Bad experience at Cheddars

As stated in Marsha's article on the Industry Standard, consistency is one of the most critical aspects of running any restaurant and one of the reasons some people go to chains. However on the other hand like an independent restaurants if you get a bad taste in your mouth for one restaurant in the chain and probably won't visit any others in the same chain.

While we normally visit in dependent restaurants my wife and I occasionally go to Cheddars on Westport road, not because the food is anything exceptional but because the prices are great, it's a quick place to eat but not fast food and things are normally very consistent. I say consistent because Tuesday evening my wife stopped in for a quick meal while doing errands and had such a terrible experience we'll probably never go to a Cheddars restaurant again. When she arrived she was seated promptly and the waiter quickly took her drink order, it arrived in a very dirty glass and the waiter frowned when she asked for it to be replaced. While placing her order she asked for a baked potato instead of rice and was told by the waiter they weren't the same thing and she couldn't make that substitution. After she calmly explained that she'd done that many times before he grudgingly told her he'd see what he could do. When her dinner arrived the plate it was plated on was filthy, it had hardened cheese and other non-descriptive junk stuck on it. Again the waiter grumbled when she asked for it to be corrected, he also asked him to have the manager see her. In a few minutes the kitchen manager came back with her food. It was obvious all that had been done was food from her previous plate had been put on a new plate. She told him she wouldn't accept a that! He then took it and returned to the kitchen. After he had left people at the next table over told her that had happened to server other diners before she arrived. Upon hearing this and not having the general manager visitor the table she got up and left before her food arrived again. Based on the experience I don't expect we'll ever visit any Cheddars restaurant again.

[Robin Garr]

Based on the experience I don't expect we'll ever visit any Cheddars restaurant again.

My review of Cheddar's on LouisvilleHotBytes is one of my most negative reviews of any eatery in the city. I found that place so lackluster and disappointing that I went back THREE times, trying to figure what could possibly be drawing such crowds there that people lined up for lunch and dinner. I never could make it out.

Mark,

Thanks for the "heads up"...We get out that way often when running errands and I'll keep this review in mind the next time we're in the spontaneous dining mode. BTW, speaking of spontaneous dining, we've stopped in to "Turkey Joes" in (more or less) the same area a time or two and have always found the food and service to be very good not to mention relatively inexpensive.

Based on the experience I don't expect we'll ever visit any Cheddars restaurant again.

My review of Cheddar's on LouisvilleHotBytes is one of my most negative reviews of any eatery in the city. I found that place so lackluster and disappointing that I went back THREE times, trying to figure what could possibly be drawing such crowds there that people lined up for lunch and dinner. I never could make it out.

They must really be doing something wrong. Their sales at the Westport Road location last year were only 4.5 million.

[Robin Garr]

They must really be doing something wrong. Their sales at the Westport Road location last year were only 4.5 million.

Unfortunately, David, they must be doing something right. An amazing number of people will buy crap food (and drink) if they think they're getting a bargain.

They must really be doing something wrong. Their sales at the Westport Road location last year were only 4.5 million.

Unfortunately, David, they must be doing something right. An amazing number of people will buy crap food (and drink) if they think they're getting a bargain.

Robin, thanks for the laugh this morning. My husband and I think Cheddars is everything that is wrong with American consumption today. This glorification of quantity over quality is insane. Speaking hypothetically, it seems like the Cheddars people would rather pay $5 for 10 crap things than $5 for 5 nice things when in total, all you really need are 5 things.

They must really be doing something wrong. Their sales at the Westport Road location last year were only 4.5 million.

Unfortunately, David, they must be doing something right. An amazing number of people will buy crap food (and drink) if they think they're getting a bargain.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Most people I hear laud about Chedders are talking about the insane size of the portions for the price. If you think it is a bargain, it must truly be a bargain, regardless of how bland it is. One thing I have never heard until this thread was someone getting bad service. They usually take decent care of their customers, which might be an appeal to people as well. If they start slipping on that regard as well, that might push people to try something else. Regardless, the treatment that the poster's wife received is ridiculous at any restaurant, whether its a chain or an independent.

