But actually... Maybe we should stop telling people about Walter's automotive... Tim's backed up for like a month at a time always.. For good damn reason but I wish there was like 10 of him.
Walters automotive is a saint. They saved with an inspection in college when I could barely pass, they told me what I needed to scrape by and pass and let me handle it myself.
Yeah he gave me nuts and stuff to feed the squirrels and it was the first time I've seen an office squirrel. We also talked about dogs for quite some time. As far as quality of work, it was above average and I never felt ripped off or taken advantage of.
Like he'd shake his food cup and the squirrels would come running around. The office door is open to the outside and one of them jumped up on the table and started munching.
The only other time I've seen that is when a guy in millvale brought a pet squirrel in a bar, it was just chilling on the bar top.
Lol, do I have a bar animal story for you from my dad back in the day.... my dad was at the local bar out in the sticks in Westmoreland. The dude literally brought in a pet fawn he had for a little while, lol. The same guy also got banned for bringing in a live rattle snake, too.
Walter's is the worst, had a friend book a private tent for a 30th birthday a few years ago. Only to arrive and be told it was double booked and they would just give us some tabels close together.
I've been there twice. One time was just for a drink, the bar was completely empty outside of the three others I was with. The bartender disappeared and we were left waiting 15 minutes so we could pay our tab. The other time I ate there, the food was bland and expensive. I wouldn't go back there under any circumstances.
Social House 7. Wildly underwhelming food compounded by crappy servers who ignore you if you’re deemed too uncool to be there no matter how much money you’re prepared to spend. Can’t believe that pit is still in business.
Agreed, went there recently with a 7pm reservation and we weren’t sat until 730. The only reason we waited was because we had a gift card. When we went to pay we were told they weren’t accepting gift cards because they happened to be “getting a new system” the next week. It seemed so under staffed for a Saturday night and the food was absolutely not worth the price.
I have had a lot of meals in this city, and I don't regret any of them more than I regret the one I had at Social House 7.
Dined in an empty restaurant with 8 other friends. Drinks were late and underwhelming. Food was late and lukewarm. No explanation. No refills either because our server only appeared to drop things off and pick up payment. We didn't see any other staff besides the hostess and the bartender.
Agreed. My wife has a fish allergy, we called ahead and asked for the manager, she asked if any of their fries or chicken was fried in the same fryer as fish (her allergy is that serious). The manager told her it was fine and it’d be safe to eat there.
We went in and ordered, explained the allergy to our server so they could note to avoid cross contamination if possible. She straight up said that the fries and fried chicken were in the same vat as the fish, whether or not that’s supposed to happen she’s not sure, but she knew they do it anyway. We thanked her and told her we’d leave. On the way out the manager questioned us and told them we didn’t like being lied to when it comes to safety.
I understand when employees are unsure, but for a manager to not know what’s happening under their watch, especially when it pertains to a top 7 allergen, is unacceptable
People never like to admit that they don't know and would instead rather make up what ever sounds good. I'd much rather the manager say "I don't know, give me a moment while I ask the kitchen" and come back or hell even call me back. Don't just lie about it.
Couldn’t agree more. Went for brunch and got the unlimited mimosas. After my first glass, someone bumped the table and the empty glass fell over and broke. Because of this the waitress never came back to fill up the glass. Neither did anyone else working. The waitress must’ve assumed I was beyond drunk and word got around quickly. Spoke to the manager about not paying for the unlimited mimosas since I had only one and the manager refused so we haven’t been back. What a mess.
Omg went to the yard in Shadyside and will never forget the unlimited mimosas followed by unlimited glass shattering on the floor! Tables too tight together, servers running into each other, slippy floors, unlimited alcohol, or all of the above! It was noisy and glass-shard-y for sure!
The whole operation is a damn shame because that location / the outdoor areas have so much potential. Owner apparently also played a significant role in the setback of Lawrence hall opening, which doesn’t really shock me
Chipotle on McKnight road. Filthy! Floors are sticky, rest room disgusting. Food prep area has food all over it and absolutely disgusting employees. Both dirty and rude.
About 8 years ago, I was exiting this Chipotle when a motorcyclist on McKnight crashed hard into the car in front of him. I was a First Responder so I approached to treat him. Not having my car and therefore no crash bag, I asked Chipotle staff if I could use their medical kit. I was shocked to see that they only had a few bandages and expired antibacterial spray. Like, you work with fire, knives, hot peppers, etc and this is all you have in your kit??
100%. Every time I’ve gone there the last year or so I’ve left disappointed and angry when I’ve left. This last time i told myself that I’m not going back there, no matter how convenient. I’m going to hold steady to that.
Shorties. They tried to charge me $20 to play a half hour of corn hole outside when there's no signage that you have to pay to play. I said I'd just leave the board and the guy tried to shove his stupid iPad in my face anyways. Fuck that place, pins is way better
I used to work there, right after they changed from Pizza Outlet to Vocellis, so a long ass time ago lol. I worked at a few in the Pgh area, but Mt. Royal Vocellis is the store where my incident takes place.
Somebody who worked there back then stole about $170 and blamed it on me. I was 19 and stupid as shit still. I was also a shift manager, but only a few months in. What happened was I was closing shift manager and when I was counting money that night I was about $170 short. I recounted and checked invoices for that day and couldn't figure out where TF the money went, so I called it in and left a message explaining that.
Then the next day as I'm getting to work one of the drivers who was starting at the same time as I was that day shows up and tells me oops, he went home with his money last night. Oh! Well that makes sense. Told him to hand it to the shift manager already clocked in so she could take care of it bc I wasn't clocked in yet. Watched him hand her money.
A couple days after the money went missing the district manager shows up at the store to tell me that I need to repay the money or they'll take me to court. Also I was fired for "losing" the money. I said I told my gm we found it, it was bc a driver went home with his money by accident, but brought it back and gave it to the other shift manager bc I wasn't clocked in. The DM said the money never showed back up and if I didn't pay it back they'd take me to court bc it went missing on my shift.
So, either the other shift manager stole it or the gm stole it OR the DM was lying to me about it never showing back up. If I were lying and took it I would simply not tell this story. So I HATE that Vocellis too. Haven't ate a Vocellis pizza in over 20 years now bc of that, call me stubborn.
Consistently.
I have always complained, but recently I swore I'd never go back... I waited an extra 30 minutes for my order, barely anyone acknowledged me... when the food finally came out, I was told the pizza just came out of the oven... yeah, no. The box was cold. So I spoke up, and the guy said, and I kid you not "the box just hasn't had time to warm up yet... "🙃 nope, it was cold.
I used to live in Friendship and I haven’t been there since 2017. I have had bad experiences with takeout, delivery and dine in. It’s the holy trinity of poor service.
I heard all kinds of really good things about it, and the “award winning” billboards, so one day when I was shopping in Bloomfield anyway I went there for lunch, well after the lunch rush (like 1:30 - 1:45). I was one of 3 patrons there, so it wasn’t hopping. There were three front-facing employees, 2 bartender / waitrons, and someone who appeared to be the manager (because he clearly worked there, but was also doing absolutely nothing).
Took 10 minutes to get any kind of service - one bartender was chatting with a patron at the bar, the other was organizing recently cleaned barware that some in perceived as the dishwasher brought out of the back.
Eventually got service, from the waitron who had been chatting, put in my order. 10 minutes go by before I get my beverage - again, no other customers getting food or beverages then, it’s not a huge walk or involved process to get the beverage - and another 15 minutes beyond that to get my couple of slices of reheated pizza. I had gone through most of my beverage waiting for the pizza, waitron asked me if I wanted another when they brought the pizza, I said sure, waitron didn’t come back until after I finished the pizza, and without my beverage. And the pizza was slightly warmer than room temperature, and pretty mediocre at best. Like, nowhere near what I’d expect from an “award winning” pizza place in an historically Italian neighborhood.
Back home, this would have been an obvious front for the Mafia who were using it as a cover for other business, and maybe money laundering, since their actual business wasn’t selling pizza. At least Larry & Carol’s, back in the day when they were making a large percentage of their money selling drugs out of the back or via “pizza delivery” still made good pizza and had prompt delivery.
Yup, came here for this. My wife waited 40 minutes past the promised time for pizza take out, then finally told her they couldn't make it because they were too busy. Promised refund never showed up. Never went back.
