Short staffed restaurants

Super S
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by Super S »

Alpha8472 wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 9:55 pm I placed an online order for Jack In The Box and now I just drove up and the restaurant is closed. It is after 9 PM. I have no idea how to get a refund as the app has no option. I guess I will have to call tomorrow. This is supposed to be a 24 hour restaurant. What a mess.
Jack In The Box seems to me like they are heading for trouble.

There are two locations near where I live. One is fairly new, and the other received a thorough renovation a couple years ago. These two I generally do not have any problems with and they have stuck with traditional hours as far as I know, but I don't always eat there as there are usually better options for me that are more convenient.

I have, however, been making a few trips out of town and have encountered problems elsewhere, particularly around towns surrounding the Portland area, including Vancouver, WA. I have been to two locations where the "DRIVE THRU OPEN" sign is on only to get to the speaker and be told the restaurant is closed. Once it was 9:30 in the evening on a weeknight. Another one had the restaurant lit up with that same open sign on but the dining room was obviously closed with chairs on the tables. There was no response at the drive thru speaker, and I could not tell if anybody was in there when I pulled up to the window so I left. (there were two cars parked in the lot) And one other one screwed up my order and decided to conveniently close about 10 minutes later at about 8:45 PM, to their credit, they did fix my order but explained that they decided to close early because they were short handed.

I have encountered a few more that are closed with no signs or any other explanation, one was as early as 6PM.

I generally like Jack In The Box because of the variety they offer. However, they are off the list for me for now as they are becoming inconsistent. If they can't keep the locations staffed and open, how do I know they are paying attention to food storage and cleanliness? Or are they simply out of food? They have expanded their presence quite a bit since the 1990s, but this could result in some locations closing if they do not get their act together.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by BillyGr »

Alpha8472 wrote: December 3rd, 2021, 2:40 pm No refund was issued. The only option is to go to the restaurant and ask them to remake the food for you for free. This is a whole bunch of trouble.
Given that this was an electronic order, I suspect it was paid for with a card? Just let the card company know you were charged and not able to get the food (thus the money was taken illegally) and let them handle it.

The store/company will be much better dealing with them, knowing that they might lose access to such payments or at least get it taken back plus a fee from the card company for doing so, than they will dealing with possibly losing one individual customer.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by kr.abs.swy »

Agree. 15 years ago I would have told you that I thought Jack in the Box had higher standards than the typical fast food chain (to be clear -- not really high, just noticeably higher than average). I'm not so sure any more. The location here is operating a reduced schedule. Paint has been peeling off some of the exterior trim for months (probably years) and no one has bothered to repaint it. The road sign is frequently off even when the store is open, so it looks like the store is closed even if it is open. There isn't much signage on the store explaining the reduced hours. They haven't, as far as I can tell, re-opened the dining room yet. It throws off a "we've given up" vibe.

Meanwhile what seems to be a record number of cars keep flowing through the drive-thru down the street at McDonald's.

Super S wrote: December 4th, 2021, 6:35 am
Alpha8472 wrote: December 2nd, 2021, 9:55 pm I placed an online order for Jack In The Box and now I just drove up and the restaurant is closed. It is after 9 PM. I have no idea how to get a refund as the app has no option. I guess I will have to call tomorrow. This is supposed to be a 24 hour restaurant. What a mess.
Jack In The Box seems to me like they are heading for trouble.

There are two locations near where I live. One is fairly new, and the other received a thorough renovation a couple years ago. These two I generally do not have any problems with and they have stuck with traditional hours as far as I know, but I don't always eat there as there are usually better options for me that are more convenient.

I have, however, been making a few trips out of town and have encountered problems elsewhere, particularly around towns surrounding the Portland area, including Vancouver, WA. I have been to two locations where the "DRIVE THRU OPEN" sign is on only to get to the speaker and be told the restaurant is closed. Once it was 9:30 in the evening on a weeknight. Another one had the restaurant lit up with that same open sign on but the dining room was obviously closed with chairs on the tables. There was no response at the drive thru speaker, and I could not tell if anybody was in there when I pulled up to the window so I left. (there were two cars parked in the lot) And one other one screwed up my order and decided to conveniently close about 10 minutes later at about 8:45 PM, to their credit, they did fix my order but explained that they decided to close early because they were short handed.

