fr, have you all noticed that all customer service phone calls always have “higher than normal call volumes” now? well if the call volume is always higher now than that’s now the new normal
Work in call center for 3rd party client in operations. Hopefully you understand those systems are setup so you give up and they dont have to pay for you to be helped
Probably longer. I don't ever remember it not being a thing. Even 20 years ago I would be more surprised if i didn't hear that message and get put on a long hold.
This is why In-N-Out is one of the only fast food places I’ll go to now. They pay well, they haven’t jacked their prices, and their food tastes just as good as it did pre-pandemic. I think Whataburger getting bought out by a penny pinching mega corporation was death for the franchise. Their burgers are stale and overly salted now, I haven’t had a good whataburger in a few years now and have all hit given up on them. Taco Bell is a disaster as well… most of them can’t stay open due to lack of labor (because they refuse to pay well) and the food is beyond disgusting.
P. Terry's has picked up my Whataburger business. The Austin Whataburgers ... I'm just tired of them. And since I can get the spicy ketchup from HEB, why go?
I have started having issues with Culver’s which is really disappointing. Their workers just don’t care. They aren’t friendly, their restaurant is dirty and they are slow and unprofessional. I don’t feel like any of this was the case prior to Covid. I always had good experiences at Culver’s a few years ago.
Edit: I’m referring to the one by Domain.
Boo. The one on William Cannon is great. Anytime we're unable to eat at home and just need a quick, fun, unhealthy meal the kids almost ALWAYS choose Culver's. The danged kid's meal is a great value - almost full-sized burger, fries and drink, and a scoop of custard with a topping. It's like $5!
I've seen some of the same people for a couple of years. There's one girl, probably still in high school, who knows my oldest daughter is super shy and has trouble asking for her free scoop, but just gets her chocolate with hot fudge as soon as she sees her at the counter. My kid is starting to warm up to her, to the degree she'll actually speak to her. It's sweet. So thanks!
Here to agree the location on William Cannon is great! Every time I have eaten there the restaurant is clean, food is delicious, and the employees are friendly and knowledgeable. It shows that the manager must be great too!
I’m also pretty certain that they swiped my card. I stopped there once and realized I had left my main card in another pair of pants but luckily had my other card that I only use gas, which is tied to the Shell app, so I don’t actually ever physically use it. A couple of days later and Chase sends me a notification that they blocked a suspicious charge from that very card.
What our family has notice is that it’s mainly the low tier restaurants (fast food, counter service) that have this dip. We used to get takeout 2x a week and now we go to a real restaurant (think Jack Allen’s level or above) 1-2 times a month instead since it’s less of a crap shoot if the food we end up with is a) what we ordered or b) cooked properly/tasty.
The family sold out to VC and it all went to shit. Have you seen the new buildings? They're gray and they don't have the famous pointy roof. And the food is even worse than it already was. the burger is thinner than anything else I can think of. Sad, really. Another Texas legend laid low by greed.
edit: Honestly. What kind of asshole looks at the history of Whataburger and says "You know what we need? To eliminate the iconic color scheme. Hell, while we're at it lets eliminate the famous building facade as well. That'll be eleven billionty dollars in consultant fees please..."
The new one in Leander is awful. I’ve been there about 5 times and it’s always disappointing. I’m so used to great food with a long wait at Whataburger that I keep thinking it’s just an off night. But every time it gets worse and worse. The service is slower than any Whataburger I’ve ever been to and the food is just downright bad. It’s always cold, the portions are much smaller than I remember, and they usually mess up the order somehow. It’s super disappointing as I was excited to finally have location close to me.
The South Lamar location has a 20% service charge that’s meant to replace gratuity. They’re pretty up front about it if you go. Other locations use the standard system.
It is terrible. Been a few times since I live nearby, and every single time they forget something or screw something up. It is also SLOW - it is not uncommon to see the double checkout lane full at seemingly random times. Made the mistake of sitting through it once and it took 30+ mins for fucking drive through. And they STILL screwed up the order. Try bringing a chicken strip basket home to your wife and it is missing the gravy. Fuck that.
Boy do I hate that location (which happens to be really close). I once waited 45 minutes in the drive through for two cookies and two shakes. They held up my line and I saw 10+ cars in the other lane get served in that time span. From the time I got to the front of one line, it took them 20 minutes to charge me for my food and then another 25 to bring it out (and it wasn’t even food), and when I do get food it’s cold. I have promised myself to never go back.
Yeah. I was pretty stoked when it opened. But the wait times are absolutely ridiculous and then the food is never worth the wait. And, like just about everywhere now, it's too damn expensive.
>Have you seen the new buildings? They're gray and they don't have the famous pointy roof.
All of the remodeled fast food joints look like bunkers. It's cheaper to cut the ornamentation and it makes the property easier to sell later on.
Whataburger is just another of these chains now.
100% Its easier to sell, look around at all the sonics that've closed. Good luck selling those. Some of the projects I've designed/worked on have specifically transitioned away from unique buildings because of resale purposes.