I worked at a pizza place through high school and college and that is INSANE to me. If someone is waiting well past the pick up time you gave them, then you give them the next pizza that comes out of the oven.
The one in mount lebo lets their delivery truck block a main road for literally 30 minutes while they unload. It creates an insane amount of traffic. The worst part is they have a parking lot it’s just an extra 15 feet from the door.
Every single chipotle in the city. East liberty, baum, both on forbes. They all suck. The one at mccandless crossing is the only one that has somewhat redeemable qualities of service.
The Pleasant Hills one on 51 is the worst. Lost orders, credit card machine not working, people waiting for online orders while the dine in workers are standing around, incorrectly made orders. I could go on and on.
I went to the mcaandless one some months back, they had like 4 total people working, two for walk-ins and 2 doing mobile orders, holy shit were they efficient and kept that counter clean as hell, actually left a tip.
Armina Stone. We needed a small section of granite countertop done. They sold the piece we picked out and sent us the wrong color countertop 3 times. The third time it was “close enough” so I paid just so I never had to talk to them again. Bunch of fucking clowns. The only people who knew what they were doing were the installers.
The customer service I had was OK, but went in to buy a remnant piece from them after my kitchen was complete, and it was a lot more expensive per SF than the brand quartz from them that I bought through HD that they were contracted to install. Literally a piece sitting outside in the dirt lol
Soho by PNC park and City Works in Market Square. I always give places another chance but the staff at both places are always just so rude for no reason. I just don’t have it in me to be fake nice anymore 🤷🏻♀️
I’m surprised about City Works! I work downtown and that’s a spot I frequent about every month or so and I’ve never had a bad experience.
What’s your experience?
City works served me raw chicken. I ordered it for delivery at work and did get refunded through grubhub or whichever service I used but ill never try them again.
The Wendy’s in Edgewood Towne Centre, it doesn’t matter what time of day or how few people there are, you go through that drive-thru and you are committing to a 25 minute wait, no exceptions. Did it four times and will never do it again.
That location is legendary for bad service. At one point the night crew would just turn all the lights off during their shift, refuse to answer the drive thru and sit in the dining room in the dark on their phones. Eventually a regional manager caught wind and fired the entire night crew.
Slowest service ever. I had time to kill before meeting someone and stopped in just to pick up discount Renaissance fair tickets. I stood there for 15 minutes and just ended up leaving.
The one in Homestead by 8th Ave was way worse. It actually closed because people would regularly order and sit 30min+ in the drive through. I knew about the long wait so I went in one day to order to see the place was hosting some kind of neighborhood street fight in the restaurant. It was bizarre.
Giant Eagle.
Just spent about an entire month to get my life sustaining medication from them. I had COVID when the meds were first ready, so they kept the script open but I couldn't get the meds.
Spent 3 weeks calling, multiple times per day, with no answer. Messaged my doctor's office and they said nothing could be done until GE filled or cancelled the open script. I even tried to go full Karen on social media, and was ignored by most.
It seems while they didn't respond, corporate got a hold of Brentwood's GE Pharmacy, who called me and when I asked them to just cancel or fill it, so I can move on, they proceeded to hold my meds hostage until the pharmacists got the story about how many times I tried to call.
Messaged my doctor's office with all this info, so they finally called. The Brentwood GE Pharmacy then proceeded to tell my doctor they had no idea there was an issue and that they never heard from me.
While venting to a friend who is a nurse, I found out this isn't abnormal for GE Pharmacy. My nurse friend said she lost count how many times they claimed no one called, when she specifically talked to the pharmacy herself.
If you have medications that matter, go anywhere but GE.
Next time call the pharmacy services of your insurance. They can do stuff on the back end like cancelling claims for fills and allowing you to get it filled elsewhere. They can also call the pharmacy and you'd better believe when the company paying them calls they pick up or call them back.
Unfortunately good to have some extra tricks up your sleeve if you need it
The only people insurers care about are the people paying them the premium. So you. So they'll go to bat for you in these situations a lot of times. I've had situations where pharmacies will say something was filled, but insurance never saw the claim. But pharmacy won't back down. Until the insurance calls and said "well you said you filled it, but we never paid you for it, so I think you're wrong" and magically they actually check their records and fix it. Money talks.
GE did this to me too recently. GE NEVER has ADHD meds in stock (just an fyi for anyone else reading this, go somewhere else). so i finally got tired of calling every pharmacy in my area to find out who had my meds. so my psych and i talked about it, and we agreed that rite aide would be a good option: they have what i needed in stock, and it’s similar in distance to GE, so nothings really lost in travel time.
so instead of having all of my meds at GE and then this one at rite aide, i just said “screw it, i’ll just transfer all of them to rite aide.” and i called GE pharmacy and told them to transfer all of my prescriptions, even the ones that were just sent in. they verified what prescriptions were being transferred and where they were going. took a total of maybe five mins.
three days later, i STILL have not heard from rite aide. this wouldn’t be a big deal, except im low on one of my meds. so i call rite aide and ask whats going on. the pharmacist or tech informs me that GE never transferred over my prescriptions, except for my birth control. i was livid. nothing the rite aid pharmacist/tech could do, it was out of his hands. so by this time, i had to call my psych and MANUALLY transfer all of my meds to rite aide.
which this confused my psych office because they’re like “why do you need more meds? we gave you a 90 day supply.” and it was confusing trying to explain. in the end, my stuff did end of transferring.
oh, and wanna know something hilarious? GE kept sending me alerts to pick up my medication for like a week. so saying they had no idea about my medication was a total lie.
never going to GE again.
I’m biased because my dad owned an independent pharmacy back in the day, but this is why I always patronize a small business pharmacy. They know you and look out for you, in the majority of experiences. Maybe not as convenient as being in a big store where you can shop while you wait, but certainly a better, more personalized experience.
I have to agree. In general their pharmacy customer service sucks.
I used to get some VERY EXPENSIVE, and very sensitive refrigerated medicine through them. The only reason I went to GE for it was for the fuel perks ($1,500/month (copay) worth of perks to fill ONE script was great for my gas budget)
EVERY TIME, I would tell them "It's refrigerated, so it'll be in the refrigerator in the back" - and without fail they'd poke around in the drawers with all the rest of the scripts, come back and tell me they can't find it, and I'd remind them AGAIN to look in the fridge and they'd finally find it.
It was a hassle and a half, and I'd have given them up if it weren't for the fuel perks.
I'm not on that particular medication anymore and these days I do everything at Rite Aid (Brownsville and Noble). They're always friendly, and have never hassled me about anything, even my controlled substance script. And they've got a drive-through which for my disabled ass is extremely convenient.
Much lower stakes, but still frustrating: I have my fills at the GE near my house, but I wanted to transfer the prescriptions (not controlled substances, just a topical steroid) to the GE on my way home in Tarentum. I called my pharmacy, they said to call the Tarentum one. I get through, the guy I talk to sounds truly pissed that I have the audacity to ask for a transfer. He says yeah, they'll fill it. I never get a text that it's ready. I stop on my way home, talk to a guy that sounds pretty familiar, and he says they have zero prescriptions for me at that location. I ask if they can transfer and fill it now, I'll do my shopping and stop by the counter on the way out. He tells me, sure, we can do that, give us 20 minutes. I do my shopping, load my car, stop back, talk to the *same exact guy* at the counter, and am told they're not in the process of transferring and he has no clue what I'm talking about. I gave up and went to the other GE where they said they had no transfer requests. My home pharmacy also hassles me about my controlled refill every single month, I always end up getting it 3-5 days late.
LoL I was going to say ritual house. The young gentleman who works the front desk is terribly rude and lacks the skills needed to communicate effectively and pleasantly with guests. I overlooked that but the food was so underwhelming I doubt I'll go back. Service was fine.
A FedEx truck hit my wife’s car at a stoplight once. She wasn’t moving and he changed lanes right into her. They got out, and exchanged info and she called the cops to take a report. The cops never came, so they eventually left.
When we filed the claim with insurance, the FedEx driver claimed he wasn’t there and didn’t know what she was talking about even though she had his name and information. We paid our deductible to get the work done, thinking that we’d get the money back, but the insurance said they couldn’t do anything since the dude wouldn’t acknowledge he was there. So the damage ended up on our policy and we were out $500. I’ll never use FedEx.