I have encountered a few more that are closed with no signs or any other explanation, one was as early as 6PM.

I generally like Jack In The Box because of the variety they offer. However, they are off the list for me for now as they are becoming inconsistent. If they can't keep the locations staffed and open, how do I know they are paying attention to food storage and cleanliness? Or are they simply out of food? They have expanded their presence quite a bit since the 1990s, but this could result in some locations closing if they do not get their act together.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by Alpha8472 »

I went back to Jack In The Box and they happily offered me free food in return. I was overall satisfied that they made it right in the end.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by storewanderer »

BillyGr wrote: December 4th, 2021, 9:45 am
Alpha8472 wrote: December 3rd, 2021, 2:40 pm No refund was issued. The only option is to go to the restaurant and ask them to remake the food for you for free. This is a whole bunch of trouble.
Given that this was an electronic order, I suspect it was paid for with a card? Just let the card company know you were charged and not able to get the food (thus the money was taken illegally) and let them handle it.

The store/company will be much better dealing with them, knowing that they might lose access to such payments or at least get it taken back plus a fee from the card company for doing so, than they will dealing with possibly losing one individual customer.
There is an unpublished dollar amount that varies by card issuer where if you call your card issuer and do the chargeback, the card company will just credit you back and eat the loss itself (not actually initiate a chargeback and not take the money from the merchant). I don't think the merchant or the merchant's processor ever finds out about such transactions as they are handled at the individual card issuer level and do not rise beyond that (to the merchant processor level). The card issuer can opt to initiate a chargeback for any transaction for any dollar amount at any time however.

At the same time these transactions through the app are card not present and historically in the case of card not present transactions the merchant assumes 100% of fraud risk so if you say they did not provide the food but did take your money, the merchant is charged back and basically has no recourse to fight the chargeback. They lose the money for the transaction plus have to pay a chargeback fee to the processing company. If the transaction amounts were larger and an actual chargeback was initiated then it would be a different story. If a merchant has excessive chargebacks, the fees start to add up quickly and it is looked into what is going on to determine if processing needs to be cut off for the merchant in question or what.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by storewanderer »

kr.abs.swy wrote: December 4th, 2021, 11:17 am Agree. 15 years ago I would have told you that I thought Jack in the Box had higher standards than the typical fast food chain (to be clear -- not really high, just noticeably higher than average). I'm not so sure any more. The location here is operating a reduced schedule. Paint has been peeling off some of the exterior trim for months (probably years) and no one has bothered to repaint it. The road sign is frequently off even when the store is open, so it looks like the store is closed even if it is open. There isn't much signage on the store explaining the reduced hours. They haven't, as far as I can tell, re-opened the dining room yet. It throws off a "we've given up" vibe.

Meanwhile what seems to be a record number of cars keep flowing through the drive-thru down the street at McDonald's.
Jack in the Box in Reno area has kind of fallen apart. One franchisee basically has the entire territory including Qdoba in the area and including some rural locations (Elko, Susanville, South Lake Tahoe). Historically they were quite well run but since the pandemic they have fallen way off track. Multiple locations close at 5 PM, sometimes earlier. Some locations operate regular hours some days/weeks then stop. Sometimes inside is open, sometimes it is not. Cleanliness and maintenance of the locations needs some attention but again it varies; one location I was going to do drive through at since there was nobody in line at 3 PM (app said closed at 5 PM) had a broken menu board, dirty windows, and a handwritten "TIPS WELCOMED" sign on the drive through window but it was already closed at 3 PM when I tried to go; another location I went into down in Carson City was nicely decorated inside for Halloween back in October (that same location lately is closed inside again and drive through closes not long after dark).

I have had no issues with the food or service I've received the times I've actually found them open when I want to purchase from them in the past 2 years. But especially lately I've canceled almost all of my attempted orders since the app takes my order then I go there and find a locked door despite the app saying the to go is open. Not in the mood to screw around for 20 minutes in a drive through breathing in other car's exhaust and letting my own vehicle idle adding to pollution.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by veteran+ »

This all begs the question:

Why continue going to these places with all these issues, given that this is food that is NOT good for one's health?