Let's be sure to differentiate between Cheddar's, the national chain, and The Cheddar Box, the local lunch spot with two locations. Not that you didn't, Mark - but I myself was confused for a second. I've never been to Cheddar's, although I can definitely remember people talking about the portion sizes.

I'm an infrequent diner at "Cheddar's", and per the other posts (supra) have always been amazed at the business it seems to generate, given the so-so dining experience that it delivers....while I maintain my long-held position that there ARE some chains which execute well, I'm inclined to agree with those who claim that Cheddar's appeal is probably in its ability to provide good-sized portions for the money, which most people will find acceptable, as long as the food is palatable....

....my wife and I visited Cheddar's for lunch last Friday....she ordered their lunch-portion grilled salmon w/rice & veggies and I had one of their lunch combos (Caesar Salad and "Baked Potato Soup")....no complaints about any of the dishes, our server was attentive and friendly and food service was reasonably quick, but that's about all you can say...there wasn't anything outstanding about the meal or the experience -- yet the place was packed....get in, have lunch and get out.

Having worked in both the QSR and FSR chain industry, I think that the appeal of successful FSR's is in their ability to provide a somewhat more robust dining experience than "fast-food", yet execute it in much the same predictable, assembly-line manner as QSR's...it's "okay" food and that's enough.

I think the title of your post said it all, Mark.

Speaking hypothetically, it seems like the Cheddars people would rather pay $5 for 10 crap things than $5 for 5 nice things when in total, all you really need are 5 things.

Those are the same people that make Wally world so successful.

My first ever visit to a Cheddar's was about 3 years ago. I got so incredibly sick, food poisoning, that I have never even considered going back. My wife has had a few business lunches there and she likes it (she's Canadian and thought Olive Garden was good until I introduced her to Comback Inn, so she will have to be excused!). She has asked me countless times to go to dinner there with any number of our friends to no avail...until recently.

A couple of weeks ago we were out showing her cousin around and she pleaded with me to eat there...I relented and while I didn't have another near death experience, I can honestly say that Cheddar's is the restaurant equivalent of Wal-Mart. Cheap junk that makes you wish you spent a little more the second you get home.

Edit: I had the Monte Cristo sandwich...fried dough stuffed with turkey, ham, and cheese served with raspberry jam. I figured if I was going to get sick again I might as well go down swinging.

I'm pretty sure the reason that most people like it is because you get a lot of food, for a little money, and the atmosphere is nicer than most low budget restaurants. (and you dont' have to worry about your kids being a nuisance). It's not horrible..and I do like a good Monte Cristo sandwich..but it's not ever going to even remotely be a great meal. I for one refuse to wait 45 min to an hour to eat there and it seems it is ALWAYS busy. There are too many places I'd rather wait for.
But every restaurant (or server) can have a bad night, right? I'll be honest, My husband I and went to Come Back Inn once and it was not very good, nor did we have good service. It's a long haul from our home in Simpsonville and we haven't been back.

I went to Cheddar's shortly after it opened and have never been back. Nothing went horribly wrong, I might have thought it was an "off" night and given it a second try if it had been bad. It was just blah. I'm not an adventurous diner so for me to find it boring really says something about their food.

The fast food restaurant next door is one of my daughter's favorites and everytime we go there I'm amazed at the crowd at Cheddar's. I don't get it.

Gary and I went to the Cheddars in Clarksville fairly soon after it opened a couple (?) years ago. We went out of curiosity more than anything, first because the parking lot was always overflowing and people waiting outside, and second, because a neighbor had taken his wife there for their anniversary, which we also figured was fairly suggestive because, well, Dave's not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination. Like others here, we weren't just underwhelmed, we were sort of floored that it could be that popular. The table was filthy, the glasses were filthy (I asked for a new water glass and a new wine glass), and the food was just,... well, I can't even remember the food. Dull. Nothing to recommend the place at all. We couldn't wait to get out. You couldn't actually pay me to go back.