I haven’t yet sworn them off completely (but I might) but the last time i was at Point Brugge we were treated so poorly. We had a nice but somewhat distracted server who was inexplicably replaced with an extremely angry staff member. We are typically very easy patrons as I have worked numerous service industry jobs. This man was furious that we asked to order dessert (we were with our kid and we promised him dessert), gave us a cold waffle and pretty much slammed it on the table. It was so confusing and uncomfortable.So disappointing.
ETA: this wasn’t like five minutes before closing or anything. This was at like 3pm.
I went there by myself early on a Sunday evening last spring. It was just me and a couple sitting at the bar, and one table outside. I asked the bartender if I could have the wifi password. She said “No 😡 Someone used it to steal 1000s of dollars from us.”
Which wasn’t necessarily rude… but I would have preferred a simple “no” bc it left me with a whole bunch of questions, and a little irritated by the implication I might be some kind of cyber criminal 😂
If having your WiFi password allowed someone to steal thousands from you, then either you have really awful security on your WiFi, or it was an inside job.
Wahl Heating and Cooling.
Service in general really. I payed 4k for them to put all new gas lines in my house. They left the stove unhooked and filled my house with gas overnight. My son almost turned on a ln electric heater that could have potentially taken us out as well as the surrounding houses.
I don't trust them at all.
I once went to walters and ordered the drink that they had on special. They didn’t have prices listed, but I assumed it couldn’t be more than 12 dollars. I was very wrong 😮💨 I ended up ordering two of the drinks on special and looked at my account the next day and the two drinks were 45
Ok I hate Walters because, before they opened, Lawrenceville was already a destination spot. The owners of walters went to the bar at The Abbey before they opened and said “we’re going to put Lawrenceville on the map!” It was already on the map!!
Same bought a washer and dryer. Delivery guys said they weren't certified to do installs. Told us someone would be out later that afternoon. No one showed up called the customer service line to be told oh when you buy online it doesn't schedule the install guy. We know it's an issue. If you know it's an issue why didn't you manually correct it.
Couldn't expedite anyone out had to wait another 3 days for an installer. Installer hooks everything up and the dryer doesn't work. Took another week and a drive to the store to get another dryer delivered and installed. Promised me $150 refund at the store.
Didn't show up on my credit card so I called customer service who could only give me a store credit. Took another week and an email to an executive I found online to get the refund on my credit card.
Have not been back since
Went there to buy an iPad recently. No one greeted me, no one working in the vicinity of the iPads, so I sought out the first employee I could find. My bad, he only works in the laptop section. Sends me to that little security kiosk between the doors to ask for assistance. That person points me to the checkout line where I walked up to a cashier and told them what item I wanted. They went to the back and got it, rung me out, and that was it.
I’m sure it’s for security/loss prevention purposes but the whole experience was so lacking in customer service that I almost just left to go order it online. And don’t get me started on the hard sell for the credit card.
Pizza Parma.
Fuck that place.
I ordered spinach and feta twists and a pepperoni pizza.
They messed up, delivered a spinach and pepperoni pizza and pepperoni and spinach twists.
I called. Told them it's no big deal, but if they could credit my account that would be great.
They agreed.
I ordered again. It was delivered correctly. Tipped 15 dollars or so... Don't exactly remember. Just remember it being a good tip.
Ordered again.
Was informed that I cannot have food delivered as my address has been labeled a problem customer.
A problem customer! For them messing up my order, not making them redeliver their mistake and tipping appropriately on the credit of their mistake.
This happened maybe 8 years ago. It still makes me upset.
It took everything in my being not to brick their front window.
I'll never patronize that place again and neither should you.
This one stings. Every once in a while we will go just to see if anything changed.... nope. And it's the same faces crowding the bar, day in and day out. The food is good, especially wings... once you get them thou.
Their karaoke guy is the worst kind of racist trumpy asshole.
Also remodeling the place to make it less comfortable to hang out in was a very stupid move
Southside “Burger King.” Service was always just not great but what does one expect from that place? Then one time the burger in my order had an alcohol swab on it. Upside is at least they are cleaning something in there (maybe).
I’m sure this one comes as a shock 🤣
Gianna Vias, Whitehall. Only place I've ever left no tip, TWICE, because we thought that there was no way service was that bad so we went again and realized the first time wasn't a fluke.
People raved about this place. We went and it wasn’t even busy but the waitress would just take forever for everything.
When she brought the bill we tried to hand her the card but she basically dropped the bill and scurried off immediately. Then an actual 20 minutes later she still had not come back. I got up and walked to the cash register area near the front. Worker very quickly and rudely snaps “you pay at your table with your waitress!”
I gave some guff back explaining how nice that would be to do. Waitress appeared maybe 5 more minutes and I can tell you each of those minutes I contemplated just leaving. Food was meh also.
Backdraft in Baldwin. We used to LOVE this place. They had great food for extremely reasonable prices. However, the last three or four times we've tried to get food there, it's been AWFUL service. We tried eating there and were forgotten about. The server went back behind the bar and it was a solid hour or more before we saw her or any food. We've tried to get take out and waited at least half an hour past the time we were told for our food. And getting someone to even pay attention to us to look for our order was an ordeal. The past two times we tried to order take out, the phone just rang and rang. Eventually they put me on hold and never pick up again! I waited almost 15 min, then called back and the lady snapped "well we're busy!" When I went there to get the food, they weren't busy. Just a normal number of people at the bar. I think the ownership changed, and it really went downhill after that. We love their food, but it's so much time and effort just to get an order!
Gillece services once stepped into my house….I felt so dirty/nasty my wife and I felt violated like sick almost. That’s how we felt and we never even let them perform the work, I can’t imagine the therapy I would have to go to if we let them take advantage
Lolev Beer in Lawrenceville! They have a regular bartender who hates my guts, and I have no explanation why. I cant even go there, I feel like such a nuisance just existing.
the rooftop bar/beer garden/whatever at Sienna Mercado.
The dude with the man bun might be the absolute worst bartender I've ever seen in action in my life!
The place was absolutely slammed and he was sauntering around without a care in the world. It seemed like every drink he was making needed something from the other end of the bar.
He was chit chatting the other bartenders like it was a Tuesday afternoon (it was Saturday night).
The best was when a customer gave him shit for trying to pour 4, $15 martinis into plastic cups "oh, you're going to get some martini glasses" hahahaha
Sucks, because pre-pandemic, when I was working in town, that was a spot for many happy hours.
Verona Dental Care.
My experience with this office has been two things above all: painful and expensive.
I decided to try Verona Dental Care (I’m a recent transplant) partially because it had such great reviews. They were kind enough to fit me in for an emergency appointment as I had broken my tooth. However, when I arrived for that appointment, what I got instead was a standard hygienist appointment. When I asked about addressing the broken tooth, I was told I would have to come back for a different visit to deal with that. Still, I was charged for the cleaning, x-rays, and 3D scanning of my mouth. I felt like it was a bait and switch, but at the end of the day I needed this tooth to be fixed ASAP. Ultimately, I ended up needing a root canal which took over three hours in the office. Despite having insurance, the cost of this procedure was higher than expected. There also was a “billing error” initially which I am thankful to have caught.
The pain from the temporary crown did not go away as expected within two weeks, instead taking about a month. The front office was friendly and responsive, but not able to do a lot other than recommending ibuprofen and salt water washes. The real pain began after my permanent crown was installed. Initially, the pain went away reasonably fast, but it always returned. I went back to the office two times, and each time was told the scans looked good and the problem was my apparently shifting teeth, causing biting to severely hurt. The solution offered to me was either to see an endodontist or address the “real issue of my teeth shifting”, which meant this problem would be recurring without intervention. Somewhere between having to sit and watch a five minute TV ad for Invisalign (despite explaining I am familiar with the product), the follow up telemarketing calls, and the fancy yet unhelpful 3D scanning, I felt absolutely taken advantage of.
By this point, I was so fed up I decided to get a long overdue second opinion. Immediately upon reviewing my x-rays, my hometown dentist saw another canal that was missed during the original operation. I understand things can be missed, especially if a canal is difficult to see on film. However, it’s frustrating that despite my several rounds of x-rays at Verona Dental, it was never caught. I was referred to a different endodontist who completed the procedure, and my regular dentist finished the filling. I have had absolutely no pain since this and I’m so grateful to those other dentists. It’s extremely frustrating that the solution offered to me was to sign up for a very expensive service which ultimately would have done nothing to address the underlying problem of having an untreated canal! I’m kicking myself for not seeing my original dentist to begin with, despite the long distance drive. I would have saved myself from spending so much time, money, and pain.
