THIS WB HAS GONE DOWNHILL FAST SINCE CORPORATE TAKEOVER.
Bell and 91st Ave in Peoria/Glendale. It's been our go-to casual restaurant since we moved here several years ago. It was warm and friendly - the staff always smiling and helpful. We liked them all. Slip up on an order? (it happens) - they'd fix it right away.
In addition to visiting several times a week for lunch or supper, for years The Irish Redhead and I would take our calendars every Saturday morning and plan out the coming week over a Whataburger breakfast. The kitchen would begin making our well-known orders pretty much as soon as they saw us walk in.
Then a couple of months ago the Chicago owners removed the Franchisee, and this restaurant (with several other WB's in the locale) came under corporate control. Some changes were immediate. Most of the experienced, long-time staff left or were let go. The kitchen became less proficient. Orders were more often incomplete.
Today (Saturday 5/18/24) was the final straw. We were there again for breakfast. My order was the same as usual, The Irish Redhead changed hers up, but asked for the complete meal. Hers was delivered without hash browns. A small thing, but telling.
I pointed this out to the server. She said, "You only paid for one."
I said, "We ordered two complete meals. We should have received two hash browns." She said, "You only paid for one."
I pointed out that this, then, was the fault of the order-taker. She said, "You only paid for one."
This went back and forth for a bit. The same repeated one-note response.
At a point I said Okay, let me talk to the manager. She flipped her name tag, said: "I AM the manager." God help us.
The old crew would have said "Oh, sorry ... we'll go straighten that out for you." Not this one. I wish I'd caught her name, but you'll recognize her easily: black hair, short, overweight, with a "Who-the-he11-do-you-think-YOU-are" attitude.
I did get to speak to the guy she reports to: Somebody Meza. He tried to sell the idea that now that they're corporate they have to account for every penny and that a missing bag of four tiny hash browns would be significant. I could take him point relative to an entire order, but this? Really?
Wrapping it up: He did give us The Irish Redhead's hash browns.
But for a 5-cent-cost bag of four little hash browns, that short-sighted, arrogant manager cost her branch around $5,000.00 a year. (Do the math: 3 to 5 meals per week, average bill $22.00)
BTW, there is an OUTSTANDING little Whataburger at the corner of Bell and 43rd Ave. It's a bit longer drive, but that'll be our new go-to. Same corporate ownership, though ... read more