Steak ‘n Shake

I have absolutely NEVER received such poor service! I looked up hours of operation prior to leaving my house since it’s Sunday night. I pulled up to the drive through speaker where the hours were again posted and it was almost an hour before there posted closing time. We sat there for 5 minutes or longer and no one came on the speaker to take our order. I honestly thought there speaker was not functioning so we drove up to the window to have people make eye contact but not come to the window FINALLY my boyfriend gets the attention of someone filling the ice bin only for her to yell to the back of the store «should I tell them to go away?» She then opens the window and tells us that they are closed. I began to question why their posted hours say otherwise and asked if the corporate office was aware of them closing early. I asked to speak to the Manager who very rudely informed me they were closing early for maintenance. I then questioned again if that were the case why no signs were posted stating the early closing and why several employees including himself saw us and never acknowledged our presence. If you are going to close early and not post any signage stating that you could at least acknowledge that we have sat there thinking the speaker was broken and muster up an ounce of customer service. I will NEVER be back.

Won’t be eating here again! After being seated noted lip of table dirty where only tabletop had been cleaned. Condiment bottles had dried ketchup/​mustard running down sides and under lid. Seats were full of crumbs. .you get the picture. Drink order filled incorrectly.

I’m taking off 1 star only bc most of the staff just starred at us when we walked in and we had to wait to be seated and for someone to take our order when it wasn’t that slam packed. But once we got things going, it was good food, good service. Manager did give us a discount for the wait so all in all. good place. Bear in mind, this is 280. home of the snobs.

Probably the worst restaurant with the worst service I’ve ever been to. We waited 15 minutes for anyone to speak to us. 40 minutes later we had empty cups and no food. The table next to us, one woman with two children, had a spill, told someone, and no one came. She ended up going to the bathroom and getting her own paper towels. Another table had another spill and told the host, who then handed her some paper towels to clean it up herself. 15 minutes later the waitress came back with a broom asking where the spill went. When we got our food it was cold. We counted 17 tables that needed bussing… They were not busy… At all. The manager didn’t really care to hear what I had to say but comped my meal and the two other tables with the spill, after I told him to.

Took an hour and a half for us to get our food… group of 13… ordered one meal per person… took an hour & a half!!! This supposed to be fast food. Never going back.

I normally LOVE Steak n Shake, but today was so terrible, that I had to leave a review in hopes that this won’t happen to anyone else again. I went to Steak n Shake on my lunch break. Not normal lunch break hours when, I’m sure, it is busy so there is a need for a delay, I went at 4:07PM according to my receipt. When I pulled up, I immediately went to the order speaker (no one ahead of me), there were two other cars currently waiting at the window. Once I got to the speaker, I was greeted and immediately asked to wait. So I waited, patiently. I didn’t clear my throat or scream ‘HELLO!’. I waited, for 7 minutes at the speaker. Finally he comes back and takes my order. I pull up behind the other two cars that had been waiting, they get their food and then I pull up to the window. I made my payment and received my drink. And he’s gone again. I waited 15 minutes at the window. No one came back to give an update as to why it was taking so long. Nothing. No apology was given, no ‘oh let me give a free drink’, ‘next meal is on us’, ‘I’m so sorry we’re short handed, thank you for being patient’, absolutely NOTHING! I was handed my bag and I drove back to work, by this point I was late, my job is 4 minutes away from Steak n Shake… On the drive back to my job I reach into the bag to eat some fries because at this point I was starving! They weren’t even hot! They were lukewarm at best. So in summary, I was late for work, received mediocre service, and I had to eat cold food. I WILL NOT be going back there again and I will be sure to tell my fellow coworkers as well.

Nice day outside. Not that many people in the place and we sat for 10 min before they took our order. Then after another 10 min waiting for our drinks to come. we just left you only have to out liquid in a cup. 3 waitress in the place 1 waiter and multiple people cooking. For who I don’t know.

Yum! Took my hubby here for his first time! Soooo good! Yummy burgers and fries! And the smore shake and caramel apple shake were awesome!
Lakeria was a great waitress!!!
If they dont build on in t-​town we’ll have to just come back here!

I like it here, the food is cheap and delicious. Just wished there were more back in California! Gotta get a shake with that meal!

Ate here twice. I know when a new restaurant opens it can be a slow start… this place is great now… best steak n shake ever!!!

The only thing consistent here is the lack of quality food and service. We love the Alabaster location. Skip this one and go to Milo’s or Chick-​fil-​a. Makes me sad.