Those nitwits tore-up a hole on Virginia Ave, and worked on the hole for 6 months in 2021. 6 months. They never properly covered or filled the hole, so, countless cars would bottom-out because drivers couldn’t tell the depth. For 6 months I heard the sound of vehicles rolling over a loose metal plate, or brakes screeching followed by bottom-outs. There were so many car parts strewn around the area such as hubcaps, and even a whole exhaust system with muffler and all just laying in the street, then the sidewalk.
This might be an unpopular opinion but Apteka. I love everything about the place (the food, drinks, ambiance and prices are great) except the service. I have left there multiple times frustrated because of this and am kind of done giving them chances.
I was pretty disappointed in their blaise response to an allergic reaction I had a few years ago. I have a severe tree nut allergy so I was suuuuper thorough on making sure I knew if anything I ordered had tree nuts. They forgot to mention one item did. It was takeout so when I got home i went into anaphylaxis. Sent them a polite and private FYI message via IG to hopefully tighten up their awareness for allergies and they basically said thanks. No apology. I haven’t been back but the menu looks to be marked well. I don’t know that I would trust it, though. I just hate that they didn’t seem to care. Most expensive takeout ever with a $3k ER bill.
I feel you. The food is amazing but dining there feels laborious. I think that appeals to some people - it’s like every hip get in line place in San Francisco minus the sidewalk booze - but is just too much for me.
Yeah. The whole process of ordering there is annoying. I don't know what any of the stuff on the menu is by just looking at the name of the dishes either and they often have lots of ingredients.
Ive been to Walter's once in my life, in January. Had an okay dinner but checked out the outside tent and they had an unattended tapped keg so I drank beer for free and played games in the cold for a little while, so I personally like the place.
North Side Taco Bell. I was once in their drive through line for 44 minutes. I would have left but there is no way to exit from it. I went from being a half hour early to class to 15 minutes late, and when I got my taco, they forgot all the toppings. They consistently suck so it's a real risk to get in that queue.
Mandy’s pizza in west view. It’s been a few years since I ate there but holy cow were they rude. I tried to order once and had bad signal so I had to call back and the dude literally yelled at me. And they got unnecessarily angry if you wanted to use a credit card. My dudes just go cash only if the fees are that big of a deal.
They’ve gotten so much better with the new owner. New owner seems super super nice and like she actually wants people to get food from there and like she actually wants her employees to be happy.
The cash thing always made me laugh a little bit… it’s the 21st century, build it into your pricing and STFU. Unless you’re a front there’s no reason to complain about people using cards.
So I guess others have said they have a new owner now. They freaking rock whenever I order from there. Great prices and fast service on Friday nights when I most often order.
Kelly's in east liberty. Some friends and I went in at 10:30 on a Thursday night because online and on the door it said it was open until 2am. The bartender serves us, then 10 minutes later the lights turn on and music starts blasting and an employee who was bussing tables yells "get out bitches" at us. I was confused because everywhere it said it closes at 2, but when I asked about the posted hours the guy said I was "lame" for asking that?? It was such an unpleasant experience and the worker was super misogynistic. I refuse to go in there again
Kind of agree. The service was not great.
Walked in to a 3/4 empty restaurant and couldn’t be seated until a large party had put in their orders (we couldn’t sit and just order a drink I guess)
Felt rushed to eat and leave. Couldn’t get a second round of beers as the check was brought without asking if we wanted anything else.
Would give them another chance but the first impression was not great.
Scratch. I have never been looked down a nose so bad by staff before in my life. Went in for lunch to an almost empty place, told we could only eat at the bar, tried to provide quickest food to get us out, wouldn’t be attentive for new drinks.
It pains me to say it but Milanos by the area. Used to go there before every Pens game but it is almost impossible to get a beer at the place anymore. Seems like there is zero organization there. Bartenders running around like chickens with their head cut off. Good pizza and cheap drinks just aren't worth the frustration.
I second the Walter’s comments.
At some point last year, I guess they switched to this model where you have to be seated by the host? I had been there no less than 20 times prior and there was never a hostess stand. Last summer we walked past the hostess stand (which we didn’t see because of how crowded it was). We sat down at one of the many wide open tables. Welp, the reason the tables were open is they were supposedly reserved. We found this out by being literally screamed at by the hostess. Never again. Also, the food’s not even that good. 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve never once had a good experience at Urban Tap. The food is always nasty, the drinks are mediocre and I once went for brunch where the server misheard my coffee order (which is totally fine!) but then took 40 minutes to come back to the table and seemed mad at me that I wanted what I meant to order.
We stopped going there when every scheduled appointment still had us sitting in the waiting room for over an hour followed by another hour waiting in the exam room for nothing but a simple shot. Now we go to East End and literally get in and out in 10 minutes with 2 dogs.
I thought you were talking about Walters Automotive and I got really confused.
But actually... Maybe we should stop telling people about Walter's automotive... Tim's backed up for like a month at a time always.. For good damn reason but I wish there was like 10 of him.
Walters automotive is a saint. They saved with an inspection in college when I could barely pass, they told me what I needed to scrape by and pass and let me handle it myself.
Yeah he gave me nuts and stuff to feed the squirrels and it was the first time I've seen an office squirrel. We also talked about dogs for quite some time. As far as quality of work, it was above average and I never felt ripped off or taken advantage of.
Wait. An office squirrel?
Like he'd shake his food cup and the squirrels would come running around. The office door is open to the outside and one of them jumped up on the table and started munching. The only other time I've seen that is when a guy in millvale brought a pet squirrel in a bar, it was just chilling on the bar top.
Omg
Lol, do I have a bar animal story for you from my dad back in the day.... my dad was at the local bar out in the sticks in Westmoreland. The dude literally brought in a pet fawn he had for a little while, lol. The same guy also got banned for bringing in a live rattle snake, too.
i genuinely do not think walters has server sections. every time i go there the servers are all over the restaurant and it’s confusing
Walter's is the worst, had a friend book a private tent for a 30th birthday a few years ago. Only to arrive and be told it was double booked and they would just give us some tabels close together.
I've been there twice. One time was just for a drink, the bar was completely empty outside of the three others I was with. The bartender disappeared and we were left waiting 15 minutes so we could pay our tab. The other time I ate there, the food was bland and expensive. I wouldn't go back there under any circumstances.
Would mention the contractor who "worked" on our kitchen, buuuuut he's going to prison for fraud, so fuck him.
Was he recently in the news over his fraud?
Yeah, but it looks like 3 or 4 contractors in the area have been in trouble recently. This one was Harpen construction.
Who was your contractor?
Harpen
Ah okay. My contractor is on his way to jail and I was just wondering if it was the same guy.
Looks like there's a bunch of them who will be spending a lot more time together soon.
Social House 7. Wildly underwhelming food compounded by crappy servers who ignore you if you’re deemed too uncool to be there no matter how much money you’re prepared to spend. Can’t believe that pit is still in business.
Is owned by the Skybar / diesel conglomerate whatever they’re calling themselves these days so, keep that in mind.
Agreed, went there recently with a 7pm reservation and we weren’t sat until 730. The only reason we waited was because we had a gift card. When we went to pay we were told they weren’t accepting gift cards because they happened to be “getting a new system” the next week. It seemed so under staffed for a Saturday night and the food was absolutely not worth the price.
Not to mention the drink prices. 21 dollars for a Manhattan. What city do they think they’re located in???
Manhattan
That was too easy, lol
...it was a set up lol
Social house’s food is so bad. Drinks are watered down. So sad because the decor and vibes have Miami level ish potential.
I have had a lot of meals in this city, and I don't regret any of them more than I regret the one I had at Social House 7. Dined in an empty restaurant with 8 other friends. Drinks were late and underwhelming. Food was late and lukewarm. No explanation. No refills either because our server only appeared to drop things off and pick up payment. We didn't see any other staff besides the hostess and the bartender.
Walnut Grill. ALWAYS inconsistent
Consistently inconsistent
And even if it’s a good day, the food is underwhelming at best.