:?
Alpha8472
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by Alpha8472 »

I only went to Jack In The Box due to the free fries on their app. I regretted it. The fries were fried too long and were all dried up. I also picked up two mini chocolate cakes there on sale. The cakes had an expired date on them of 2011. Ten years ago... I assume it was a typo.

I don't eat fast food often, but when I do I regret it.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by bryceleinan »

storewanderer wrote: December 4th, 2021, 1:40 pm
kr.abs.swy wrote: December 4th, 2021, 11:17 am Agree. 15 years ago I would have told you that I thought Jack in the Box had higher standards than the typical fast food chain (to be clear -- not really high, just noticeably higher than average). I'm not so sure any more. The location here is operating a reduced schedule. Paint has been peeling off some of the exterior trim for months (probably years) and no one has bothered to repaint it. The road sign is frequently off even when the store is open, so it looks like the store is closed even if it is open. There isn't much signage on the store explaining the reduced hours. They haven't, as far as I can tell, re-opened the dining room yet. It throws off a "we've given up" vibe.

Meanwhile what seems to be a record number of cars keep flowing through the drive-thru down the street at McDonald's.
Jack in the Box in Reno area has kind of fallen apart. One franchisee basically has the entire territory including Qdoba in the area and including some rural locations (Elko, Susanville, South Lake Tahoe). Historically they were quite well run but since the pandemic they have fallen way off track. Multiple locations close at 5 PM, sometimes earlier. Some locations operate regular hours some days/weeks then stop. Sometimes inside is open, sometimes it is not. Cleanliness and maintenance of the locations needs some attention but again it varies; one location I was going to do drive through at since there was nobody in line at 3 PM (app said closed at 5 PM) had a broken menu board, dirty windows, and a handwritten "TIPS WELCOMED" sign on the drive through window but it was already closed at 3 PM when I tried to go; another location I went into down in Carson City was nicely decorated inside for Halloween back in October (that same location lately is closed inside again and drive through closes not long after dark).

I have had no issues with the food or service I've received the times I've actually found them open when I want to purchase from them in the past 2 years. But especially lately I've canceled almost all of my attempted orders since the app takes my order then I go there and find a locked door despite the app saying the to go is open. Not in the mood to screw around for 20 minutes in a drive through breathing in other car's exhaust and letting my own vehicle idle adding to pollution.
Falling apart is an understatement. Went to the one out here in Dayton last week, and the drive thru line was around the building, as it typically is. However, the parking lot was full, and I could see people inside the dining room. I went in and as soon as I walked in the door, the manager walked over and locked it, saying “it’s time for me to go home and I don’t want to deal with the dining room.” Elderly customers constantly get out of their vehicles, shuffle up to the door to discover the place locked up - there are no signs saying “drive thru only.” I and several other customers called Emerald Cascade (the franchisee) and they basically didn’t care - they have all new management staff, and the gal who answered the phone told me that they don’t bother putting up signs because they all get stolen.

Went to Damonte Ranch Walmart on Saturday at 5 PM, and the Jack and Carl’s Jr. there were completely closed. Not sure what is going on with Jack, but it’s not good. Carson Qdoba doesn’t seem to have these issues.
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Re: Short staffed restaurants

Post by Super S »

veteran+ wrote: December 5th, 2021, 9:32 am This all begs the question:

Why continue going to these places with all these issues, given that this is food that is NOT good for one's health?

:?
I steer away from many restaurants which have recurring issues. This can happen with restaurants that are "healthier" also. Subway is a prime example of this, and as we have discussed elsewhere on here, has many issues of their own.

There are times when I get busy and end up driving home a little later than planned due to traffic or other issues, and am hungry. Sometimes a fast food drive-thru is the ONLY place you can find something to eat later in the evening. You just have to be careful of what you order....there are some options that are better than others. I have some allergies and avoid most condiments, for me a burger usually ends up being cooked to order.

Many people realize that fast food is not the healthiest option, but in some instances it's better than nothing.
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