down a detailed description of the item. He then personally checked his office which is where employees are instructed to take lost & found items. But like he said, some follow instructions & some don't. So he, himself, investigated both the restaurant and the gift shop, even behind the cashiers' area (at my request). He then asked a few of his staff who weren't busy with customers to look around both the restaurant and the gift shop and bathrooms. He personally checked the store rooms. Between him and his staff, every square inch of that building was checked, at least as well as possible while there were guests there. At that point, Jason called me back to inform me that my missing item had not yet been found, but, he added, "Don't lose hope. I have a custodian who will be in this evening. I'll give him instructions to search more thoroughly than we were able to. Also, I'll be in from now through the weekend, so if its found, I'll give you a call immediately!" The man is a gem! Every business should have a manager like Jason!!! In fact, every employee, no matter what business, should be that responsible!!! I doubt that I'll ever have the opportunity to thank Jason in person, so I figured the least I could do is give him and his staff a well-deserved, shining five star review, ESPECIALLY JASON!!!

SENDING MY BLESSINGS & SINCERE...

I know this place gets busy, but I don't want to be sat in the middle of the dining area or a table full of young kids, there were two of us, a small table for two on the sides would have been great, I raised my 5 kiddos and did my time. I felt like I was sharing a large table with other guests. And our waitress should probably find something she likes to do. Giving the check right as you serve the meal is very unprofessional, usually half way through is appropriate or during dessert if they are having it. Otherwise the food was good, it was hot, but something changed with the chicken tenders. While still good, they were a lot smaller and not as crispy as they used to be, also a bit on the bland side.

Part 2: Where are y'all finding your waitresses? Ours was rude, yet another rude waitress. We waited an hour for food, she told my daughter in law to be patient when all she was asking was if she got one of her sides. She thought she had forgotten to ask. My eggs were over cooked and my pancakes were doughy. My son's food had a hair across the plate The manager was great, offered all of us a dessert, which we had to decline as we were already running an hour behind on a family function. We were in this restaurant for over an hour and a half, most of the time was spent waiting for something, coffee, biscuits, our entrées, our check, all the while, people sat 1/2 hour after us, got their food, finished their meals and were out the door. I know this place gets busy, but waiting an hour just for food is a bit much. Not talking to your customers during such a wait is ridiculous. We had no idea if we had been forgotten about or what. The manager was our waitress when we went in the second time and she was the perfect waitress, now she is a manager and she is the perfect person for the job! Congrats! They all need to take a training...