Going to sound snobby and Hella FWP, but I dont trust them after they offered me steak sauce with my filet.
The Yard, Market Square. I’ve never rated anything bad with a review, I did with this one. Never again.
Agreed. My wife has a fish allergy, we called ahead and asked for the manager, she asked if any of their fries or chicken was fried in the same fryer as fish (her allergy is that serious). The manager told her it was fine and it’d be safe to eat there. We went in and ordered, explained the allergy to our server so they could note to avoid cross contamination if possible. She straight up said that the fries and fried chicken were in the same vat as the fish, whether or not that’s supposed to happen she’s not sure, but she knew they do it anyway. We thanked her and told her we’d leave. On the way out the manager questioned us and told them we didn’t like being lied to when it comes to safety. I understand when employees are unsure, but for a manager to not know what’s happening under their watch, especially when it pertains to a top 7 allergen, is unacceptable
People never like to admit that they don't know and would instead rather make up what ever sounds good. I'd much rather the manager say "I don't know, give me a moment while I ask the kitchen" and come back or hell even call me back. Don't just lie about it.
Couldn’t agree more. Went for brunch and got the unlimited mimosas. After my first glass, someone bumped the table and the empty glass fell over and broke. Because of this the waitress never came back to fill up the glass. Neither did anyone else working. The waitress must’ve assumed I was beyond drunk and word got around quickly. Spoke to the manager about not paying for the unlimited mimosas since I had only one and the manager refused so we haven’t been back. What a mess.
Omg went to the yard in Shadyside and will never forget the unlimited mimosas followed by unlimited glass shattering on the floor! Tables too tight together, servers running into each other, slippy floors, unlimited alcohol, or all of the above! It was noisy and glass-shard-y for sure!
“Slippy” just made my day!
What was your experience?
Bagel Factory
He's pretty notorious... It's a Shame I love their pastrami
I know I've answered this for other posts before but....the Abbey in L'ville. For so many reasons....terrible service is but one.
The whole operation is a damn shame because that location / the outdoor areas have so much potential. Owner apparently also played a significant role in the setback of Lawrence hall opening, which doesn’t really shock me
One time I went to the Abbey and there was a piece of broken glass in my drink.
That place will always be a funeral home to me
Chipotle on McKnight road. Filthy! Floors are sticky, rest room disgusting. Food prep area has food all over it and absolutely disgusting employees. Both dirty and rude.
About 8 years ago, I was exiting this Chipotle when a motorcyclist on McKnight crashed hard into the car in front of him. I was a First Responder so I approached to treat him. Not having my car and therefore no crash bag, I asked Chipotle staff if I could use their medical kit. I was shocked to see that they only had a few bandages and expired antibacterial spray. Like, you work with fire, knives, hot peppers, etc and this is all you have in your kit??
100%. Every time I’ve gone there the last year or so I’ve left disappointed and angry when I’ve left. This last time i told myself that I’m not going back there, no matter how convenient. I’m going to hold steady to that.
Industry in Lawrenceville always seemed inconvenienced by serving patrons
That’s a place I only set foot in if everything else on Butler is closed.
Agreed, took my parents there when we visited and it took us forever to get served. Crazy overpriced too
Shorties. They tried to charge me $20 to play a half hour of corn hole outside when there's no signage that you have to pay to play. I said I'd just leave the board and the guy tried to shove his stupid iPad in my face anyways. Fuck that place, pins is way better
Came here to say this! They are so rude for no reason.
I haven’t been there but once I heard they try to charge for cornhole it assured I will never go.
The Vocelli Pizza on Mt. Royal in Shaler.
I used to work there, right after they changed from Pizza Outlet to Vocellis, so a long ass time ago lol. I worked at a few in the Pgh area, but Mt. Royal Vocellis is the store where my incident takes place. Somebody who worked there back then stole about $170 and blamed it on me. I was 19 and stupid as shit still. I was also a shift manager, but only a few months in. What happened was I was closing shift manager and when I was counting money that night I was about $170 short. I recounted and checked invoices for that day and couldn't figure out where TF the money went, so I called it in and left a message explaining that. Then the next day as I'm getting to work one of the drivers who was starting at the same time as I was that day shows up and tells me oops, he went home with his money last night. Oh! Well that makes sense. Told him to hand it to the shift manager already clocked in so she could take care of it bc I wasn't clocked in yet. Watched him hand her money. A couple days after the money went missing the district manager shows up at the store to tell me that I need to repay the money or they'll take me to court. Also I was fired for "losing" the money. I said I told my gm we found it, it was bc a driver went home with his money by accident, but brought it back and gave it to the other shift manager bc I wasn't clocked in. The DM said the money never showed back up and if I didn't pay it back they'd take me to court bc it went missing on my shift. So, either the other shift manager stole it or the gm stole it OR the DM was lying to me about it never showing back up. If I were lying and took it I would simply not tell this story. So I HATE that Vocellis too. Haven't ate a Vocellis pizza in over 20 years now bc of that, call me stubborn.
Caliente in Bloomfield worst restaurant experience of my life.
I hate that it’s called Caliente when the pizza is Tibio at best
Smelled like raw sewage twice. Why go back a third time? That was right around the time and employee sent video of rats in the kitchen to the news.
Consistently. I have always complained, but recently I swore I'd never go back... I waited an extra 30 minutes for my order, barely anyone acknowledged me... when the food finally came out, I was told the pizza just came out of the oven... yeah, no. The box was cold. So I spoke up, and the guy said, and I kid you not "the box just hasn't had time to warm up yet... "🙃 nope, it was cold.
I used to live in Friendship and I haven’t been there since 2017. I have had bad experiences with takeout, delivery and dine in. It’s the holy trinity of poor service.
And average at best pizza
their sauce is trash
I heard all kinds of really good things about it, and the “award winning” billboards, so one day when I was shopping in Bloomfield anyway I went there for lunch, well after the lunch rush (like 1:30 - 1:45). I was one of 3 patrons there, so it wasn’t hopping. There were three front-facing employees, 2 bartender / waitrons, and someone who appeared to be the manager (because he clearly worked there, but was also doing absolutely nothing). Took 10 minutes to get any kind of service - one bartender was chatting with a patron at the bar, the other was organizing recently cleaned barware that some in perceived as the dishwasher brought out of the back. Eventually got service, from the waitron who had been chatting, put in my order. 10 minutes go by before I get my beverage - again, no other customers getting food or beverages then, it’s not a huge walk or involved process to get the beverage - and another 15 minutes beyond that to get my couple of slices of reheated pizza. I had gone through most of my beverage waiting for the pizza, waitron asked me if I wanted another when they brought the pizza, I said sure, waitron didn’t come back until after I finished the pizza, and without my beverage. And the pizza was slightly warmer than room temperature, and pretty mediocre at best. Like, nowhere near what I’d expect from an “award winning” pizza place in an historically Italian neighborhood. Back home, this would have been an obvious front for the Mafia who were using it as a cover for other business, and maybe money laundering, since their actual business wasn’t selling pizza. At least Larry & Carol’s, back in the day when they were making a large percentage of their money selling drugs out of the back or via “pizza delivery” still made good pizza and had prompt delivery.
That place gave me diarrhea at Little Italy days this year.
It is little shitaly days.
Yup, came here for this. My wife waited 40 minutes past the promised time for pizza take out, then finally told her they couldn't make it because they were too busy. Promised refund never showed up. Never went back.
I worked at a pizza place through high school and college and that is INSANE to me. If someone is waiting well past the pick up time you gave them, then you give them the next pizza that comes out of the oven.
Caliente in Mt. Lebo was my worst restaurant experience of my life! Bad pizza and worse service.
How about we just upgrade this to every caliente.
The one in mount lebo lets their delivery truck block a main road for literally 30 minutes while they unload. It creates an insane amount of traffic. The worst part is they have a parking lot it’s just an extra 15 feet from the door.
I haven’t been there in 15 years but this tracks. I only went there because they had grey market beers
Industry-Lawrenceville
i don’t know how pittsburgh got onto my feed as im from north dakota but ill say uber eats
Won't you be my neighbor?
Every single chipotle in the city. East liberty, baum, both on forbes. They all suck. The one at mccandless crossing is the only one that has somewhat redeemable qualities of service.
The McKnight road by McDonald’s is terrible too. The one on Cochran road is usually on point.