This is why we often replace the V with vulture. Carrion eaters that exhaust and starve their companies and pick over the carcass instead of actually trying to help in any kind of ethical way the company or its customers.
From what I heard, the family sold 51% of the company in an attempt to become a national chain and be the next "In & Out". So yeah "Greed".
My experience in the last couple years has mostly been a much longer wait time.
I feel like once a restaurant drops Maine Root you know they've gone corporate. Only times I've had Torchy's since have been when it's free (work lunches etc). ^though ^honestly ^any ^restaurant ^serving ^pink ^drink ^gets ^my ^business ^regardless ^of ^food ^quality
Gosh Kerbey has been bad for years now. I think the owner retired and left it to his son? This is the last I remember when I went to eat there. I will still get pancakes every once in awhile but it’s not worth anything else
The food at Kerbey is average and overpriced BUT they used to be open 24/7 and that was awesome. I haven't gone back since they gave up on being a 24/7 diner.
24/7 is dope but I went there in January and yhe food was terrible. coffee was burnt. Biscuits were dry and it seems like the used vegan gravy but just gave me a sausage patty for the "sausage" biscuits and gravy. And the poached egg tasted like it was poached in all vinegar. Terrible all around.
I'm glad its not me, their coffee is super burnt. I'd love to find a good breakfast place in austin. Cafe Java in N austin is my goto but it can be rough
Complete assumption on my part, but my guess is companies realized the money they lose keeping a location operating at all hours while paying workers an overnight hourly wage is more than what they make back by selling their product/services at all hours.
But I've never ran a business so I have no clue.
It’s starting to happen to Torchys Tacos and Chuys as well, the more these places expand the worse they get. Watch any show about a business taking what they do to scale, and the first thing that goes is quality ingredients — everything goes to the cheapest food supplier they can find.
I won't eat at Chuy's or Kerbey Lane here in San Marcos. Torchy's is about to get struck from my list. Last time I had the street corn, there was too much sauce and so much seasoning it was almost powdery. The menu is pared down. You might or might not get the sauce you're used to getting.
The airport and MLK one is my local whataburger and it is so bad that I refuse to go. I'll stick to Taco Bell or Popeyes if I'm craving something quick.
That popeyes on Airport/MLK is HORRIBLE too. Also my local whataburger/popeyes. The lines are always super long, the staff is unfriendly and the food is mediocre at best, even comparing it to itself from a few years back.
You especially should never order through the app at this whataburger! You’ll be pushed off to the side for 20+ minutes just to get ice cold food and a wrong order.
All of the Austin ones are bad. The SA paper wrote a funny article a few months back where they compiled the google rating of every Whataburger in the state, and Austin consistently had the worst scores BY FAR.
To no surprise, South Texas and Corpus locations scored the best.
True. I’m disappointed by the one on the drag more often than not. Dried out patty with cold cheese slice on it means it was made ahead and sat around too long. Mopac and wm cannon location has been good every time.
I hosted consultants from Japan and Spain (separately). Both groups requested burgers for lunch. We hit the usual spots. The Japanese favorite was Jewboy. The Spaniards preferred Crown & Anchor (they really liked the beer selection).
Probably much stricter laws on what you're allowed to serve, tons of preservatives and artificial colorings are illegal outside of the U.S., so chains have to adapt.
The burger at the Draught House is great. It's actually sold at the trailer (Little House) in their beergarden. It's huge, so it can be hard to finish but it's worth every extra bite you take.
Last summer, there was a bunch of reporting about how the worst scoring Whataburger’s were in Austin. I’ve been telling people to try it on a road trip and see what they think.
https://www.expressnews.com/food/article/worst-whataburgers-texas-austin-17395052.php
Had Whataburger twice in the past week while visiting TX/AZ, and In & Out once in AZ. Whataburger was on point at both locations (Tempe and Dallas Love Field, the airport one was perfectly done), and In & Out’s burger was good, but the fries can’t hold a candle to Whataburger. I left Austin in 2019 and in my 5 years there never once had a bad meal at Whataburger…so I’m inclined to think it’s think it’s a regional issue, and a recent one at that.
I really hope Whataburger expands to Milwaukee/WI now that their headquarters is based in Chicago. Culver’s does a few things well, but their fries suck, and nothing here open 24 hours is a 10th as good as Whataburger.
I just left a similar comment. Austin WBs have dramatically taken a turn since the pandemic. All the other ones I have tried while on road trips or back in my home town have been just as good.
I think they don't pay enough. One day the Cameron WB had ONE GUY working by himself. Since then, we just don't go there. I assume the pay is low and/or poor management if only one guy is working.
I live across the street from this location and the line during peak hours is actually ridiculous. I've waited 10 minutes AT THE WINDOW for a kids meal.
Yeah, the line. If we want a meal to take that long we can go to a sit-down restaurant.
Meanwhile, when we drive to the RGV, the WBs along the highway in south texas seem to be fine.
It’s something specifically about the locations in Austin… if I had to guess, they’re all under the same area manager and he clearly doesn’t give a shit.