Tried Steak n’ Shake for the first time, and was impressed by the quality. The food was extremely good, and had great prices for the food. Most of my family is vegetarian, and the one vegetarian option that Steak n’ Shake offers was extremely good. The burgers there are the best, with the double steakburger being the best. The only complaint that I have would be the speed of service. Expect a whole hour to hour and a half for a complete meal. Would recommend to take items To-​Go for faster service. I will be returning.

Fairly new location not typically in the area I go to lunch, but decided to give it a try since was passing through at the right time.
Waited inordinate amount of time to be acknowledged that was waiting to be seated. I almost left, probably should have heeded the omen. Once someone acknowledged me, was seated immediately.
Waited slightly longer than expected to order but not disturbingly so.
Seeing other diners having to ask for to go boxes to be able to get back to work was another bad sign. Again nearly left due to wait on food. Came just in time. At least it was hot.
Throwing a small amount of seasoning in the middle of the pile of fries should not cost extra. Less than half had any seasoning on them.
Was not offered a refill on my drink until checking out.
Not sure if the experience was due to the newness or they were short staffed. I’ve had much better experiences at other locations.
Will probably give it another chance but may be a while.

Pros– The food is delicious, always hot, and they are accommodating if you are looking to have extra toppings on your burger
Cons– extremely slow delays to be seated and to get your food even when there’s hardly any customers in the Returant. This was the case Everytime I went there which is often because I stay right up the street. With this being one of their newer stirs you would think they would make sure they are on top of it
On the other hand the Hoover location is very attentive and although you have to wait they periodically check on you. It’s a shame but I will probably travel 7 miles to go to the Hoover location as opposed to the Inverness location which with in walking distance of my house

This place had the WORST service. We didn’t get the milkshake we ordered, and only saw the waitress once. About 40% of the tables were clean, when it wasn’t even busy (there were about a total of 5 tables). Didn’t refill drinks a single time, nor did she bring us any silverware or napkins. Servers were standing around doing nothing but pushing tables around to look busy. When our food came out, she called my burger the wrong name then said, «I don’t know what that is.» Food and trash on floors. The place was disgusting. Management should step it up and train their servers better. I gave it two stars because the food was still good. If you want Steak ‘n Shake in Birmingham, go to the one in Hoover, it’s so much better.

One of my biggest pet peeves is kids or heck even grown ups playing around while preparing my food. I went to this location around 10:45 pm on 09/21/14.very slow, sloppy food. my order sat at the window for abour 3 minutes before another worker passed by and realized i was still waiting to receive my food. The Riverchase location isn’t much better but I’d rather eat there.

My family lives literally a «stones throw» from the «new» Steak n’ Shake off 280 and were happy when it opened. We have eaten there maybe 12 or so times now… both lunch and dinner. Lunch is not a problem other than just being so packed (ie. time it right when you go… but all of 280 has that lunch rush problem). However, the past several times when we have gone for dinner, the experience has been TERRIBLE.
Last night was the last straw for me. My wife was at home while I took our 3 kids for dinner. We ordered at 6:50. Our food did not come until 7:35…45 MINUTES LATER!!! It wasn’t just us but most all tables around as well. In fact, a larger table complained to the manager and had their meal comp’ed. I overheard them say that the bill was $ 32 which wasn’t bad for all of them (about 8) but the wait was too much.
But then it got worse. Two of the young servers came to clear that table when the group left. There were several other tables around with customers. One of the servers picks up money from the table and says «What’s this!!! They left $ 7 for their check???»…the other server corrected her and said «Oh no, I think that is for us… our tip»…the first girl then says «What!!! That’s all!!!» …again, keep in mind the bill was $ 32 and had been taken care of by the manager because that group waited so long… so in fact, they actually left a REALLY good tip on the actually bill amount!!! But wait it gets better… then the two girls begin to talk bad all about the group that had sat there «Can you believe he did that…»…“Did you see what she had on”…“She complained about the food… she don’t need to be eating that much to begin with”…again, this was ALL within earshot of not only my family but all the other customers around. The servers were just laughing about it and having a good ol’ time while cleaning off the table.
Finally, as I went up to pay, the manager asked if all was ok and said sorry about the wait. I explained that this is the second or third time now that the wait at dinner has been so bad. He then tells me that he is very aware of it but it’s completely out of his hands. He says the franchise owner tries to keep labor costs down by staffing less at night even though the managers tell the owner how much they need more people there. I told him that the owner wouldn’t have to worry over labor if he kept that thinking because no one would be eating there… which would the owner prefer? The manager again apologized and actually took about $ 7 off our bill. But then, about that time… one of the cooks in the back on the grill yells up the servers walking by…“We are out of meat… if anyone orders burgers, we’re out of meat…” Again, this was well within earshot of myself as well as new customers walking in the door and anyone else at the front of the store. I looked at the manager like «you have to be kidding me». He had a nervous look of shock on his face and said «oh, we’re not out… he’s just joking… the cooks say that at times». Uhm ok… I am sure the customers really get the joke just like I did… or does it make the store sound like it’s being run pretty badly? I just paid up, got the kids and we left. Not sure if or when we will even go back. Lots of other burger places around now that are similar (ie. Mooyah, Milos, 5 Guys, Baja Burger, etc) so what differentiates the best after quality food is quality service. 45 minutes waiting on a simple order at a burger place is NOT quality service.

