The Sonic in Manchester is going downhill fast

Submitted by TEKC0R t3_1272jdb in Connecticut

Just venting, but this place seems primed to go out of business. They don’t care anymore. I was in there yesterday, pulled up to a stall, ordered on my phone, checked in, and waited. 25 minutes later, still nothing. So I hit the button to demand a refund. After a couple more minutes, a voice comes on, says something unintelligible, and hangs up before I can get them to repeat it. So go and bang on the employee door, but unsurprisingly, nothing. I had to go through the drive through to get the refund.

This is the third bad experience I’ve had there. At least in the past I’d get food, but they took exceedingly long.

I’m done giving them any more tries. Which sucks because I like their drinks, but there’s only so much I can take with these clowns.

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timmahfast t1_jecbfx1 wrote

They're probably understaffed and underpaid. I don't blame them for taking a long time.

7

Prize-Hedgehog t1_jeccwxp wrote

Replying to RededHaid (#2,506,266)

All those years ago when Sonic advertised here and there wasn’t one around for miles I was like, this must be the coolest place ever. Then I went to the one in Manchester once. That was enough for me. Garbage food.

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Shot-Canary8954 t1_jecgrbz wrote

Lol pls check out the one in Bristol. I think their pull up service is 100% closed while being advertised as open.

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Some_Loan t1_jechibh wrote

I don't even bother with sonic anymore. The quality at the Wallingford one has been terrible. I gave up on them the day I got a slush that was basically liquid. Does anyone know if they have onion rings yet? It's been at least a year since I've been able to order them.

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CtGuy123 t1_jeci8yi wrote

It’s always been horrible, since they opened

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phutch54 t1_jecwbyf wrote

Been twice.Shit food both times.Done.

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jrmtpc t1_jecwv0q wrote

Every sonic in CT has been pretty bad from my experience, far different experience than in the Midwest.

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KosmikDonut t1_jecxj47 wrote

I haven't been in a couple of months, but the one in New Milford was fine the last time I was there. Mind you, it's embedded within a 7-11 so it's tiny & requires only minimal staff to run. So maybe that's the difference.

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ophelias_tragedy t1_jed1124 wrote

They’re bad anyways. Except for their milkshakes but there are plenty of other places to get good ones in Manchester

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Ftheyankeei t1_jed1ml6 wrote

Yeah they never recovered from COVID. They’ve been understaffed and underpaid since 2021. I live in the neighborhood and it’s just like… if you’re working fast food, Wendy’s, McDonald’s and Dunkin are within walking distance and you don’t have to duck in and out of traffic for $15 an hour at any of those places. Buffalo Wild Wings, Subway, even Dick’s and BJ’s, I can see Sonic being low on the priority list. A year ago they took my money even though they ran out of ice cream so I go elsewhere

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depo_23 t1_jed2d3k wrote

It’s awful, worst service around here. Better off going to Wendy’s across the street

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chopper_sic_balls t1_jed2sk3 wrote

When sonic in Manchester first opened it was amazing I took my nieces there often. Haven’t been back in a long time though sad to see it go downhill.

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evilmonkey002 t1_jed5t07 wrote

I’ve been there twice and the service was awful both times. Took forever the first time. So the second time we ordered ahead. Pulled into a space and pushed the button. Waited 10 min with no answer. Decided to try the drive thru, and that took 15 min. Never going to that location again.

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robswins t1_jed6lhe wrote

Replying to _343_Guilty_Spark__ (#2,513,575)

It's impressive how shitty it is. I used to do mystery shopping when I was a broke college student, and I wouldn't even take the Sonic offers despite getting paid to eat there. They somehow even fuck up tater tots.

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stingrayrodriguez t1_jedddr2 wrote

Went to the Sonic in Wallingford last year, it took 45 minutes at the drive through. Over 5 minutes waiting at the speaker before anyone even said a word. When I got to the window I saw all the employees inside filming a tik tok.