Sadly agree. Just did one and reluctantly stopped for breakfast. I fully expected an incorrect order, poorly made, and over salted. Instead I got a actual edible biscuit sandwich. I was surprised. It was in one of the new gray buildings which was off putting.
So true. I used to actually LIVE off of Whataburger in Houston pre-2020 (don't judge), and could always expect decent-to-good quality food and a short wait. I was absolutely SHOCKED when I moved to Austin and tried the local Whatas. Every single one has terrible service, ridiculously long wait times, and the food is Mcdonalds level. I really do think Austin in particular has some of the worst managed Whataburgers in Texas.
The one at stone hill (pflugerville) is also total shit. The line takes forever even with one or two cars in. Last time they charged me for the order in front of me (the guy drove off) and it was quadruple the price of what I ordered. Couldn’t get it resolved because the manager was a teenager. Had to dispute it through my credit card co and haven’t been back since.
Consistency varies so much depending on location and who is cooking. I've had a location near me be meh to subpar, and then one afternoon, pure perfection.
I've only noticed a downturn in quality in Austin WBs. Especially the one closest to my house. Most of the other WBs across the state that I frequent have been just as good.
No problem with the taste but I don’t even bother to go to the one near me, it’s always at least a 30 minute wait in the drive through, even if it’s just like three cars . They were slow before the pandemic and now it’s worse.
P. Terrys is hit or miss for us. Sometimes the fries are just really undercooked and terrible. Sometimes the burgers slapped on there without any care. Sometimes they make mistakes and don't put napkins or ketchup into the bag even when requested. But every once in a while, you get a good one and it's delicious. And where else can you get fresh squeezed orange juice?
Whataburger's founding family (Dobner) sold its majority stake in 2019 to a Chicago investment firm, suggesting the possibility that they have begun cutting corners on ingredient quality to provide better financial numbers.
That roughly lines up with when I started having the same reaction you did, and I've all but entirely quit going as a result.
I’ve been thinking I was going crazy but just found out they sold in 2019 which is around the time it started to not taste good anymore. So sad, they used to be the best burger place around, but now I prefer McDonalds…
Definitely not just you. They suck. The last several times I've eaten there, the burger was not even hot enough to melt the cheese. The fries are worse than before, just "meh." I won't be back.
Unfortunately, Whataburger is one of those places where the quality is *highly* variable depending which location you choose. I've had AWFUL experiences at the one in SP meadows and the one in Cedar Park on old 183. Conversely, the one on Lakeline is pretty good, and the best one I've ever been to is in Brenham. I think the ones in the middle of bigger cities tend to suck.
I stopped eating at Whataburger in 2020. I’ve worked fast food and burger joints, and I’d just never serve something like this. This is the quality you’ll typically get nowadays at the Whataburgers in Austin. Been eating there 30+ years, but never again if I have a choice.
https://imgur.com/a/CewSdvJ/
OTOH Waterloo and Dan’s still know what’s up.
Hot take:
Whataburger isn’t a burger chain; **it’s a chicken strip chain.**
Burgers are mediocre at best. Real paydirt lies in the Honey Barbecue Chicken Strip Sandwich and of course the HBCB.
The most competent & consist Whataburger I’ve seen and been to is the one off W Parmer Lane close to McNeil. The customer service is perfect & you can make as many changes to your order as you want & they’ll get it right, their line also moves way faster than most.
No. Capitalism ruins everything by constantly driving down quality (costs) in favor of profit. Same thing with homogenization. Why use a special patty that costs more than what Mc Donalds is buying? To be unique and special? It doesn't really matter anymore now that they got that brand recognition as Texas/South's go-to fast food chain. All it takes is a change in management to make this kind of thing happen.
Well it’s no surprise. Most of these places can’t even find employees. Your average fast food worker has probably been there for less than a month. It’s just not worth it at all when 75% of the time the order is messed up or missing items and prices are double what they were 5 years ago.
The most infuriating thing to me about Whata lately is that every single time I place a pickup order they don’t start working on it till I get down…like what’s the point of even ordering ahead??
Fast food chains all do that. Most likely to preserve “quality”. I imagine if they premade it and it was cold you’d be on here complaining how they didn’t wait to make it till you were there because it’s very fast to make.
Our local brands/locations are great, but they are poor compared to the artisan burger places that are only a few dollar more. All the chains are poor to those places. It is like comparing chain beers to craft beers - no comparison.
In a similar vein, if anyone knows where there is a Taco Bell that can at least get in the ballpark of what you order, I would love to know. It's been terrible at every location I've been to lately. The last order we got at the one on 183 by Lakeline - holy cow. Crunchwrap had no meat, bean burrito was all onions, red sauce, and cheese with almost no beans (and the order said no onions), chicken quesadilla instead of a burrito...it goes on.
And before the "why on earth would you go to Taco Bell" people arrive - I'm from the North. It was all we had. Sometimes I just want someone to hand me a sack of bean burritos followed by a nap.
