ATTN: ROYAL FARMS CORPORATE MANAGEMENT--ATTEND YOUR DYING STORE
For many years I've been a fan of Royal Farms Stores' fried chicken and western fries.
So during a recent return trip from Chincoteague, VA my wife and I stopped at the Royal Farms store on Wallops Island to once again procure said meal. Since I am blessed with a palate not held hostage by breakfast foods, this particular visit was on a sunny, Sunday morning at about 8:30 AM. I had not enjoyed this fare in some months so was very much looking forward to it.
After we stopped my wife went ahead into the store while I adjusted some luggage and locked the car. Upon entering the place my spouse walked over to me and said in a hushed tone, "be patient." She then explained the heated argument she had just observed between a customer and the store's hot food attendant.
Though I placed my chicken order without incident, while waiting for it to be ready, we each obtained drinks and noticed that the drink station was not quite as clean as it was when we were last in the store (Nov. 2015). Excessive amounts of sticky, syrups seemed to linger on surfaces of the station.
Despite the day and time of our visit, the store was busy with a number of customers. However, the solitary cashier to whom we made our payment seemed noticeably unenthused with customer service.
After about 5 minutes our order was ready and we proceeded to the inside tables where customers may enjoy their meals. Disappointingly, all the available tables had not been wiped with each showing large food crumbs and greasy smears. Having some disinfectant wipes in her purse, my wife wasted no time in cleaning our table. Once she finished my attention was quickly drawn to the fist-sized heart, carved into the table's top, bearing the initials of two individuals each proclaiming their love for the other. In keeping with this destructive trend, several other tables had been defaced in a similar manner. Who's minding the store?
I then decided to visit the men's room before eating. Had I known what was waiting for me I probably would have waited. The bathroom was filthy. A soggy hand towel was crumbled on a sink where soapy dirt trails abounded and pieces of errant toilet paper could seen littering the floor of the adjacent stall. However, what really threatened to cripple my appetite, was the large area of urine residue glistening beneath the urinal. My wife mentioned that the ladies room was nearly as bad.
Since we had been in this store many times before, we were appalled at how much it had deteriorated since our last visit. It was obviously ill-managed and understaffed. While we were being served I noticed only the harried, hot food attendant and the disaffected cashier. Were there other employees in the store? Was there a manager present? If there was a manager then he or she was certainly NOT managing.
The corporate officers of Royal Farms should be mortified at this situation. Mine is not the only negative review for this particular Royal Farms store. Sadly, other Royal Farms stores bear similar complaints. read more