I just ate here for the first time today. I could barely find a parking spot. After finally finding a spot, I went inside and was greeted by a long line of people. I believe the kids eat free on weekends sign had something to do with it. I wanted mine to go but didn’t know where to go. After standing there for a few moments, I approached a cashier. She advised that I may want to use the drive thru the next time I wanted a to go order. After being handed a menu I pointed to one of the first things I saw, a bacon cheeseburger. I was then asked what flavor fries I wanted. (Flavor?!) Ok so I quickly looked at the menu and went with the Parmesan Garlic. Since my «combo» did not come with a drink or a shake, I decided to add a shake. (Shake is in the name after all) Faced with what felt like a hundred choices, I asked the cashier for assistance. She advised that I try the Birthday Cake Shake since it will be there for a limited time. I took her advice. I paid and then sat down and watched as the line got longer and longer. After my meal was ready, I dashed off to work.
So…how was it? Was it worth the wait? Was it the best thing since sliced bread? Well… no. While I appreciated the Parmesan Garlic flavoring, for my personal tastes, the fries were too thin to support such a strong flavor. The burger, while it was good, wasn’t the best I ever had. But, I have to say, the toppings were probably some of the freshest. Those pickles had serious crunch. And the shake? Well… it was great! The shake was great! Lol! It was worth the trip.
So will I go back? Maybe. That shake was pretty good… ;-)

Today was my third visit. I went with co-​workers for lunch as I typically do when I dine-​out in this area. The food is great, the table service is great, so there are no complaints there. The server even came back to tell us the food orders had been put in and about how long we’d have to wait. Thumbs up! While placing orders, a co-​worker went ahead and also put in an order for a sundae to go, so she could take it with her when she left. She figured it would be added to her check and she’d just be able to tell the server when she was ready for it, but one was brought to the table neatly packed up and ready to go by another employee before the food had even been brought out. Of course, it was sent back.
My biggest issue with all three experiences was the amount of time it took to simply pay for a meal after enjoying it. The first time, we waited 10 minutes for someone to take our money. We noticed another register open, went to it and were politely and promptly told that register is only for take-​out orders. A manager finally had to open another register to close out our checks. The second time, the process of applying coupons seemed to confuse the cashier. It seemed like this was not only his first job, but also his first day, so we were patient with him. We felt bad for him though while he stood looking helpless for over 5 minutes while he waited for a manager to come by so he could ask for help. For today’s visit, there was only one register open when it was time to pay. That register was being used to put in a take-​out order. While we waited nearly 10 minutes for that person to finish his order, a line slowly grew behind us of dine-​in customers also wanting to pay for their meals, and take-​out customers wanting to put in their orders. Once again, it took another manager coming over and opening another register for us to close out our tickets. Oddly enough, the register he opened was the one we were turned away from on our first visit. I can understand the place being busy at lunch time, which is why we get there right when they open their doors (at the time, this location didn’t serve breakfast yet). We’re normally going to the register around 11:45, but so far, have always walked out the doors after 12:00 due to the delays. Basically, all three times we have paid for our meals, a manager had to step in at some point to get us taken care of. Better organization in this area is needed!

We have now been to this Steak and Shake four times so I feel I can write a legitimate, helpful review. This is a table service restaurant, but is only a small step up from fast food.
As with other Steak and Shake locations in the area, this place is very busy at lunch. It really is best to go after 2:00 PM or even 2:30 PM. However, I know that does not work for a lot of people so be prepared to wait a little.
The décor is really nice and the store is kept pretty clean. We have always been greeted and seated promptly in this store.
The thing I like most about this chain of restaurants is that you get a real value. The food is pretty good, always hot, and priced really low. Even with the tip this is still one of the best values. Sales tax is 9%.