My husband has a theory that whataburgers have an “A” team and a “B” team. If you get the A team your burger is perfect and the topping are just right and nothing is missing. But if you get a B team there’s no telling what’s gonna be wrong, missing toppings, wrong drink, bad burger. He pretty much knows the schedule of the A team at our local whataburger and can even tell it’s them by the voice on the drive thru speaker. 🤷♀️
Yesterday at Whataburger, the person at the register overcharged me but I decided to let it go because he was struggling with doing the most basic tasks of his job and I wasn't sure I could get him to understand the error. The overcharge was around $2. The food was fine. Overall, it was a negative experience. I'm not in a hurry to go back.
It’s been garbage for years now. Maybe -maybe- you could have gotten a decent burger at the Oltorf location 5 years ago before they closed it, but not now. And at these prices? No thanks.
Like with any restaurant, quality can very significantly from location to location. Whataburger is no different. This is coming from someone that used to manage a Whataburger over in west Texas.
Usually the higher volume/sales stores get more love and more staffing which results in better service quality (and sometimes food quality). I will say on average the quality of Whataburger locations in Austin is lower than other areas of Texas. Whataburgers in south Texas seem to be better on average.
The only decent Whataburger experiences I’ve had have been at the location on west parmer lane. Just my two cents though.
Their buns have become cardboard and the cheese is never melted. I used to literally eat Whataburger weekly and I haven't felt the urge to eat there more than twice in the past year and a half. It's actually really sad.
When that patty melt first came out I couldn't believe how great it was. I had 2 or 3 that were that awesome and then they started to go downhill - sauce to onion ratio was never quite right.
Ok so I moved here from Florida where whataburgers are far and few (but always over the top great service)…. I have not had a good experience at an Austin whataburger once in the last 2 years I’ve been here and I feel like they may just be understaffed and undermanaged. They always forget my sauce in the bag 😫
Yeah I used to swear by them but that was 5 years ago. Had it a few weeks back and it wasn’t anything close to what it used to be. P Terrys all the way baby
I haven't gone to Wait-a-burger for an actual burger in years. Quality is barely above a McDonald's these days and even with McDonald's inflation of prices Waitaburger is still far more expensive. Fries have gotten bland too. Brand is smelling its own farts and loving it
Plus the wait. God the fucking wait.
Edit: take it back, I had one during the pandemic and just went "meh it's okay"
There’s one up north at Howard or something on 34 that has notably crunchy toppings: onions, pickles, lettuce, bacon. I don’t see that elsewhere. I’ll go to that one in particular. They’ve reliably been outstanding.
Whataburger has gone down a lot. Just had one recently and I almost threw it away had it not been for the fact that I paid $8+ for what turned out to be one of the most uninspired burgers in my life. The party was dry and the burger overall was flavorless. It’s In n out or Chick fil-a from now on for me.
While I agree that fast food in general has been phoning it in, I think whataburger is in the top 10% of fast food declines. The last three trips to our local whataburger had the order wrong and missing items. We haven't been back in months.
I’ve tried but I’ve never understood the love of Whataburger. Perhaps I’ve never been to a good store. The first time I had it was in 1993 at a location in Phoenix. I moved to Round Rock pre-pandemic and renamed the location closest to me “Waitaburger” because it is so incredibly slow. I could go to HEB, buy the ingredients, and make a burger from scratch at home faster than going through their drive-through.
I also don’t fully get In-N-Out burger. They’re fine. They don’t blow me away. When you see them making the fries from scratch in the store it seems like they should taste so much better when you actually eat them.
I’d say Hopdoddy is probably makes my favorite burgers in the area but I don’t like the weird awkward assigned seating + counter ordering. It’s a strange and confusing way of doing things.
I’ve been to two different Hat Creek locations and I’ll probably go back. I haven’t yet formed an opinion but my first two experiences were pretty positive.
Everywhere I’ve eaten out since 2020 has had a huge dip in quality. Not just Texas, everywhere
fr, have you all noticed that all customer service phone calls always have “higher than normal call volumes” now? well if the call volume is always higher now than that’s now the new normal
"please listen closely, as our menu items have recently changed." Narrator: they had not recently changed
Work in call center for 3rd party client in operations. Hopefully you understand those systems are setup so you give up and they dont have to pay for you to be helped
That's been a thing for over a decade for me. Definitely not a Covid thing.
Probably longer. I don't ever remember it not being a thing. Even 20 years ago I would be more surprised if i didn't hear that message and get put on a long hold.
Please listen carefully as our options have recently changed.
This is the answer
And the crazy price increases to cover rising food costs and labor costs too. I miss prices/quality/service pre-covid.
This is why In-N-Out is one of the only fast food places I’ll go to now. They pay well, they haven’t jacked their prices, and their food tastes just as good as it did pre-pandemic. I think Whataburger getting bought out by a penny pinching mega corporation was death for the franchise. Their burgers are stale and overly salted now, I haven’t had a good whataburger in a few years now and have all hit given up on them. Taco Bell is a disaster as well… most of them can’t stay open due to lack of labor (because they refuse to pay well) and the food is beyond disgusting.
P. Terry's has picked up my Whataburger business. The Austin Whataburgers ... I'm just tired of them. And since I can get the spicy ketchup from HEB, why go?
