My husband and I are native Quad Citians who have frequented Hungry Hobo for as long as we can remember. Over the years, quality customer service has been hit or miss depending on the location, yet we don't recall previously having a problem with the food being inconsistent at the Bettendorf establishment. Our experience earlier tonight was a whole other story.
We placed a to-go order for two combos: one regular-sized #11 (no tomato, onion added) with a regular-sized vegetable beef soup, and one "D" grilled chicken sandwich with a king-sized chili. The young man who took our order was very friendly, polite, and thorough (which hasn't always been the case at every Hungry Hobo location). He gave our order to the employees at the prep table and, as my husband paid, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that a group of them were huddled together and staring at us while quietly talking to one another. I found that to be a little odd, but I brushed it off as I grabbed my cup and began filling it with soda while waiting for our order to be finished.
Once we got home, I put my long hair up in a ponytail before eating. I then lifted my vegetable beef soup out of the bag, and my hand was suddenly doused in chili that somehow spilled all over the top of the lid and on the bottom of the container. We never put the bag on its side or upside down while transporting it, so an employee was clearly responsible for this mess.
I had to rinse the lid and styrofoam container (not to mention my hand) off, which is something I've never had to do before with Hungry Hobo to-go orders. While in the middle of eating the soup, I lifted my spoon to find something long and dangly hanging from it. At first, I thought it was a fiber from one of the vegetables. Upon closer inspection, it was a STRAND OF HAIR! With my hair still up in a ponytail, I showed it to my husband in disgust, explaining how it certainly didn't belong to me. I then proceeded to dump the remainder of the soup in the trash.
This wasn't the only mishap, though. When my husband lifted his styrofoam container of chili out of the bag (which was originally sitting below my container of soup), his hand ALSO became doused in chili! We discovered the container had somehow been punctured, and the styrofoam had a massive dent in it. At this point, my husband lost complete interest in the chili, and in the trash it went with the remainder of my vegetable beef soup. This was especially disappointing to my husband because he enjoys Hungry Hobo chili, and he went out of his way to pay extra for the larger size that he didn't even get to eat. (Was this incident the reason for all of the staring? Transferring the soup and chili to different containers would have been a more thoughtful action.)
Our sandwiches were fine, as usual, but this abnormal experience with their soup and chili is making us question whether we want to continue ordering from this convenient location that is just minutes away from where we live. Apparently, hair ties and red visors aren't enough to keep strands out of food. Maybe investing in hairnets is a better idea! read more
