I will no longer be giving any of my dining business to the restaurant known as Off The Grill.  This is because of recent ongoing problems I’ve had with delivery service called in to the location at 11640 Dorsett Road, Maryland Heights, MO  63043, Ph# 314-291-6555.  At 4pm yesterday, I called in an order of 2 hamburgers, 2 loaded baked potatoes, and a side of mushrooms…my usual order.  I’ve had problems with the location in the past, almost with every single time I’ve placed an order, and I had a feeling this time would be no different.  My reason for thinking this is because the employee seemed to be having trouble paying attention and taking my order.  He blamed it on the recent installment of a new computer system.  I thought this was interesting because the last time I ordered from this location they had also just had a new computer system installed and they got my order wrong that time too.  I repeated my order twice to the young man, then waited an hour for my food to arrive.

Upon delivery, I repeated the order again to the man delivering it only to discover that one of my potatoes had been left off the order.  It was not on my receipt, and instead they had charged me for two orders of mushrooms but there was only 1 order of the mushrooms in the bag.  I asked the deliveryman what should I do and he said to call back in and someone would bring the food out but it might take a while because they were “really busy with only 3 people working.”  I did call in to complain about the missing potato and was given a two dollar credit on my account although the price of the potato is $3.99.  I took the credit because I knew it would take at least another hour to get the potato, and the food I already received would be cold by then.

The time prior to this one I ordered the same thing and was missing the mushrooms when the order arrived.  When I called to complain the employee informed me of another new computer system having just been installed and said “well, that’s just how the system works.”  In speaking with a manager, she said they’d note in the system to always have a manager check my order but I guess those remarks have been deleted now that another new computer system was installed.  I was given another 2 dollar credit, of which was not applied to my order tonight.

I’ve lived at my current address for 2 years and have ordered the exact same meal from this location at least a dozen times…of which I can only remember it being 100% accurate once.  At .99 cents for each missing mushroom order,  and $3.99 for a missing potato once or twice, and the countless times the burgers were eaten plain because they forgot all the condiments, I realize we are talking about maybe a $20.00 loss at most.  But I have to wonder how many other people’s orders Off The Grill gets wrong as well.  It’s obvious that the three computer system changes they’ve had in the time I’ve ordered from them have not been beneficial.

So, why complain about $20 of missing mushrooms and potatoes?  Because I’ve had enough!  Sure, I’ve been the victim of lots of mixed up fast food orders throughout my life, but never have I encountered such ongoing poor customer service from one location that has caused me to want to completely stop being a patron from that company all together.  I have worked in the customer service field for various employers for 16 years, so yes, maybe I have a level of high expectation.  But my expectations are no higher than what should be considered industry standard.  In today’s failing economy, the consumer is a businesses only hope at making it through.  Sure, I’ve had to wait in long lines at the grocery store and then had to bag my own stuff at checkout because the bagger boy called in.  I’ve had to search the sales floor for someone to help me because no one asked if I needed help.  I’ve had rude cashiers in my face making me feel uncomfortable when I try to return something.

And as I’ve said, there have been plenty of times when some low wage worker who doesn’t give a darn has screwed up my order and done nothing satisfactory to fix it.  With Off The Grill, I’ve had enough and I wanted to voice my opinion.  If this is a level of service this business considers satisfactory, then they should just lock their doors and give up.  Businesses like this will fail in today’s market.  I know I am just one person, one consumer, but I have a voice and I plan to speak it.  Should they be concerned?  That depends on who is willing to listen.

I believe this should be a wake up call for St. Louis businesses everywhere concerning their level of service.

I emailed my complaint to comments@offthegrill.com, an email address I found from the company’s website.  It bounced back to me saying the address was invalid.  I found another email address to forward my complaint to which is info@offthegrill.com.  I also copied a local radio station, the city of Maryland Heights, the editor of a local paper, and a local news program on the message as well.

I’m sick of lousy service, not just from Off The Grill, but from other companies as well.  And if they aren’t willing to treat a customer with dignity in order to sustain repeat business, then I refuse to be silent and forget about such things.  I also reported this location to the BBB.  We’ll see what happens…