P Terry’s fries though are a greasy soggy mess 😭😭😭
I am so, so sad about how disappointing Taco Bell is now
I think you mean In-and-Out tastes as “good” as it did pre-pandemic. 😆
I have started having issues with Culver’s which is really disappointing. Their workers just don’t care. They aren’t friendly, their restaurant is dirty and they are slow and unprofessional. I don’t feel like any of this was the case prior to Covid. I always had good experiences at Culver’s a few years ago. Edit: I’m referring to the one by Domain.
Boo. The one on William Cannon is great. Anytime we're unable to eat at home and just need a quick, fun, unhealthy meal the kids almost ALWAYS choose Culver's. The danged kid's meal is a great value - almost full-sized burger, fries and drink, and a scoop of custard with a topping. It's like $5!
As an employee I can confirm almost everyone who works here actually care about their job
I've seen some of the same people for a couple of years. There's one girl, probably still in high school, who knows my oldest daughter is super shy and has trouble asking for her free scoop, but just gets her chocolate with hot fudge as soon as she sees her at the counter. My kid is starting to warm up to her, to the degree she'll actually speak to her. It's sweet. So thanks!
Thanks glad to know you had a good experience
Here to agree the location on William Cannon is great! Every time I have eaten there the restaurant is clean, food is delicious, and the employees are friendly and knowledgeable. It shows that the manager must be great too!
Probably more of a "by the Domain" problem than a Culver's problem. It's like saying the Culver's in Mordor sucks. Of course it does.
That Culver's has had issues with employee apathy and cleanliness since at least 2014.
I’m also pretty certain that they swiped my card. I stopped there once and realized I had left my main card in another pair of pants but luckily had my other card that I only use gas, which is tied to the Shell app, so I don’t actually ever physically use it. A couple of days later and Chase sends me a notification that they blocked a suspicious charge from that very card.
DON'T TALK SHIT ABOUT CULVER'S
What our family has notice is that it’s mainly the low tier restaurants (fast food, counter service) that have this dip. We used to get takeout 2x a week and now we go to a real restaurant (think Jack Allen’s level or above) 1-2 times a month instead since it’s less of a crap shoot if the food we end up with is a) what we ordered or b) cooked properly/tasty.
Horrible quality, but with a bonus of price increases and worse service than ever. Not just at Whataburger, but most places now.
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Wonder if someone in a place of power may or may not have removed some culinary safeguards our FDA had in place. Maybe look there first.
I honestly didnt know about this, do you have any more info on this?
[here's an early google result](https://thecounter.org/trump-administration-has-deregulated-the-food-system-covid-19-osha-line-speeds/)
Too true, and it's depressing.
100% agree with.
The family sold out to VC and it all went to shit. Have you seen the new buildings? They're gray and they don't have the famous pointy roof. And the food is even worse than it already was. the burger is thinner than anything else I can think of. Sad, really. Another Texas legend laid low by greed. edit: Honestly. What kind of asshole looks at the history of Whataburger and says "You know what we need? To eliminate the iconic color scheme. Hell, while we're at it lets eliminate the famous building facade as well. That'll be eleven billionty dollars in consultant fees please..."
The new one in Leander is awful. I’ve been there about 5 times and it’s always disappointing. I’m so used to great food with a long wait at Whataburger that I keep thinking it’s just an off night. But every time it gets worse and worse. The service is slower than any Whataburger I’ve ever been to and the food is just downright bad. It’s always cold, the portions are much smaller than I remember, and they usually mess up the order somehow. It’s super disappointing as I was excited to finally have location close to me.
Speaking of smaller portions, the Alamo Drafthouse burgers seem to have decreased in size by 1/3 in the past few years. They still charge $17 though.
And that's before the 20% fee
Wait... what 20% fee? Have I been paying this and not knowing?
The South Lamar location has a 20% service charge that’s meant to replace gratuity. They’re pretty up front about it if you go. Other locations use the standard system.
Shrinkflation in full effect.
Alamo Drafthouse food has gone to shit.
The Leander Whataburger sucks... On so many levels. And they're so busy why would they try to change?
100% agree. I thought I was so lucky to have a Whataburger close by, but dang was I wrong! Sadly the one in Leander is the worst I have ever been to.
It is terrible. Been a few times since I live nearby, and every single time they forget something or screw something up. It is also SLOW - it is not uncommon to see the double checkout lane full at seemingly random times. Made the mistake of sitting through it once and it took 30+ mins for fucking drive through. And they STILL screwed up the order. Try bringing a chicken strip basket home to your wife and it is missing the gravy. Fuck that.
Boy do I hate that location (which happens to be really close). I once waited 45 minutes in the drive through for two cookies and two shakes. They held up my line and I saw 10+ cars in the other lane get served in that time span. From the time I got to the front of one line, it took them 20 minutes to charge me for my food and then another 25 to bring it out (and it wasn’t even food), and when I do get food it’s cold. I have promised myself to never go back.
Yeah. I was pretty stoked when it opened. But the wait times are absolutely ridiculous and then the food is never worth the wait. And, like just about everywhere now, it's too damn expensive.
