Years ago, the restaurant was pretty bad, but it got much better with new management, and became a…read morefavorite spot. Then, one day, without notice, the restaurant was closed. Bunch of people inside wearing uniforms, but the door is locked. No sign on the door. I knocked and was ignored - tried drive through, again, ignored. Weird.
A few days later, my wife wants some KFC, so we swing by. All new staff, all new management. Ordered four or five items and took a seat. Several minutes later, I hear the staff in the kitchen screaming at each other. I went to see what the ruckus was all about and ask if our food was ready and was rather rudely addressed by the staff and told to just wait. About twenty minutes after that the food was ready, just placed on the counter on a tray by an disinterested employee. I didn't take a photo, but the food looked very hastily thrown together. It tasted, well, alright, I guess, nothing inedible, but not really enjoyable, either.
Several days after that, we went back to see if it was the usual circumstance or if we were just there on a bad day. Carbon copy same experience as last time, except they got our order wrong as well. After that, we didn't go back... until...
Earlier this week, my wife placed a mobile order to deal with her cravings. I didn't personally partake, and even advised against it, but I took up the task of going there to pick up the food. So, to reiterate, this was an order placed through grubhub via mobile phone - everything was already paid for and there was a specific pickup time given by the restaurant. I was held up a little bit, so I arrived about two minutes late to pick up the order. Due to Covid (I assume) one door was marked with a sign that said "Entrance Only" and another as "Exit Only". Other than that, there were many other signs on the doors about Covid regulations, lobby hours, things like that. Nothing mentioned the restaurant being closed, but, yet again, the door was locked. There were a ton of people lined up in the drive-thru, so, I thought maybe I'd just go through the drive thru, but I didn't want to be even later to pick up my wife's food, so I decided to knock on the door and see if I could at least let them know I was there.
No one came to the door. A young man behind the counter made eye contact with me, but then quickly turned away and ignored me. There was someone in the lobby who motioned me to the other door (the one marked "Exit Only"), and, since there was no one really coming nor going, I figured I'd give it a try. I went to the door and entered and went up to the counter and told the young man that my wife had placed a mobile order. The young man heard what I said, but didn't say anything in response, instead rushing back into the kitchen without a word. There was some shouting back in the kitchen, not anywhere as aggressive as my previous visits, more scared or panicked, and then... well, nothing. I stood at the counter confused for a few moments, then, as another man rushed by, I asked him if I should wait inside or... he interrupted (not rudely) to ask if I was the one who placed the mobile order. I said yes, and he rushed away. Some other customers came in through the exit door, and then a third employee ran behind me and locked that door, and a fourth, a female, appeared. I asked her if I was in the right place, and she just gave me a confused look and walked away without a word. The first male employee came back and I asked him what was happening, then, a moment later, after no response, asked him if I was to presume that I ought to wait over by the soda fountain. I finally got a sort of nod and perhaps a muffled "umm-hmm" out of him, which I took as affirmative. After quite some time, I saw the second man again, and I briefly related to him my confusion, and he curtly shouted "I'm working on your order next, after this one!" Alright, I thought, now I know that they at least know I'm there. Then some other customers came to the door and knocked and were ignored, just like I was before. I asked if I should open the door for them and was told that the lobby was closed. By then, the drivethru line wrapped around the entire parking lot, and I had only seen one vehicle leave since I had arrived about 20 minutes earlier. Shortly after that, I received my food. I offered to place a sign on the door stating that the lobby was closed, since the employees were clearly too busy (doing what, exactly, I don't know) to do it themselves, and the response I received was classic: "I don't know man, I just work here."
So every question met with a non-answer, every instruction non-committal, and every suggested met with non-sequitor. The food was good though, according to my wife. Everyone inside was wearing a mask, at least that I could see. Perhaps they just need some training or something. I honestly almost left without any food, because everything was so shambled.