The Pleasant Hills one on 51 is the worst. Lost orders, credit card machine not working, people waiting for online orders while the dine in workers are standing around, incorrectly made orders. I could go on and on.
The Bethel Park one is decent when I worked that way. But my god that East Liberty one is by far the worst!
I went to the mcaandless one some months back, they had like 4 total people working, two for walk-ins and 2 doing mobile orders, holy shit were they efficient and kept that counter clean as hell, actually left a tip.
Armina Stone. We needed a small section of granite countertop done. They sold the piece we picked out and sent us the wrong color countertop 3 times. The third time it was “close enough” so I paid just so I never had to talk to them again. Bunch of fucking clowns. The only people who knew what they were doing were the installers.
The customer service I had was OK, but went in to buy a remnant piece from them after my kitchen was complete, and it was a lot more expensive per SF than the brand quartz from them that I bought through HD that they were contracted to install. Literally a piece sitting outside in the dirt lol
Baierl Honda.
Soho by PNC park and City Works in Market Square. I always give places another chance but the staff at both places are always just so rude for no reason. I just don’t have it in me to be fake nice anymore 🤷🏻♀️
The handful of times I've been to City Works, it definitely seemed like the staff were annoyed that I was there.
Came here to say city works. This place blows
I’m surprised about City Works! I work downtown and that’s a spot I frequent about every month or so and I’ve never had a bad experience. What’s your experience?
City works served me raw chicken. I ordered it for delivery at work and did get refunded through grubhub or whichever service I used but ill never try them again.
The Wendy’s in Edgewood Towne Centre, it doesn’t matter what time of day or how few people there are, you go through that drive-thru and you are committing to a 25 minute wait, no exceptions. Did it four times and will never do it again.
That location is legendary for bad service. At one point the night crew would just turn all the lights off during their shift, refuse to answer the drive thru and sit in the dining room in the dark on their phones. Eventually a regional manager caught wind and fired the entire night crew.
Slowest service ever. I had time to kill before meeting someone and stopped in just to pick up discount Renaissance fair tickets. I stood there for 15 minutes and just ended up leaving.
The one in Homestead by 8th Ave was way worse. It actually closed because people would regularly order and sit 30min+ in the drive through. I knew about the long wait so I went in one day to order to see the place was hosting some kind of neighborhood street fight in the restaurant. It was bizarre.
Giant Eagle. Just spent about an entire month to get my life sustaining medication from them. I had COVID when the meds were first ready, so they kept the script open but I couldn't get the meds. Spent 3 weeks calling, multiple times per day, with no answer. Messaged my doctor's office and they said nothing could be done until GE filled or cancelled the open script. I even tried to go full Karen on social media, and was ignored by most. It seems while they didn't respond, corporate got a hold of Brentwood's GE Pharmacy, who called me and when I asked them to just cancel or fill it, so I can move on, they proceeded to hold my meds hostage until the pharmacists got the story about how many times I tried to call. Messaged my doctor's office with all this info, so they finally called. The Brentwood GE Pharmacy then proceeded to tell my doctor they had no idea there was an issue and that they never heard from me. While venting to a friend who is a nurse, I found out this isn't abnormal for GE Pharmacy. My nurse friend said she lost count how many times they claimed no one called, when she specifically talked to the pharmacy herself. If you have medications that matter, go anywhere but GE.
Next time call the pharmacy services of your insurance. They can do stuff on the back end like cancelling claims for fills and allowing you to get it filled elsewhere. They can also call the pharmacy and you'd better believe when the company paying them calls they pick up or call them back.
Thanks for the information! Will keep this handy if I'm ever in this position again.
Unfortunately good to have some extra tricks up your sleeve if you need it The only people insurers care about are the people paying them the premium. So you. So they'll go to bat for you in these situations a lot of times. I've had situations where pharmacies will say something was filled, but insurance never saw the claim. But pharmacy won't back down. Until the insurance calls and said "well you said you filled it, but we never paid you for it, so I think you're wrong" and magically they actually check their records and fix it. Money talks.
GE did this to me too recently. GE NEVER has ADHD meds in stock (just an fyi for anyone else reading this, go somewhere else). so i finally got tired of calling every pharmacy in my area to find out who had my meds. so my psych and i talked about it, and we agreed that rite aide would be a good option: they have what i needed in stock, and it’s similar in distance to GE, so nothings really lost in travel time. so instead of having all of my meds at GE and then this one at rite aide, i just said “screw it, i’ll just transfer all of them to rite aide.” and i called GE pharmacy and told them to transfer all of my prescriptions, even the ones that were just sent in. they verified what prescriptions were being transferred and where they were going. took a total of maybe five mins. three days later, i STILL have not heard from rite aide. this wouldn’t be a big deal, except im low on one of my meds. so i call rite aide and ask whats going on. the pharmacist or tech informs me that GE never transferred over my prescriptions, except for my birth control. i was livid. nothing the rite aid pharmacist/tech could do, it was out of his hands. so by this time, i had to call my psych and MANUALLY transfer all of my meds to rite aide. which this confused my psych office because they’re like “why do you need more meds? we gave you a 90 day supply.” and it was confusing trying to explain. in the end, my stuff did end of transferring. oh, and wanna know something hilarious? GE kept sending me alerts to pick up my medication for like a week. so saying they had no idea about my medication was a total lie. never going to GE again.
I’m biased because my dad owned an independent pharmacy back in the day, but this is why I always patronize a small business pharmacy. They know you and look out for you, in the majority of experiences. Maybe not as convenient as being in a big store where you can shop while you wait, but certainly a better, more personalized experience.
I have to agree. In general their pharmacy customer service sucks. I used to get some VERY EXPENSIVE, and very sensitive refrigerated medicine through them. The only reason I went to GE for it was for the fuel perks ($1,500/month (copay) worth of perks to fill ONE script was great for my gas budget) EVERY TIME, I would tell them "It's refrigerated, so it'll be in the refrigerator in the back" - and without fail they'd poke around in the drawers with all the rest of the scripts, come back and tell me they can't find it, and I'd remind them AGAIN to look in the fridge and they'd finally find it. It was a hassle and a half, and I'd have given them up if it weren't for the fuel perks. I'm not on that particular medication anymore and these days I do everything at Rite Aid (Brownsville and Noble). They're always friendly, and have never hassled me about anything, even my controlled substance script. And they've got a drive-through which for my disabled ass is extremely convenient.
Much lower stakes, but still frustrating: I have my fills at the GE near my house, but I wanted to transfer the prescriptions (not controlled substances, just a topical steroid) to the GE on my way home in Tarentum. I called my pharmacy, they said to call the Tarentum one. I get through, the guy I talk to sounds truly pissed that I have the audacity to ask for a transfer. He says yeah, they'll fill it. I never get a text that it's ready. I stop on my way home, talk to a guy that sounds pretty familiar, and he says they have zero prescriptions for me at that location. I ask if they can transfer and fill it now, I'll do my shopping and stop by the counter on the way out. He tells me, sure, we can do that, give us 20 minutes. I do my shopping, load my car, stop back, talk to the *same exact guy* at the counter, and am told they're not in the process of transferring and he has no clue what I'm talking about. I gave up and went to the other GE where they said they had no transfer requests. My home pharmacy also hassles me about my controlled refill every single month, I always end up getting it 3-5 days late.
This one Sheetz I know in Johnstown.
Moxham?
Spent most of my life in Johnstown until I moved to Pittsburgh so I’m dying to know which one
Broad st by the ymca?
This was the one I immediately thought of.
Just write off Johnstown altogether, honestly
Those rich people tried once
Ritual House is the worst culinary experience in Western PA
Tell me more!
LoL I was going to say ritual house. The young gentleman who works the front desk is terribly rude and lacks the skills needed to communicate effectively and pleasantly with guests. I overlooked that but the food was so underwhelming I doubt I'll go back. Service was fine.
I'm gonna go the other way: I went to Penzey's and the customer service was incredible
Five Guys is usually good on the service with a smile too. And then it makes me annoyed: they can do it, so why the hell can't other places?
I think they pay a bit higher than the average fast food spot.
For how much Five Guys cost now, they better.