>Have you seen the new buildings? They're gray and they don't have the famous pointy roof. All of the remodeled fast food joints look like bunkers. It's cheaper to cut the ornamentation and it makes the property easier to sell later on. Whataburger is just another of these chains now.
To be fair, they got rid of those pointy roofs long before they sold it.
100% Its easier to sell, look around at all the sonics that've closed. Good luck selling those. Some of the projects I've designed/worked on have specifically transitioned away from unique buildings because of resale purposes.
Private equity, not venture capital.
Right. Not really a "venture" to buy a well-establish company.
This is why we often replace the V with vulture. Carrion eaters that exhaust and starve their companies and pick over the carcass instead of actually trying to help in any kind of ethical way the company or its customers.
Which is 100x worse unfortunately
From what I heard, the family sold 51% of the company in an attempt to become a national chain and be the next "In & Out". So yeah "Greed". My experience in the last couple years has mostly been a much longer wait time.
In n Out is popular because its super consistent, fast and has great service.....Whataburger doesn't have any of those things.
Lol next In n Out. Like it or not, In n Out offers something different enough to national fast food chains. Whataburger does not.
You could take this sentiment for most restaurants in Austin that expand.
Looking at you, Chuys...
I feel like torchys is a great example of this
I feel like once a restaurant drops Maine Root you know they've gone corporate. Only times I've had Torchy's since have been when it's free (work lunches etc). ^though ^honestly ^any ^restaurant ^serving ^pink ^drink ^gets ^my ^business ^regardless ^of ^food ^quality
I bitch about the soda options every time and pay more for a Jarritos. It *is* a real sign of corporate willingness to compromise IMHO.
Man I feel they all went to shit even before selling out. What's their hourly pay versus places like P Terrys or In N Out?
Eleventy billion isn't even a real number ^(I caught your reference)
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Gosh Kerbey has been bad for years now. I think the owner retired and left it to his son? This is the last I remember when I went to eat there. I will still get pancakes every once in awhile but it’s not worth anything else
The food at Kerbey is average and overpriced BUT they used to be open 24/7 and that was awesome. I haven't gone back since they gave up on being a 24/7 diner.
Overpriced and average is the slogan for Austin
The south Lamar location is 24/7 on weekends now at least. It’s one of the better locations.
24/7 is dope but I went there in January and yhe food was terrible. coffee was burnt. Biscuits were dry and it seems like the used vegan gravy but just gave me a sausage patty for the "sausage" biscuits and gravy. And the poached egg tasted like it was poached in all vinegar. Terrible all around.
I'm glad its not me, their coffee is super burnt. I'd love to find a good breakfast place in austin. Cafe Java in N austin is my goto but it can be rough
On another subject, why don’t we have 24 hour restaurants and grocery stores anymore?
Complete assumption on my part, but my guess is companies realized the money they lose keeping a location operating at all hours while paying workers an overnight hourly wage is more than what they make back by selling their product/services at all hours. But I've never ran a business so I have no clue.
You underestimate how many people work the night shift. I did nights for three years and ate exclusively at places that were open late.
Yep the owner left it to the son who went to law school.. so you can see where it might stray from the original vision.
The Kerby Lane in Round Rock is a wreck. It has been sub par for years now.
The Mueller location is cursed. It must be built on the spot of a fatal plane crash or something.
It’s starting to happen to Torchys Tacos and Chuys as well, the more these places expand the worse they get. Watch any show about a business taking what they do to scale, and the first thing that goes is quality ingredients — everything goes to the cheapest food supplier they can find.
I won't eat at Chuy's or Kerbey Lane here in San Marcos. Torchy's is about to get struck from my list. Last time I had the street corn, there was too much sauce and so much seasoning it was almost powdery. The menu is pared down. You might or might not get the sauce you're used to getting.
Kerbey Lane has been a mess since before Covid. I used to recommend to out-of-town guests as a good breakfast spot... not any more. It's awful.
Snooze on South Lamar is 10x better
I don’t think that’s true. The South Lamar Kerbey is great.
The one on the drag is just objectively worse than every other whataburger tbh
The one on Airport is really bad. The one on Cameron is way better. They really vary by location
The airport and MLK one is my local whataburger and it is so bad that I refuse to go. I'll stick to Taco Bell or Popeyes if I'm craving something quick.
That popeyes on Airport/MLK is HORRIBLE too. Also my local whataburger/popeyes. The lines are always super long, the staff is unfriendly and the food is mediocre at best, even comparing it to itself from a few years back.
i agree :( cameron > airport > guad
The one on Airport has roaches, I can never go back.
MLK/Airport would like a world
It's so bad. The wait times are atrocious too. Only one upped by the Popeyes across the street
I'm pleased to report the PPs has gotten a lot better. They actually have people working there now!
You especially should never order through the app at this whataburger! You’ll be pushed off to the side for 20+ minutes just to get ice cold food and a wrong order.
All of the Austin ones are bad. The SA paper wrote a funny article a few months back where they compiled the google rating of every Whataburger in the state, and Austin consistently had the worst scores BY FAR. To no surprise, South Texas and Corpus locations scored the best.
