Kevin C.
Yelp
BK should be worth 3 stars. I just wanted a 3-star lunch. Is that too much to ask?
Just 3 stars. I know Burger King is mediocre even for fast food. I know service has never been a strength for BK. I know I will never be impressed at a BK. Still, I found myself eating lunch here with five of my friends, because we were in a hurry and needed to eat somewhere nearby. (And sadly I didn't see the nearby Carl's Jr in time.) This location is somehow 33% worse than your average 3-star BK.
I walk in around 11:30 AM, and the place is mostly deserted. There's one customer at the counter, a postal worker. He's having a conversation with the cashier; I'm still looking over the menu board, so I don't care. I decide on a #4 (Whopper Jr meal, $3.79 + tax = $4.10). The postal worker is now doing a strange dance in front of the counter. I approach. The cashier is aware of my presence but indifferent. Awkward silence. (No "Welcome to BK, may I take your order?" No "Hi, can I help you?" No acknowledgment at all.) We're in a hurry, so I break the silence.
Cashier: (notable lack of acknowledgment)
Kevin C: Hi, can I get a #4, for here?
Cashier: (pressing the buttons for the #4) ... For here or to go?
Kevin C: For here. (Thinking: I just said that.)
After payment, the cashier hands me my change and the receipt. No mention of my order number or anything. I know it's right on the receipt, but still. If you're going to call out the food orders by number, read off the number as you hand customers the receipts. I guess if you don't even offer to take my order, I shouldn't expect anything.
The wait is unusually long for such an uncrowded Burger King. But I'm nursing my Sprite, so the wait is tolerable. I look for napkins, to wipe the crumbs off my table, but there are none available (what's up with this?). Eventually the food is ready. The fries are good, warm and crisp. The Whopper Jr is so-so, with way too much lettuce. My first bite of burger was about 50% lettuce by volume. That's just too much. The lettuce should not dwarf the already unimpressive burger.
I get up to refill my soda. I make the mistake of filling the cup to the top before getting a lid, and I take my eyes off my drink as I walk toward the lids. Small spill on the floor in front of the soda tap. Good thing there's no napkins available! That decision is really paying off right now. I grab a yellow "wet floor" cone and put it next to the spill. I get some napkins from my car (long story) and clean up my mess. Naturally, the BK staff hasn't taken any sort of action in response to the spill.
The receipts all have the phone survey offer: complete the survey within 48 hours, get a coupon for a free Whopper or Original Chicken sandwich (expires in 1 month). The survey is more painful than you might imagine... reprimanding you and repeating the question if you try to answer too quickly. Still, I loves me some free sammiches. I'll redeem it at a different BK.
I worked at a BK for a summer, so I know what decent fast food service looks like, and this was not it. I suppose I'm really more concerned about the US Postal Service though. These people are entrusted with all mailed information? It wasn't even good dancing. Show me some Dance 360 skills, mailman! No, the cabbage patch doesn't qualify. Tag ya man, tag ya man, tag ya man, tag ya man!