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CB Fast Food Chains Sonic Drive-In reply to all sonic complaints
Sonic Drive-In

Sonic Drive-In review: reply to all sonic complaints 135

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Author of the review
5:32 pm EST
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For all those who file complaints against sonic drive-in locations-

1. All sonic locations are not owned by the corporation.
In fact, few locations actually are. Most are franchised locations which are independent of the company with the exception of branding, recipes, and marketing. That being said, each drive-in is going to differ based upon the ownership and the general manger in place.

2. All locations are not the same.
There are quite a few locations which are run exclusively "by the book" if you will. These particular locations have excellent service and great food. One thing that definitely helps with customer service is to know exactly what you want before you even consider pressing that pretty red button.

3. You can complain against any one location by calling a simple and easy-to-remember phone number.
The call is free and your next order will most likely be free (To an extent) as well. That number is simple:

1-800-ok-sonic

This is the number for the customer service hotline which is offered through the coca-cola corporation. These are the same people that will take your complaints from wendy's, mcdonald's, or any other location serving coca-cola products.

A few little-known facts about the chain:
-sonic does not offer, nor do they endorse, warming lamps of any kind. Fries and tater-tots are to by kept for no longer than 5 minutes under a thermal glass lamp that looks exactly like a thermal glass cook top or stove. It is very hot and keeps those tots extra crispy for your enjoyment.
-our burgers and all other items are kept for no longer than 30 minutes. Don't get upset! If you like wendy's then you should know that they have been using this technology for years before us. It is called "infrared heating equipment". This equipment functions like some modern-day microwaves. There is a sensor located in this state of the art machine that measures the moisture inside a particular pan. When the product is no longer up to standard, it is discarded.
-most locations follow the "if you wouldn't eat it, don't send it out" policy. We do not ever serve anything off of the floor. All of our items are preserved at safe temperatures which prohibit the growth of bacteria and food-born illnesses.
-all locations must follow a strict sonic-safe policy that is endorsed and enforced by an independent organization known as "nsf" (National safety foundation). Each location in every state undergoes two rigorous audits each year where an inspector investigates all parts of the store and normal daily operations. The inspections are random and the store does not know when the inspector will arrive.

Most locations strive for great customer service and realize that the guests are who pay the employee wages. If you feel that you have been treated unfairly or that the location just isn't up to par, please call 1-800-ok-sonic and report the establishment directly to the big dogs. I assure you that every complaint is heard by numerous persons. The complaint process will go like this:

1. Call and speak to the representative.
2. Possibly receive coupons.
3. Rep. Files a categorized complaint which is sent first to the corporate office, second to the store owner, and last to the store manager.
4. Depending on the severity of the complaint, the owner will inspect the location. If the situation is bad enough, sonic corporate sends out either a regional representative or regional vice-president to handle the situation. If the location is too bad out of shape, sonic does what is called a full operational assessment where they come in with a full team of certified trainers. Each and every employee and manager is observed for one full week. During a second week, they are all retrained. A follow-up assessment decides whether to revoke the locations operating agreement with sonic or leave the location open.

Hope that all helps.

-a friendly sonic supervisor

Update by DHB
Oct 08, 2011 6:28 am EDT

Thanks to thevillian. I can remember the days that Sonic was booming. Unfortunately, many of our lesser locations have turned the general aura south very quickly for the good ones. I operate the store with the highest sales volume in the state of Mississippi at over $2.5M per year. I never have issues like this from my staff, management, or customers. I wish I knew what happened to those days where Sonic employees strived for achievement and customer service was #1. We still hold those values here in my neck of the woods. Apparently, some of these store operators should be coming to see us so they'll know how a location should be properly run!

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

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135 comments
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Elle_911
Elle_911
Bellmead, US
Jan 03, 2010 5:59 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Oh, SHUT UP! I've had some horrible experiences at "Sonic", and I'm going to let the world know about it. I've called before, and they gave me the run-around.

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gamoc
, US
Dec 22, 2009 11:29 pm EST

The machine was not broken in any way. It just works a little weird because the Drive-Thru is very odd at Sonic. At my Sonic in particular, if you park in a stall, it sends us a number and, on the switchboard, we press the number of the stall, and then hit a button that says "stall #". However, the confusing part about that, if for some reason, it does not take that you hit the stall number, or some other weird occurence happens, hitting "stall #" without a proper number before it is how we ring up drive-thru orders. Now it is easy to accidentally ring up a stall order to drive-thru and we do it about once a shift. People have the possibilty of someone paying for the wrong order.