True.. I went to the Whataburger on the Bay in Corus Christi and I was like being in a different restaurant. Very much like Whataburger used to be.
Had the same experience at a random Whataburger outside of Kingsville along 77. It was like time traveling to the old Whataburger.
True. I’m disappointed by the one on the drag more often than not. Dried out patty with cold cheese slice on it means it was made ahead and sat around too long. Mopac and wm cannon location has been good every time.
I don’t know how any location can be worse than ben white / menchaca.
I hosted consultants from Japan and Spain (separately). Both groups requested burgers for lunch. We hit the usual spots. The Japanese favorite was Jewboy. The Spaniards preferred Crown & Anchor (they really liked the beer selection).
The crown and anchor burger is super good
Good job taking guests to actual good, interesting places to eat in our fair city.
I know, I was impressed by their choices, too!
Jewboy is fire. Good on you for showing them real burgers, oftentimes the only burgers you can find outside of the U.S. come from McDonald's or BK.
Japan has some legit fast burger chains. Even their McD's tend to be far higher quality than ours. Cultural expectations?
Probably much stricter laws on what you're allowed to serve, tons of preservatives and artificial colorings are illegal outside of the U.S., so chains have to adapt.
I haven't been to Crown & Anchor in forever, but just had Jewboy for the first time a few weeks ago and I'm sold.
Next time... Casino El Camino. That's sure to be a pleaser.
The burger at the Draught House is great. It's actually sold at the trailer (Little House) in their beergarden. It's huge, so it can be hard to finish but it's worth every extra bite you take.
Both locations are legit. Good on you for showing them something unique.
Last summer, there was a bunch of reporting about how the worst scoring Whataburger’s were in Austin. I’ve been telling people to try it on a road trip and see what they think. https://www.expressnews.com/food/article/worst-whataburgers-texas-austin-17395052.php
I second this, Whataburger's on the way to Dallas are usually money
Had Whataburger twice in the past week while visiting TX/AZ, and In & Out once in AZ. Whataburger was on point at both locations (Tempe and Dallas Love Field, the airport one was perfectly done), and In & Out’s burger was good, but the fries can’t hold a candle to Whataburger. I left Austin in 2019 and in my 5 years there never once had a bad meal at Whataburger…so I’m inclined to think it’s think it’s a regional issue, and a recent one at that. I really hope Whataburger expands to Milwaukee/WI now that their headquarters is based in Chicago. Culver’s does a few things well, but their fries suck, and nothing here open 24 hours is a 10th as good as Whataburger.
Don't try the one off 35 in Waco. Slow as hell and the quality is terrible.
I just left a similar comment. Austin WBs have dramatically taken a turn since the pandemic. All the other ones I have tried while on road trips or back in my home town have been just as good.
I think they don't pay enough. One day the Cameron WB had ONE GUY working by himself. Since then, we just don't go there. I assume the pay is low and/or poor management if only one guy is working.
I live across the street from this location and the line during peak hours is actually ridiculous. I've waited 10 minutes AT THE WINDOW for a kids meal.
Yeah, the line. If we want a meal to take that long we can go to a sit-down restaurant. Meanwhile, when we drive to the RGV, the WBs along the highway in south texas seem to be fine.
It’s something specifically about the locations in Austin… if I had to guess, they’re all under the same area manager and he clearly doesn’t give a shit.
Small town whataburger is the best whataburger. Unless you’re drunk - then any whataburger is the best whataburger.
In general, small town fast food is better. Their neighbors are working in the kitchen.
I moved to ATX from San Antonio two years ago and the Whataburgers and Bill Millers are TRASH here
Austins taco cabanas are completely different too
Sadly agree. Just did one and reluctantly stopped for breakfast. I fully expected an incorrect order, poorly made, and over salted. Instead I got a actual edible biscuit sandwich. I was surprised. It was in one of the new gray buildings which was off putting.
So true. I used to actually LIVE off of Whataburger in Houston pre-2020 (don't judge), and could always expect decent-to-good quality food and a short wait. I was absolutely SHOCKED when I moved to Austin and tried the local Whatas. Every single one has terrible service, ridiculously long wait times, and the food is Mcdonalds level. I really do think Austin in particular has some of the worst managed Whataburgers in Texas.
I was just about to comment this. This city’s Whataburgers are sub par. It’d be cool to see this same list but for HEB’s.
Whataburger is like Popeyes. You gotta know where the “good ones” are.
Or KFCs. The N Lamar / Koenig is absolutely the worst I have ever seen.
OG Whataburger fan here. You are correct. They have taken a huge hit to QT. It smells bad near them too.
Haven’t found a restaurant that isn’t worse than it used to be. That said, fast food depreciation is more noticeable
I was just having this conversation last week.
Also nothing is hot anymore. Cold buns, Pattie’s and fries. So disappointing!
The one at stone hill (pflugerville) is also total shit. The line takes forever even with one or two cars in. Last time they charged me for the order in front of me (the guy drove off) and it was quadruple the price of what I ordered. Couldn’t get it resolved because the manager was a teenager. Had to dispute it through my credit card co and haven’t been back since.
