1 /5 Joao Albuquerque: I am beyond disappointed with the service I received at Nando’s, specifically because of the shocking management at this branch.
I walked in at 6:45pm. I placed my order at 7:14pm. I did not receive my food until 7:50pm. That is 1 hour and 5 minutes from the moment I stepped into the restaurant to the moment I finally walked out with my bag of food.
Let me be clear, this was not a massive order. It was a meal for three people. Nothing excessive. Nothing complicated.
What makes this worse is watching the complete mismanagement unfold in front of me. During the time I was waiting, I counted 27 Deliveroo drivers walk in and out with their orders I saw at least six tables sit down, order, eat their food, pay their bill, and leave. I saw at least seven other takeaway customers visibly frustrated and waiting just like me.
When I questioned the delay, the manager casually told me that had I ordered to eat in or paid for Deliveroo, it would have been quicker. That is absolutely unacceptable. So walk-in customers and people ordering for collection are deliberately deprioritised?
He claimed they prioritise by order number, yet the evidence right in front of me proved otherwise.
To make matters worse, there was no proper apology. Yes, he offered to “personally get my order ready,” but that’s hardly reassuring when he’s spent the last hour walking around like he owns the place without actually helping his colleagues. He did not assist the team. He did not step in to speed things up. He did not manage the situation. He just hovered.
The only redeeming part of this experience was the lovely lady at the till who genuinely apologised. The woman packing orders by herself, clearly under pressure, doing her absolute best.
Those two deserve recognition. They deserve a manager who is hands-on, supportive, and actually leads from the front instead of letting customers pile up while prioritising delivery apps.
This is my local branch, and I cannot stress this enough, I will not be coming back if management stays the same, on top of this, I will be 100% recommending that others go elsewhere. Especially as they weren’t understaffed or busy at all. They were just all poorly managed by a manager who was hoovering around observing why chaos arose. I had to raise my voice which is something that I don’t do often in order to be heard.
Shocking customer service. Poor leadership. Completely unacceptable wait times.
I expect a response from the Head Office at Nando’s because this was absolutely shocking after a hard day at work and all I wanted was to get a meal for 3 ready in the 10-15min I was promised when I placed my order.
Do better. Be better.
