I've been to the Jersey Mike's in Wilton near where I work, so I was excited to see one open in
Derby. This evening is the first and LAST time I will ever step foot into that restaurant again.
The crew consisted of what appeared to be a lot of bored teenagers who were annoyed that their parents made them get a job.
Nobody greeted me at all, nobody smiled, and I have never in my life felt more uncomfortable in any food establishment than I did tonight. I felt unwelcome and invisible to the staff.
As I am standing in line, a girl near the grill asked me "hot or cold", so I gave her the name of one of the items I wanted, and she immediately jotted some stuff down on a slip of paper and handed it to me and walked away.I was trying to figure out why she handed me this piece of paper that looked like an order... I hadn't told her what size, or how I wanted it, or the fact that I wanted two sandwiches, not one. She never gave me a chance. She even wrote "TG" on the ticket, for "To Go" I'm guessing, even though I had not told her I wasn't staying. I guess she just assumed.
So, I stood there, looking at the menu above, trying to figure out what was going on. I looked at the wraps, and I figured, well, maybe I'll ask for one of those once I figure out who is going to take the rest of my order. I see a guy making a sandwich on the grill. It looks like my sandwich. But, I'm thinking, it can't be, I didn't tell them what size, and I didn't get a chance to ask what kind of peppers are in there.
Finally, the people in front of me were gone, and I was at the register, so I told them that I actually wanted a wrap as well. I think it was the girl who took my order that answered. In an non smiling face, she told me "we don't have any wraps." That was all she said. No explanation of why something on the menu wasn't available, just a robotic, non-apologetic, matter of fact answer.
During this exchange, the guy making the hot sandwich sets it on the counter. The only reason I know it's mine is because the slip of paper is the carbon copy of the one I have. Nobody says anything....like "here's your sandwich." The girl at the register just stands there staring blankly. So, I take out my credit card, ready to scan at the little station in front of me, and she reaches out eagerly and tells me that's OK, she can do that. So I give her the card and she runs it. Unfortunately, I realize, it has become a credit transaction automatically, and I wanted to do debit. This whole time, the only sign of life from this girl was when it was time to run the credit card. I'm guessing it must have been like a new toy for her or something. Once the transaction was complete, she just hands me the receipt and card together. I don't think there was a Thank You. There was definitely not a smile. She immediately turned away after handing me my card. I guess I expected her to push the sandwich towards me, you know, actually hand it to me instead of just leaving it on the counter where the guy set it. Maybe even offer me a bag. So, I just took the sandwich and left, in a state of the shock over entire, uncomfortable experience.
Now, at first, I was really disgusted and dumbfounded by the lack basic hospitality exhibited by the staff, but the more I thought about it, I realized it was probably not their fault. None of them seemed malicious. There was obviously just a complete lack of training and leadership. It's like they took a bunch of kids who had no previous job training, taught them some basic job functions (NONE of which were how to interact with customers) , and after 1 week, went live with no managerial support. There should have been some sort of experienced shift leader on the line at all times with this group, but I saw nobody in charge, and certainly nobody with a single ounce of enthusiasm.
There are a so many other places in the area that are well managed and have wonderful service that I cannot see wasting my money at the Jersey Mikes in Derby ever again. read more