Steak n' Shake needs a revamp on their service standards!
December 30th, 2015 - Steak n' Shake Ormond Beach almost caused me to go postal. Yes they were busy, but I am starting to feel that too many managers/owners understaff their stores for the sake of saving money at the expense of customer service. It is a consistent problem at many Steak n' Shakes around the country any time of year or day.
THE EXPERIENCE
We weren't greeted when we came in, which was fine, but it seemed none of the staff noticed we were waiting to be seated. TWO servers walked by us to their tables and didn't acknowledge our existence. It would have been nice if someone said, we'll be right with you or something! Finally one server who was busy wiping down a table near us decides to look up from her task. She had a surprised look on her face as if we'd just materialized out of thin air from the Starship Enterprise or Millennium Falcon.
"Are you waiting to be seated" she asked? After responding with an obvious yes, she took us to a booth to be seated. I thought it was a little too tight for the 5 of us, so we switched to another table. I should mention that she was not our server. Our server was taking forever to come to our table, so I got up and found menus near the front door. A kitchen staff member noticed and screamed to our server to get to his table, "customers are getting their own menus and that is not how we do it here!" (verbatim).
This young kid comes over dazzled and confused, I believe it was his first week out of training and he was clearly overwhelmed. My heart softened (because at this point I was really getting annoyed), but it wouldn't be long before I was annoyed again. My wife takes an unusual amount of time to decide what she wants... even at places the menu hasn't changed in 50 years... like McDonald's. So I asked for more time and requested coloring sheets and crayons for the youngest. He says ok and takes off, but doesn't come back. So I got up and got the coloring sheets myself. There were no crayons, so I asked the cashier and she retrieved them for me. Later I came back to request the little cardboard Steak n' Shake cars you can fold and make yourself, but a manager informed me they were out and had been out for over a month.
When our order finally arrives to our table (it took much longer than usual) the kid apologizes for being slow. I honestly felt sorry for him, because he seemed like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown or psychotic episode. I asked him to keep the refills coming, which didn't happen and after waiting so long for the bill we just decided to go pay it. The cashier was missing, so one of the servers came up to ring us out. She noticed our the fiasco of our meal and discounted our bill without our saying a word about it.
I really like Steak n' Shakes steakburgers! They aren't the world's best or anything, but they are decent and reliable road trip food that is friendly on the wallet. My wife always keeps their coupons in her purse, which keeps our total bill fairly low! Some days the burger is better and juicier than others, but overall I have no issues with the food here. My issue at their many locations is almost always with service.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I'm telling you, our trip to Florida was something out of a twilight zone episode. We had multiple issues at multiple restaurants and that NEVER happens to us. It seemed that my patience was being divinely tested and I ALMOST failed on this last leg of our two week trip. I was so close to going off I could taste the angry words coming up through my throat. It takes a lot to get me upset, but I'd had about enough unsatisfactory service on this trip for a lifetime and my complimentary tongue was about to turn razor sharp. It is a good thing my server was new, because it helped me to restrain myself with compassion. But Steak n' Shake really needs to get their act together.
2016/16 read more