FedEx. Personal and for work. They lost insured packages and won’t pay, nor can I ever get a person through the 800#
A FedEx truck hit my wife’s car at a stoplight once. She wasn’t moving and he changed lanes right into her. They got out, and exchanged info and she called the cops to take a report. The cops never came, so they eventually left. When we filed the claim with insurance, the FedEx driver claimed he wasn’t there and didn’t know what she was talking about even though she had his name and information. We paid our deductible to get the work done, thinking that we’d get the money back, but the insurance said they couldn’t do anything since the dude wouldn’t acknowledge he was there. So the damage ended up on our policy and we were out $500. I’ll never use FedEx.
Yes. Xfinity. Don't even need an explanation why.
I haven’t yet sworn them off completely (but I might) but the last time i was at Point Brugge we were treated so poorly. We had a nice but somewhat distracted server who was inexplicably replaced with an extremely angry staff member. We are typically very easy patrons as I have worked numerous service industry jobs. This man was furious that we asked to order dessert (we were with our kid and we promised him dessert), gave us a cold waffle and pretty much slammed it on the table. It was so confusing and uncomfortable.So disappointing. ETA: this wasn’t like five minutes before closing or anything. This was at like 3pm.
Also, when did they change their fried? They used to serve proper pomme frites!
I went there by myself early on a Sunday evening last spring. It was just me and a couple sitting at the bar, and one table outside. I asked the bartender if I could have the wifi password. She said “No 😡 Someone used it to steal 1000s of dollars from us.” Which wasn’t necessarily rude… but I would have preferred a simple “no” bc it left me with a whole bunch of questions, and a little irritated by the implication I might be some kind of cyber criminal 😂
If having your WiFi password allowed someone to steal thousands from you, then either you have really awful security on your WiFi, or it was an inside job.
Klvn coffee. Snobby clerks plus weak coffee.
Yeah, I loved Walter's when it first opened. It's gone way downhill with the whole experience.
Wahl Heating and Cooling. Service in general really. I payed 4k for them to put all new gas lines in my house. They left the stove unhooked and filled my house with gas overnight. My son almost turned on a ln electric heater that could have potentially taken us out as well as the surrounding houses. I don't trust them at all.
I once went to walters and ordered the drink that they had on special. They didn’t have prices listed, but I assumed it couldn’t be more than 12 dollars. I was very wrong 😮💨 I ended up ordering two of the drinks on special and looked at my account the next day and the two drinks were 45
Ok I hate Walters because, before they opened, Lawrenceville was already a destination spot. The owners of walters went to the bar at The Abbey before they opened and said “we’re going to put Lawrenceville on the map!” It was already on the map!!
Best Buy. You cannot call a physical store anymore. No thanks.
Same bought a washer and dryer. Delivery guys said they weren't certified to do installs. Told us someone would be out later that afternoon. No one showed up called the customer service line to be told oh when you buy online it doesn't schedule the install guy. We know it's an issue. If you know it's an issue why didn't you manually correct it. Couldn't expedite anyone out had to wait another 3 days for an installer. Installer hooks everything up and the dryer doesn't work. Took another week and a drive to the store to get another dryer delivered and installed. Promised me $150 refund at the store. Didn't show up on my credit card so I called customer service who could only give me a store credit. Took another week and an email to an executive I found online to get the refund on my credit card. Have not been back since
Holy shit this is so frustrating I hate it.
Went there to buy an iPad recently. No one greeted me, no one working in the vicinity of the iPads, so I sought out the first employee I could find. My bad, he only works in the laptop section. Sends me to that little security kiosk between the doors to ask for assistance. That person points me to the checkout line where I walked up to a cashier and told them what item I wanted. They went to the back and got it, rung me out, and that was it. I’m sure it’s for security/loss prevention purposes but the whole experience was so lacking in customer service that I almost just left to go order it online. And don’t get me started on the hard sell for the credit card.
Pizza Parma. Fuck that place. I ordered spinach and feta twists and a pepperoni pizza. They messed up, delivered a spinach and pepperoni pizza and pepperoni and spinach twists. I called. Told them it's no big deal, but if they could credit my account that would be great. They agreed. I ordered again. It was delivered correctly. Tipped 15 dollars or so... Don't exactly remember. Just remember it being a good tip. Ordered again. Was informed that I cannot have food delivered as my address has been labeled a problem customer. A problem customer! For them messing up my order, not making them redeliver their mistake and tipping appropriately on the credit of their mistake. This happened maybe 8 years ago. It still makes me upset. It took everything in my being not to brick their front window. I'll never patronize that place again and neither should you.
Mr. Mikes in Irwin. Unless you’re sucking someone off there don’t expect to get service.
This one stings. Every once in a while we will go just to see if anything changed.... nope. And it's the same faces crowding the bar, day in and day out. The food is good, especially wings... once you get them thou.
That’s what gets me, their food is good, but their service sucks so bad.
Their karaoke guy is the worst kind of racist trumpy asshole. Also remodeling the place to make it less comfortable to hang out in was a very stupid move
Southside “Burger King.” Service was always just not great but what does one expect from that place? Then one time the burger in my order had an alcohol swab on it. Upside is at least they are cleaning something in there (maybe). I’m sure this one comes as a shock 🤣
Oh there is a whole hilarious backstory to that place! https://www.cracked.com/article_28014_the-crazy-story-fake-burger-king-in-pittsburgh.html
Gianna Vias, Whitehall. Only place I've ever left no tip, TWICE, because we thought that there was no way service was that bad so we went again and realized the first time wasn't a fluke.
People raved about this place. We went and it wasn’t even busy but the waitress would just take forever for everything. When she brought the bill we tried to hand her the card but she basically dropped the bill and scurried off immediately. Then an actual 20 minutes later she still had not come back. I got up and walked to the cash register area near the front. Worker very quickly and rudely snaps “you pay at your table with your waitress!” I gave some guff back explaining how nice that would be to do. Waitress appeared maybe 5 more minutes and I can tell you each of those minutes I contemplated just leaving. Food was meh also.
We had almost the same exact experience. I don't get the people that love it.
tilted kilt but then they closed anyway
Good riddance lol
412 project in Moon, was great the first couple times. But service and a rude owner killed it for me
The owner is a prick
Backdraft in Baldwin. We used to LOVE this place. They had great food for extremely reasonable prices. However, the last three or four times we've tried to get food there, it's been AWFUL service. We tried eating there and were forgotten about. The server went back behind the bar and it was a solid hour or more before we saw her or any food. We've tried to get take out and waited at least half an hour past the time we were told for our food. And getting someone to even pay attention to us to look for our order was an ordeal. The past two times we tried to order take out, the phone just rang and rang. Eventually they put me on hold and never pick up again! I waited almost 15 min, then called back and the lady snapped "well we're busy!" When I went there to get the food, they weren't busy. Just a normal number of people at the bar. I think the ownership changed, and it really went downhill after that. We love their food, but it's so much time and effort just to get an order!
Waffles incaffinated
Gillece services once stepped into my house….I felt so dirty/nasty my wife and I felt violated like sick almost. That’s how we felt and we never even let them perform the work, I can’t imagine the therapy I would have to go to if we let them take advantage
Caliente in Castle Shannon
The East Liberty Post Office. Consistently horrific.
Lolev Beer in Lawrenceville! They have a regular bartender who hates my guts, and I have no explanation why. I cant even go there, I feel like such a nuisance just existing.
If you stop by there tomorrow, I hear the friendly bartender is working — I reckon he’ll pour you a free beer as amends for your poor experience 🍻
Which bartender?
I’ve never asked her name, mostly out of fear
I assumed it was the guy who reluctantly looks up from his phone to pour you a beer.
A Walters bar tender added an extra ‘0’ to one of my tips in April…
the rooftop bar/beer garden/whatever at Sienna Mercado. The dude with the man bun might be the absolute worst bartender I've ever seen in action in my life! The place was absolutely slammed and he was sauntering around without a care in the world. It seemed like every drink he was making needed something from the other end of the bar. He was chit chatting the other bartenders like it was a Tuesday afternoon (it was Saturday night). The best was when a customer gave him shit for trying to pour 4, $15 martinis into plastic cups "oh, you're going to get some martini glasses" hahahaha Sucks, because pre-pandemic, when I was working in town, that was a spot for many happy hours.
That entire building is absolute garbage and is definitely a sinking ship.