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Light_of_the_Star t1_jedej6n wrote

Replying to TEKC0R (#2,513,364)

These "nobody wants to work" types just kill me lol. They will be the very first to complain when they are not getting served or when places are shutting down at weird hours. If you don't want to work for anyone, no one will want to work for you either 🤷‍♀️

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MeBallzIzHari t1_jedye8y wrote

What do you want from a restaurant that has no windows no entrance but one which is locked from the outside it’s like the Fort Knox of restaurants why? what are they hiding? No Thank You - Plenty of other resturant chains in the area

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glgirieh t1_jee37be wrote

went a bit too often before/during COVID, since 2021 I haven’t gone once after the same type of experience you had. if they’re open for another year I’ll be surprised

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gomakyle25 t1_jee3cj1 wrote

I've had 3 bad experiences there. I want Sonic, I go to Warwick or in Smithfield, RI. One of the times at Manchester, I left and went to the Wendy's across the street.

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Jahweez t1_jee5n1r wrote

I’ve had sonic like 3 times and each time has been pretty bad lol. Looks good on TV that’s about it.

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Time-Ambassador3091 t1_jee9sgw wrote

The guy that runs the Sonics is a huge dick. Used to work for a company that did a personal event for him when he ran the Villa Capri. He wanted top of the line everything… then never paid the bill. Assume it would be comped. Not sure why…

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Esrianna t1_jeecdrg wrote

I’m from the home of Sonic. What we have here is an abomination. Outside of New England, Sonic is the best drink stop in the universe.

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fanana_bishh t1_jeed9i7 wrote

The Sonic on the post road hasn't had onion rings since 2019.

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pesto05 t1_jeefvdm wrote

lmao. who the fuck cares

−1

Jawaka99 t1_jeejw89 wrote

Most fast food workers don't seem to care. The local Taco Bell routinely has cars around the building. for Taco Bell.

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the_ENEMY_ t1_jeemmky wrote

After watching countless sonic commercials on adult swim as a youth I was so excited to see them come to CT. When I pulled up to one and realized I couldn't walk in and order I just left. Such a weird concept and I had two kids under 5 at the time, I wasn't about to try to feed them in the car.

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TEKC0R OP t1_jeenkmr wrote

Replying to hillarysabortedson (#2,528,734)

They have staffed their location with as many people willing to accept minimum wage as they can find. That’s… not a lot. I don’t know how many that was, I can only be certain there was at least one there.

Not wanting to work is different from quiet quitting. Quiet quitting is showing up and doing the bare minimum or less, but still getting paid, which seems to be what you’re suggesting. Not wanting to work is not accepting (or leaving) a job that is underpaid. Expenses have gone up dramatically, but wages have not, so it’s become much harder to find people willing to work at $15 per hour.

The franchisee could solve this problem by paying better. I guarantee they’d find good staff for the right price. I used to this stuff. It’s easy to build a good staff if you pay them well and treat them with respect. The trouble is they need the sales to afford the staff, which they’ve already torpedoed by having such shitty staff. They’re in a death spiral now. Best case scenario, Sonic terminates the franchisee’s license and sells it to somebody else. Worst case, it just shuts down entirely. But based on the response from corporate I got, they couldn’t care less either.

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laceyourbootsup t1_jeeqn3b wrote

This isn’t just a Sonic thing…CT/New England does not embrace fast food culture the way other states in the south and Midwest do.

These jobs are highly looked down on in CT.

There was a time 20+ years ago where promising high school students would take these jobs and had respect and a goal to be good at their job, even if it’s just part time help. The owners were often also the managers and had pride in their business.

This has changed completely. This is not a discriminatory statement, it’s a culture issue.

Many of the fast food restaurants have been acquired by non-Americans in CT. These folks do not grow up in a fast food culture and only purchase the business for monetary gain. Similar to purchasing a gas station. There is (culture wise) no sense of employee engagement. Their belief is that employees are meant to work and complete tasks for their pay. This is also the same for organizations that own multiple locations. Their leadership has no concern for the success of each location, just making sure volume/inventory is correct.

