Steak 'n Shake

"I ordered online to pickup. Well I was an able to use my gift card during payment. I ordered 2 burgers, 2 med sweet teas no ice and 1 order of onion rings. I received the 2 burgers, which were good. 2 teas with ice which I promptly gave back, and then received 2 unsweetened teas no ice. I received tiny pieces of French fries, no onion rings."

"I hadn't been to a Steak 'n Shake in ages, but the chilly weather today made me think that a nice, hot Chili 5-way would really hit the spot. This is the first time I visited since they switched to the “no-service” business model, and the whole experience was just awful. I don’t mind using a kiosk to place my order in a fast-food restaurant; in fact, I prefer it so that I know that the order was at least entered correctly. But the rest of the experience was surreal. When you walk into any place of business, you expect to see some signs of life. But here…nothing. Kiosks and a big void where the cashier used to be. That “coldness” was matched by the A/C unit blasting out frigid air, making it roughly the same temperature as it was outside. I have never gone to this chain for the ambiance or service, but geez…this was just depressing. Then I saw the note attached to the kiosk, listing all of the items they were out of today. At that point I paused, thought about leaving, and then decided to stick it out to see how comically bad it could get! When I completed my order, it asked if I wanted to leave a tip for the crew. Ummm…what crew? I didn’t want to waste the money if it turned out that none of the employees actually showed up today. I need “proof of life” before I tip. After getting my drink and sitting down, a shadowy figure popped out from behind the drink machine, barked a name, and disappeared. What the…? Was that an actual employee, or a big cuckoo clock??? The cuckoo finally barked my name, and I was presented with a watery mess that was missing ingredients and the extra cheese I ordered. Adding to the “We are indifferent that you’re here!” vibe, the plastic utensils were about the flimsiest I have ever encountered. Ever try and eat spaghetti with a flexible fork? It has just enough “spring” to it to mostly just fling oily brown splatters onto anything within a three-foot radius. Between the rubber fork and an equally worthless spoon, I was finally able to get more in my mouth than on my shirt. I supposed I could have saved time by just dumping it all on my shirt to begin with. Seriously, if a business has to cut back to the point where they have NOTHING to offer to customers, what is the point of keeping the doors open at all? The chain has been dying a slow, agonizing death over the last few years, but the plug now needs to be pulled on this vegetable. In summary, other than the creepy atmosphere and the inedible food, everything was terrific!"

"It's okay for what it is. You order your own food on a kiosk. You pick your own food up. It was fine for a quick cheap bite"

"The guys behind the grill said absolutely nothing. And although I was dining in, my food was thrown into a bag. I can live with that.. What I can't live with is being charged almost $6.00 for a bowl of grease that is supposed to be chili Mac.. I tried to eat it and all I can taste is grease. I need y'all to either do better, or lower your prices, because this is not even sub part food."

"I got to give credit where it's due, out of the majority of steak and shakes I've been to, this was by far the best. Friendliness and service of staff was top-notch for a place like this, the food was cooked fresh (meaning they made it there, and didn't make it hours earlier). The lobby was immaculately clean, no sticky floors that are usually attributed to steak 'n shake, counters were clean, and tables were clean. The only con was the air conditioning, typical of all steak 'n shakes, they had the thermostat set in the high 50s or so. At least that's what it felt like."