For context, I am going to give some additional background on the horrible experience I had while visiting PolloToGo.
My cousins and I decided to drive to PolloToGo for takeout. We each placed our own orders. So while we arrived as a group we were essentially three unique orders as far as the kitchen is concerned.
To start, upon making the line, we ignored the first sign of trouble which was, the main window is both the order window and pickup window. The second window is occupied by a heat lamp that keeps their alcapurrias and empanadas warm. Odd placement for that, but okay...The, now single, pickup window is overworked and is managing all orders; these include those being placed via phone, in person, and/or GrubHub!
All of these orders are being written down, by hand, by a single person. This causes the line to move slower than anticipated. We let this slide as they are a small business, making due with what they have and seem busy....so on the surface it looks to be "worth it".....strike one nonetheless.
After waiting in line for approx. 20 minutes our group of three is able to place 3 individual orders about 3 minutes apart from each other. The cashier takes the payment upfront, and we are asked to step to the side until your name is called....standard stuff. Here is when things go down hill.
We waited 30 minutes or so AFTER placing our order and finally the first of three orders was called. While we thought 30 minutes was an extremely long time we were glad to finally have one of the orders called. We figured the other two would be right behind, as they were all ordered within minutes of each other. We couldn't have been more wrong.....strike two.
It would be an additional 45 minutes until the SECOND order was called. As we waited and looked around we noticed that many of the same people who were either waiting when we got there or not too long after us were still waiting. In between order #1 and #2 there were other orders being filled for customers who came after us and/or picked up by GrubHub drivers.
After waiting for a combined two hours at this point, we finally decided to ask about the third order. By this time others are also asking about their orders. We discovered that the third order was missing altogether, despite it being written down by hand and paid for already (remember that?). They now decide to retake the order and start the order from scratch again. The third order would eventually take an additional 30 minutes to make AFTER the order was retaken.
All told, it took us close to 3 hours to have 3 orders of standard menu items prepared. All of which were fried, not made to order, with no substitutions. It essentially took 1 hour to serve each person, that is absolutely unheard of!
We waited for two reasons:
1. We keep telling ourselves that any minute now we would have our orders. The fact that we paid and there was a long line just to speak to the one person at the window, made it more trouble than it was worth to ask for a refund or risk making scene.
2. After hour two, I wanted to see how bad it would get to see if there was any apology or reason why it was taking so long....but there wasn't. This is simply how they operate.
With all that being said, how was the food? Not great...by the time we returned home all but the last order was cold. Some of our food was under cooked (maduros), some of our food was too dry (tostones) and some of our food was too greasy (alcapurrias). The entire trip was a waste of time, money, and effort.....strike 3.
I am SUPREMELY disappointed, to say the least, and would caution anyone from visiting this establishment. It is a shame because this area needs small, cultural, businesses like these to not only be more diverse but to continue to grow; but for that to occur the businesses need to be well managed and unfortunately, this one is not! read more