This leads to high turnover and burnout with American employees. And because the jobs themselves are not regarded highly, you are already dealing with individuals who do not want to be at that job.

Chic Fil A’s model is respectable in that they only sell one location to one owner. The Owner is expected for that to be their full time job. This is why Chic Fil A always feels polite, clean, and quick. The owner is very close by and invested and engaged in its success.

This is not the same when you go to other parts of the US. The positions are still respected (in some places) because opportunities are not as easily available. So you still pull from a base of applicants with skill.

The best bet is to let these fast food restaurants go out of business up here. A new wave of restaurants will take their place and the owners will have to be vested in their success because they won’t have a standard model that you roll out

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TEKC0R OP t1_jeerfwn wrote

Replying to laceyourbootsup (#2,530,199)

You lost me at “non-Americans” and “Chic-Fil-A’s model is respectable.” I grew from a 16yo first job at Subway to being second-in-command of the non-American owner’s 17 stores.

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pewpewtoradora t1_jeeuepx wrote

the only good experience I had with Sonic was when it first opened. I ordered from ubereats here and there and like popeyes they were always items missing from my order. Just seems like they dont care

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CaseyGamer64YT t1_jeewu2e wrote

Don’t even get me started on the dollar general in Woodbury

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rabbitholerandy t1_jeex17k wrote

A lot of Sonic’s are going downhill I seem to notice. Their breakfast is ok though.

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_jeezpe8 wrote

When they first came here, they were great and the hype around them was huge. But I have seen a similar deal at other Sonics around the state in recent years. Their food is just not that good to warrant the terrible customer service. They keep the place kind of grubby, and if you go the drive thru, the wait times are way too long for what should be "fast"food.

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Observant_Neighbor t1_jef0jrw wrote

Same with the Milford Sonic. Wallingford seems to be fine.

The milford sonic suspended carhop service and hasn't brought it back. Cold fries, sloppy put together sandwiches, indifferent service - hard pass.

1

essaitchthrowaway3 t1_jef0vrp wrote

Replying to TEKC0R (#2,528,330)

I've seen Wendys and McDonalds with starting wages at $15/hr, so Sonic can't be that different.

Don't give me this crap that a starting wage that high is tantamount to slave labor like so many people online like to pretend it is. You are making up this theory in your head that the owner is one of those "nobody wants to work" types and then acting like $15/hr is anything but a damn decent wage for the skill of the workers needed.

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TEKC0R OP t1_jef1wtp wrote

Replying to essaitchthrowaway3 (#2,533,754)

In CT? At 40 hours per week, which you'll never get since scheduling always avoids that so they don't risk overtime, that is just $32k per year. The average apartment rent is more than half of that. $15 per hour is not a living wage by any stretch of the imagination.

It has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with the work that needs to be done. If we want people to do these jobs, we need to pay them for their time. There will always be jobs that are easier than others, but a) time doesn't care and b) food service is not easy. It's easy to teach, but it is not easy.

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thomisnotmydad t1_jef3aat wrote

Replying to essaitchthrowaway3 (#2,533,754)

Minimum wage isn’t based on skill, it’s meant to reflect (at minimum) how much money is required to maintain a defined minimum standard of living with that single income so that people who have jobs arent in poverty, even on the lowest rung of the totem pole.

Inflation go brrr, minimum wage must increase

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laceyourbootsup t1_jef6i58 wrote

Replying to TEKC0R (#2,530,451)

There are exceptions. Some Subways are great and I bet you were a big part of their success.

You can complain about Chick-fil-A’s stance on political issues, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that every Chick-fil-A has fantastic employees and service.

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Allemaengel t1_jef6mey wrote

So they tore down a Weight Watchers in my old hometown to build a Sonic (irony). My town was know for endless fastfood choices and their fries were crap and so their business dwindled. (Fries make or break you there, lol.)