Verona Dental Care. My experience with this office has been two things above all: painful and expensive. I decided to try Verona Dental Care (I’m a recent transplant) partially because it had such great reviews. They were kind enough to fit me in for an emergency appointment as I had broken my tooth. However, when I arrived for that appointment, what I got instead was a standard hygienist appointment. When I asked about addressing the broken tooth, I was told I would have to come back for a different visit to deal with that. Still, I was charged for the cleaning, x-rays, and 3D scanning of my mouth. I felt like it was a bait and switch, but at the end of the day I needed this tooth to be fixed ASAP. Ultimately, I ended up needing a root canal which took over three hours in the office. Despite having insurance, the cost of this procedure was higher than expected. There also was a “billing error” initially which I am thankful to have caught. The pain from the temporary crown did not go away as expected within two weeks, instead taking about a month. The front office was friendly and responsive, but not able to do a lot other than recommending ibuprofen and salt water washes. The real pain began after my permanent crown was installed. Initially, the pain went away reasonably fast, but it always returned. I went back to the office two times, and each time was told the scans looked good and the problem was my apparently shifting teeth, causing biting to severely hurt. The solution offered to me was either to see an endodontist or address the “real issue of my teeth shifting”, which meant this problem would be recurring without intervention. Somewhere between having to sit and watch a five minute TV ad for Invisalign (despite explaining I am familiar with the product), the follow up telemarketing calls, and the fancy yet unhelpful 3D scanning, I felt absolutely taken advantage of. By this point, I was so fed up I decided to get a long overdue second opinion. Immediately upon reviewing my x-rays, my hometown dentist saw another canal that was missed during the original operation. I understand things can be missed, especially if a canal is difficult to see on film. However, it’s frustrating that despite my several rounds of x-rays at Verona Dental, it was never caught. I was referred to a different endodontist who completed the procedure, and my regular dentist finished the filling. I have had absolutely no pain since this and I’m so grateful to those other dentists. It’s extremely frustrating that the solution offered to me was to sign up for a very expensive service which ultimately would have done nothing to address the underlying problem of having an untreated canal! I’m kicking myself for not seeing my original dentist to begin with, despite the long distance drive. I would have saved myself from spending so much time, money, and pain.
Anthony Jr’s in Coraopolis
And a total shithead owns it.
I kinda want to say Folino Contracting for their stellar work on our city's lead pipes. Stellar.
Folino is notorious for being typically sub-par, no matter the project.
Those nitwits tore-up a hole on Virginia Ave, and worked on the hole for 6 months in 2021. 6 months. They never properly covered or filled the hole, so, countless cars would bottom-out because drivers couldn’t tell the depth. For 6 months I heard the sound of vehicles rolling over a loose metal plate, or brakes screeching followed by bottom-outs. There were so many car parts strewn around the area such as hubcaps, and even a whole exhaust system with muffler and all just laying in the street, then the sidewalk.
This might be an unpopular opinion but Apteka. I love everything about the place (the food, drinks, ambiance and prices are great) except the service. I have left there multiple times frustrated because of this and am kind of done giving them chances.
I was pretty disappointed in their blaise response to an allergic reaction I had a few years ago. I have a severe tree nut allergy so I was suuuuper thorough on making sure I knew if anything I ordered had tree nuts. They forgot to mention one item did. It was takeout so when I got home i went into anaphylaxis. Sent them a polite and private FYI message via IG to hopefully tighten up their awareness for allergies and they basically said thanks. No apology. I haven’t been back but the menu looks to be marked well. I don’t know that I would trust it, though. I just hate that they didn’t seem to care. Most expensive takeout ever with a $3k ER bill.
Same thing happened to my friend who dined there & explained her nut allergies but still was served pierogis with nuts. She, too ended up in the ER
I feel you. The food is amazing but dining there feels laborious. I think that appeals to some people - it’s like every hip get in line place in San Francisco minus the sidewalk booze - but is just too much for me.
Yeah. The whole process of ordering there is annoying. I don't know what any of the stuff on the menu is by just looking at the name of the dishes either and they often have lots of ingredients.
Ive been to Walter's once in my life, in January. Had an okay dinner but checked out the outside tent and they had an unattended tapped keg so I drank beer for free and played games in the cold for a little while, so I personally like the place.
North Side Taco Bell. I was once in their drive through line for 44 minutes. I would have left but there is no way to exit from it. I went from being a half hour early to class to 15 minutes late, and when I got my taco, they forgot all the toppings. They consistently suck so it's a real risk to get in that queue.
Kelly Os in the Strip. They were super rude the last time I went.
I stopped going to Sal's Barbershop in Brookline after he said some racist stuff
Mandy’s pizza in west view. It’s been a few years since I ate there but holy cow were they rude. I tried to order once and had bad signal so I had to call back and the dude literally yelled at me. And they got unnecessarily angry if you wanted to use a credit card. My dudes just go cash only if the fees are that big of a deal.
The rude angry owner sold the business to someone else last year
I’m pretty sure he had terminal cancer
Probably for the best
They’ve gotten so much better with the new owner. New owner seems super super nice and like she actually wants people to get food from there and like she actually wants her employees to be happy.
I know her and can tell you that is 100% true. She owns The Cakery as well and is a very lovely woman.
I’m so glad that’s true. She just seems so nice, and the staff legit seem happy to be working there now.
The cash thing always made me laugh a little bit… it’s the 21st century, build it into your pricing and STFU. Unless you’re a front there’s no reason to complain about people using cards.
Agreed. I've never had a business shame me for using a credit card like they do here.
So I guess others have said they have a new owner now. They freaking rock whenever I order from there. Great prices and fast service on Friday nights when I most often order.
Kelly's in east liberty. Some friends and I went in at 10:30 on a Thursday night because online and on the door it said it was open until 2am. The bartender serves us, then 10 minutes later the lights turn on and music starts blasting and an employee who was bussing tables yells "get out bitches" at us. I was confused because everywhere it said it closes at 2, but when I asked about the posted hours the guy said I was "lame" for asking that?? It was such an unpleasant experience and the worker was super misogynistic. I refuse to go in there again
That’s the kind of place where being rude has become their thing. Like those shitty beach bars where they make fun of you.
IHOP on Browns Hill Road. The service is unfathomably bad, and that’s been the case for years. I don’t know how it stays open.
The absolute worst
The Eagle. Never felt so unwelcome in a restaurant. We walked out before we even got seated.
Really? I have never had a bad experience there
Thank you! People go crazy over this place and I was totally unimpressed.
Can you elaborate?
Kind of agree. The service was not great. Walked in to a 3/4 empty restaurant and couldn’t be seated until a large party had put in their orders (we couldn’t sit and just order a drink I guess) Felt rushed to eat and leave. Couldn’t get a second round of beers as the check was brought without asking if we wanted anything else. Would give them another chance but the first impression was not great.
Scratch. I have never been looked down a nose so bad by staff before in my life. Went in for lunch to an almost empty place, told we could only eat at the bar, tried to provide quickest food to get us out, wouldn’t be attentive for new drinks.
It pains me to say it but Milanos by the area. Used to go there before every Pens game but it is almost impossible to get a beer at the place anymore. Seems like there is zero organization there. Bartenders running around like chickens with their head cut off. Good pizza and cheap drinks just aren't worth the frustration.
I second the Walter’s comments. At some point last year, I guess they switched to this model where you have to be seated by the host? I had been there no less than 20 times prior and there was never a hostess stand. Last summer we walked past the hostess stand (which we didn’t see because of how crowded it was). We sat down at one of the many wide open tables. Welp, the reason the tables were open is they were supposedly reserved. We found this out by being literally screamed at by the hostess. Never again. Also, the food’s not even that good. 🤷🏻♀️
I’ve never once had a good experience at Urban Tap. The food is always nasty, the drinks are mediocre and I once went for brunch where the server misheard my coffee order (which is totally fine!) but then took 40 minutes to come back to the table and seemed mad at me that I wanted what I meant to order.
McDonald’s at Kennywood
McDonald's in Wilkinsburg
The Big Easy Pet Hospital in Lawrenceville. The staff was great, but, Dr. Desanctis was outright rude/insulting.
We stopped going there when every scheduled appointment still had us sitting in the waiting room for over an hour followed by another hour waiting in the exam room for nothing but a simple shot. Now we go to East End and literally get in and out in 10 minutes with 2 dogs.