In the service sector, a business can lose customers for a variety of reasons.
In food service, people can have a single bad experience with food or an employee, quality can drop over time, prices can increase, a beloved menu item might be discontinued or people can boycott for ethical, political or moral reasons.
Reddit user JasperMidnight asked:
"What restaurant do you refuse to eat at?"
Nook And Cranny
"There is a restaurant in my little town called The Nook and Cranny. The owner is a complete arse."
"He fired a friend of mine and stiffed her on $800 in wages."
"I used to frequent the restaurant probably 1 or 2 times a week. Have not gone there in 3 years now."
~ Wavemanns
Panera...
"PANERA BREAD - Sit down prices for nursing home food."
~ Automatic_School_373
"This is the perfect description."
~ foodthingsandstuff
Panera...
"Panera used to be local to my hometown (St. Louis Bread Co), and it was so good. Good quality food and a very nice atmosphere, with fireplaces and ceramic dishware and comfy seats."
"Kind of chill coffeehouse vibes."
"I went in there recently for the first time in a while, and the food was so bad, dirty tables and food on the floor, plastic plates, and the workers all yelling and making a ruckus. It’s gone so downhill and it makes me so sad because it was a local gem for awhile."
~ Cvirdy
Panera
"Panera. I went once and they served me the wrong side with my main. Fine, whatever. I’m hungry, and I need to eat, and I’m not gonna cause a scene."
"After I finished my meal, the manager came over to me LIVID that I ate the wrong side.
"'That was with the wrong order. Why did you eat that? Why would you eat something that wasn’t what you ordered?'."
"'Because I was hungry dude. I have things to do. I need to go now'."
"Never going back."
~ bombayblue
Subway
"I’m not spending money at Subway."
"How stupid to charge 13$ for a sandwich with like four triangles of paper-thin cheese and meat."
~ oh_sneezeus
"My partner used to love their roast beef subs.
"Last time we went (maybe summer '23), I got him a footlong roast beef, and they put four, yes FOUR, paper thin slices of roast beef on the bread. I asked the manager if this was correct (as the Sandwich Artist... gag... was new); she said yes, 6" got two, 12" got four slices."
"For $12."
"Absolutely not... Haven't been back since."
~ Surprise_Fragrant
Taco Bell
"Taco Bell is ridiculously expensive for what they’re serving."
"The best part was that it was cheap."
"Stopped in there with my two kids and spent $40! We could’ve gone to an actual Mexican restaurant for that."
~ Itchy_Breadfruit_262
Applebee's
"Applebee's: TV dinners in public."
~ diurnal_emissions
"Applebees, I can microwave my own food at home, thank you!"
~ Blu_Thorn
KFC
"KFC. I still kinda like it as a guilty pleasure, but their mighty bucket for one has gone up to almost a tenner now, and they simply aren't worth that much."
"If I'm going to spend that much on food, I want a better meal."
~ JRCSalter
"Honestly, our local Safeways does a '$10.99 for eight huge pieces deal' on fried chicken—it’s amazing. $9.99 on Fridays. An eight-piece bucket at my KFC is $30.99 right now."
"But this stuff is amazing. The girl frying the chicken came out to chit chat—I wish I asked what was in the breading."
"Just checked. Safeway has a coupon for their 8-piece chicken. $5.97."
~ Bitter-Basket
Burger King
"Burger King—two separate times I was served raw chicken."
"And when I asked for a remake or refund, I got yelled at, saying that that’s how it’s supposed to be made."
~ curryp4n
"Every Burger King I've ever been in has had sticky floors. Like it's part of the franchise agreement or something."
~ Th3_Admiral
"Sticky floors, blinking lights, and rude managers. Truly, we can eat like kings."
~ ItsNotMeItsYourBussy
Arby’s
"Arby’s since they discontinued the Potato Cakes. They are dead to me."
~ dma1965
"I just about lost it the 1st time I went and was informed potato cakes are no longer a thing."
~ GreedyComedian1377
"God, yes. They were the only reason I went there!"
"And it was a mile from my old apartment so I would go pretty often. Not anymore."
"Down with potato cakes? Then down with Arby's!"
~ beluinus
Long John Silver's
"Long John Silver's is definitely a front for organized crime or something."
"Nobody is buying enough fast food fish to keep them in business this long."
~ eagledog
"It's right in the name. It's clearly money laundering for pirates."
Dunkin'
"The Dunkin' near me uses white cream in their Boston Cream instead of custard."
"They are 1,000% dead to me."
~ totallybree
Blackrock
"They're only located in a few states, but there's a restaurant called Blackrock where you cook your own food at the table on a rock, then pay $200."
"No thanks. I can grill at home."
~ chudd
"Not only that, but a restaurant crammed with people cooking their own food on hot rocks creates a nasty greasy blue haze that will absolutely stick to your clothes."
"This was the restaurant choice after a family gathering. I wasn't keen on the idea of having to cook my own food, I really wasn't happy about it afterwards because my jacket smelled like a I was caught in a grease fire."
"I also ordered the 'you don't have to cook this yourself' selection because I'm generally not a red meat kinda person. The rice was cold and hard, the chicken was bland and dry, whatever else that was on the plate was sh*tty."
"Just not impressed watching people try to cook a mediocre cut of meat on an insanely hot piece of basalt."
~ bidofidolido
McDonald's
"McDonald's, I know everyone on here bitches about how bad their food is, but my reason is that they’ve just gotten too pricey for the food they are offering. McD’s has always been a quick stop for me when I was super busy and just wanted something to eat."
"Just seems like since COVID, their food quality has gone to sh*t, and they kept raising their prices. I have not stopped at a McD’s since last summer and have no plans on going back.
"The bottom line for me is that they are just too pricey now. Are you paying attention, McDonald’s?"
~ wyoflyboy68
Is there a restaurant you refuse to eat at ever again?