Being from South Georgia, My wife and I love Barberitos in Valdosta, GA. So naturally, we were excited to find out that there was one very close to our home when we moved up. Unfortunately, this location has tainted the view about the franchise. A few of things stick out to me about this location:
Food: Great as always. Barberitos food has been consistent across each one I have visited over the years. Great value and mostly fresh made ingredients make way for a nice meal. There are times when you can tell the chicken has been reheated from the day before instead of cooked fresh that day. Meh, I get it, stored properly, it should be fine. The value for what you get warrants it.
People: In any industry, people are hit or miss. Your most valuable people become the ones you, as an owner or manager, spend the most time with training. There is a lack of this here and it is apparent from an efficiency and a customer service stand point. I get it, most of them are kids who are just trying to get started in the job world. There is still a standard to be represented here and a way to do that is training and repetition. Business can go a long way with consistency and customer service.
Operation: This is a main one I would like to address. There was a review prior to mine that stated something along the lines of no ice, no salsa, no clean tables, and over flowing trash cans. To almost the day, this has been six months and I have experienced this issue. One would like to think that when a business owner sees a review, like the one stated earlier, it would be addressed and some measure would be taken to prevent this within reason. No dice here either. This again circles around to training and repetition. This place gets busy during peak hours. Makes sense, the food is good. During this time is when the true nature of the locations operational and customer service training really come to the light. Unprepared employees doing everything they can to move customers along and out the door. This, in a way, makes sense from a business prospective. The more customers you ring up the more money you make, but when this overshadows the quality of food, food prep, customer service, and cleanliness of your business you may only get a percentage of the repeat customers you could be gaining by making their experience better by executing the above.
Barberitos, to me, still has a hometown feel. Unfortunately, this particular location has faded that mindset and pushed it to the fore front of "it isn't worth the hassle, or the drive." read more