Then the franchisee violated their franchise agreement buying food and supplies outside the franchiser and the franchiser shut them down.

In the end a couple years later the closed Sonic was torn down and a Panera Bread was built, lol. No loss, Sonics are terrible.

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Mooselickle t1_jefd37f wrote

Replying to TEKC0R (#2,513,364)

The quality of most minimum wage fast food chains have dropped dramatically in the last few years, atleast in my eyes. I think they’re too much of a revolving door nowadays for anyone to care about the job. I used to see the same faces at Dunkin Donuts or wherever, now it’s different each time

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yunitoyuniro t1_jefdtci wrote

Wallingford same way. Hopefully it gets better now with spring.

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jarfin542 t1_jefezd5 wrote

Replying to essaitchthrowaway3 (#2,533,754)

$15/hr is not a living wage. Maybe if you live at your parent's house and it's a part time wage for a kid in tech school or high school, but there is no way that a person can pay rent, afford a vehicle and insurance, pay for the bare minimum of healthcare, and provide themselves with food in this state, or any other. The system is broken.

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essaitchthrowaway3 t1_jefmb8f wrote

Replying to ellemenopeaqu (#2,539,571)

It isn't just those kind of companies. Lots of other smaller businesses can't compete with the wages offered by some fastfood establishments.

Yet the same people in here who will state "oh, well just give those people more money to stay!" will also cry when their child daycare costs become even more. But they'll probably blame the "rich" owners for hogging all the money, even though in many cases daycare companies are mom and pop operations running on a shoestring budget.

The echo chamber in here is hilarious. Clueless and out of touch, but hilarious none the less.

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lunaticmagnet t1_jefsal2 wrote

Replying to spmahn (#2,513,992)

i havent been to the bristol one since it "re-opened." they blamed the first closure on rte 6 construction, but anyone who tried going there would have told you it was the horrible service. i'm not surprised to hear it hasn't changed.

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Sweet3DIrish t1_jegdhwx wrote

Replying to Jawaka99 (#2,528,029)

Management is a huge part of it.

But I will say in general fast food workers in the northeast are slower than in the south, and that’s for pretty much every restaurant, most notably at chick-fil-a and sonic.

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Sweet3DIrish t1_jegdrwf wrote

Replying to BronzedAppleFritter (#2,529,017)

You don’t do slushes do you?

Sonic happy hour is the best promo going in fast food.

Also their popcorn chicken is pretty damn good. Out of the cheaper fast food options, they are better than most if (and it’s a big if) you have the right management who can train their employees.

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BronzedAppleFritter t1_jegei1z wrote

Replying to Sweet3DIrish (#2,549,367)

None of that really speaks to why I don't like it, except what you said about the popcorn chicken. But nearly every chain has something like that, something that's pretty good. Sonic's food tastes extra processed and greasy overall. It's much more Midwestern/Southern than Northeastern/New England, from the food quality to the overall experience.

I like fast food, I like sugary drinks occasionally. But I don't need a giant cherry limeade slush or something, a can of Coke is plenty.

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BronzedAppleFritter t1_jegi5l4 wrote

Replying to Sweet3DIrish (#2,550,611)

McDonald's doesn't have that weird slimy and greasy thing going on with its food that places like Checkers/Rally's and Sonic do. I don't love McDonald's but I can count on it to not be a sloppy, bad-tasting mess like Sonic if I eat it. Maybe it's just the consistency or familiarity, but McDonald's isn't actively off-putting to me like Sonic.

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jthesarge t1_jegjlv2 wrote

I would add Brueggers bagels in Wallingford to the list of store closing soon. Went for raisin bagel at 10:30 in the morning today and the basket was empty. I asked if anymore would be coming out “no” will they be making anymore”no” you’re not making anymore today “yes”. They close at 2pm!! So for 3 and half hours you don’t have cinnamon raisin bagels? The rude person behind the counter say “ no we’re not making any “ go figure!!

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