Now, they didn't tell you a total, meaning that they did something wrong as it is. One way that they could have fixed the problem was to give you a refund in cash. Covering you for the accidental charge, however, what SHOULD have happened was that the ticket cancel, a receipt handed to you saying that they Credit was voided, and then the order rung back up and charging you for your order properly.

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jinla
lafayette, US
Dec 04, 2009 12:40 am EST

Funny thing is I worked for sonic a few years ago and one of the most annoying things, aside the know it all customers who think they could do any better, is to be in a hurry and trying to get the food to one guest so you could get the next taken care of but you get stuck at the first guests car bc hes taken forever. Then finally he gives you the money for the order and sits there and watches while you fumble to get his change of 53 cents from the changer all while balancing everything in your one hand and while sometimes even wearing skates. Then after all that you go to hand him the 53 cents and he says “keep it I don’t need it!?” Oh my God really? 53 cents and you made me stand there and dig it out only to act as if you gave me a couple bucks? That is why we ask! Not to be rude but bc we are trying to hurry up and get to the next person before he gets mad and files a complaint! I hear so many people complain about things and they have no idea. For example, did you ever stop to think that EVERYONE pulls up to a sonic and pretty much hits the button at the same time and demands service….. Goto McDonalds drive thru and try that? You can’t! Its one car and one order or maybe 2 if they have a double lane however its still only one transaction at a time! On top of that if you actually take a stopwatch and goto another place like BK or McDs and time yourself when you pull up during a busy time like lunch you’d be really surprised how long you really wait. Your perception is it’s the person in front of you taking forever so you blame them but at sonic you don’t see that person so you blame sonic.. You speak of things you have no idea about. Go put yourself in other peoples shoes before you assume the worst in someone or a place!

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Stephanie Newman
, US
Dec 16, 2017 9:49 pm EST
Replying to comment of jinla

Boo hoo!

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fittyfat
kt20 5jg, GB
Nov 12, 2009 4:24 am EST

next time, dont download from a website that yo udo not know about.
silly.
just get the game from www.pspiso.com

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Dont like being duped
Binghampton, US
Oct 01, 2009 1:06 pm EDT

Question...Why would you want to work at a place like that?

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oneTimePoster
Salt Lake City, US
Jun 07, 2016 5:02 am EDT

didn't put the quility in the second to last paragraph do to destractions, so please add to that as such.

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pissed
Jacksonville, US
Jul 21, 2016 6:27 am EDT

i worked for sonic in oklahoma owned by the atwoods and i was there for 4 years i was a a team trainer and one night i was working and wittnesed a general manager buying weed from a carhop underage carhop that is and the next morning i was talking to one of the other managers and thold her about it. then a couple of days later the general manager asks me why i told the manager about him buying the weed and i said bc thats bs ... and they called a store meeting and told everyone they were going to pick two people to take a drug test well guess who was one of them yes me ...after the drug test they then did every thing they could to get me to quit...from cutting my hours to talking to everyone about me... that is how sonic is they do suck lol and most of the people that work at them do drugs... and they promise u things u will never get...they r terrible...they get everyones order wrong bc they dont care and bc they r bsing in the store instead of working...

binder
binder
, US
Jul 21, 2016 6:27 am EDT

Jesus christ lady, pop a Xanax.

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TLDL
Burbank, US
Apr 16, 2009 1:36 am EDT

Sonic hires complete idiots. There is one near my house... half the time we go, we can't order what we want because their ice cream machine is broken... they're out of this ingredient or that ingredient... et cetera. Or, like you said... they just screw up your order and act all shocked when you confront them.

Good luck seeing the manager! Reply and let us know how it goes. Although based on my experience, the "manager" you see might not be the sharpest tack in the drawer, either.

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Keith Draxten
,
Jun 07, 2016 5:02 am EDT

The food was very bad, I think if you were to survey the other fast food place's in the Vally, you would see that you have the worst food in town.I rate the serves @ atmisfear there very good. I realy like the place, if the food was better . I know I'm only one person, but I have heard this from alot of people. So please get better in the food area.

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Rob Turner
,
Jun 07, 2016 5:02 am EDT

First time visit to sonic's drive inn. Tator tots bland, and two pieces of bone in the hambuger. No second time visit for me.