Sue B.
Yelp
I so wanted to love this place! I've been excited to check it out since it opened. I love healthier food and don't mind paying a bit more for healthy options. I went for the first time today and got a vegetarian, possibly vegan, "warm bowl" and a side of potatoes. The potatoes were great. The bowl was mostly fine though it did have a few very hard little pieces of something in it. Couldn't quite tell what they were but they didn't seem edible.
That would have been OK though. Again, I really wanted to love this place, and appreciate the effort to offer healthy prepared meals with quick convenient service.
The thing that bothered me definitely might not bother everyone; I'm sure some customers don't care at all about this issue. And maybe I just visited at an off time; again, I've only been there once.
But personally, it's very hard for me to enjoy a meal prepared by sullen, unsmiling people who make *zero* effort to be friendly or helpful, and definitely give off the vibe that my presence is at best a mildly-annoying hassle for them.
When I arrived there was no one else in line or being served. It was about 1:30 on a weekday afternoon; the place was not busy at all. I checked the menu board to make my selection, then read the sign that said to proceed to the register to order, and did that.
Meanwhile the young woman behind the counter, who could easily have said a quick hello but didn't, walked to the other end of the counter, farthest from me and the register, and just stood watching me. I read the sign again to make sure I was in the right place, then when she made no move toward me, I asked, "Am I supposed to order at the register?"
Her: "No."
Again, she's not busy doing anything else. She is literally just standing there watching me. Yet she doesn't bother to explain what I am supposed to do, much less explain why they posted incorrect instructions. Just "no".
I'm not sure how well I can capture this in a Yelp review, but the vibe was definitely cold and unwelcoming. Like she resented working there and further resented my walking in and needing her to do something.
Of course this vibe is not limited to Sweetgreen. I see it at other places too, like Chipotle and Panera. Again, I know plenty of people are unfazed by this. For me though, it makes for an unpleasant experience that I'm not eager to repeat.