Agree. It’s the worst Whataburger ever. The others have gone downhill but this location made me officially stop eating Whataburger.
Consistency varies so much depending on location and who is cooking. I've had a location near me be meh to subpar, and then one afternoon, pure perfection.
Dans is still really good…
Man it's been years since I went to Dan's. Now I want a chicken fried steak sandwich.
I've only noticed a downturn in quality in Austin WBs. Especially the one closest to my house. Most of the other WBs across the state that I frequent have been just as good.
No problem with the taste but I don’t even bother to go to the one near me, it’s always at least a 30 minute wait in the drive through, even if it’s just like three cars . They were slow before the pandemic and now it’s worse.
Whataburger is a Texas institution that runs on nostalgia in my opinion. P Terry's on the other hand is as good as ever.
I think P Terry’s, or at least the few near me, have taken a serious nose dive.
P. Terrys is hit or miss for us. Sometimes the fries are just really undercooked and terrible. Sometimes the burgers slapped on there without any care. Sometimes they make mistakes and don't put napkins or ketchup into the bag even when requested. But every once in a while, you get a good one and it's delicious. And where else can you get fresh squeezed orange juice?
Came to say this. The last time we had WB both burgers were like room temp. I had to go back and have them remake them
Whataburger's founding family (Dobner) sold its majority stake in 2019 to a Chicago investment firm, suggesting the possibility that they have begun cutting corners on ingredient quality to provide better financial numbers. That roughly lines up with when I started having the same reaction you did, and I've all but entirely quit going as a result.
I’ve been thinking I was going crazy but just found out they sold in 2019 which is around the time it started to not taste good anymore. So sad, they used to be the best burger place around, but now I prefer McDonalds…
It should be renamed as WaitAburger.
Midnight taquitos are still the same level of quality!
Midnight is when the line is an hour long.
Definitely not just you. They suck. The last several times I've eaten there, the burger was not even hot enough to melt the cheese. The fries are worse than before, just "meh." I won't be back.
Unfortunately, Whataburger is one of those places where the quality is *highly* variable depending which location you choose. I've had AWFUL experiences at the one in SP meadows and the one in Cedar Park on old 183. Conversely, the one on Lakeline is pretty good, and the best one I've ever been to is in Brenham. I think the ones in the middle of bigger cities tend to suck.
Please don’t tell anyone that the Lakeline one is good. It’s my go to and the line is already long enough on weekends!
I stopped eating at Whataburger in 2020. I’ve worked fast food and burger joints, and I’d just never serve something like this. This is the quality you’ll typically get nowadays at the Whataburgers in Austin. Been eating there 30+ years, but never again if I have a choice. https://imgur.com/a/CewSdvJ/ OTOH Waterloo and Dan’s still know what’s up.
The more South you go, the better it gets.
Bro had one bad meal and said let me ask Reddit
It is not just you. Ever since they sold the business it has changed. Just like everyone said it would. It is so sad.
Whataburger has 100% declined in quality in the last couple of years.
Hot take: Whataburger isn’t a burger chain; **it’s a chicken strip chain.** Burgers are mediocre at best. Real paydirt lies in the Honey Barbecue Chicken Strip Sandwich and of course the HBCB.
It's a pretty normal burger, the only thing it had going for it was fresh ingredients.
YES. I tell everyone that Burger is in the name, but Chicken is the game
Deep dive into the dumps
The most competent & consist Whataburger I’ve seen and been to is the one off W Parmer Lane close to McNeil. The customer service is perfect & you can make as many changes to your order as you want & they’ll get it right, their line also moves way faster than most.
No. Capitalism ruins everything by constantly driving down quality (costs) in favor of profit. Same thing with homogenization. Why use a special patty that costs more than what Mc Donalds is buying? To be unique and special? It doesn't really matter anymore now that they got that brand recognition as Texas/South's go-to fast food chain. All it takes is a change in management to make this kind of thing happen.
Restaurants that have been bought out by PE Firms (Whataburger, Paneras, etc) have seemed to drop in quality quite a bit.
Well it’s no surprise. Most of these places can’t even find employees. Your average fast food worker has probably been there for less than a month. It’s just not worth it at all when 75% of the time the order is messed up or missing items and prices are double what they were 5 years ago.
The most infuriating thing to me about Whata lately is that every single time I place a pickup order they don’t start working on it till I get down…like what’s the point of even ordering ahead??
Fast food chains all do that. Most likely to preserve “quality”. I imagine if they premade it and it was cold you’d be on here complaining how they didn’t wait to make it till you were there because it’s very fast to make.
Yep. I used the app a couple times and had the same result. Stopped using it.
Shortstop and Dan's are the best fast food burgers.
Our local brands/locations are great, but they are poor compared to the artisan burger places that are only a few dollar more. All the chains are poor to those places. It is like comparing chain beers to craft beers - no comparison.
In a similar vein, if anyone knows where there is a Taco Bell that can at least get in the ballpark of what you order, I would love to know. It's been terrible at every location I've been to lately. The last order we got at the one on 183 by Lakeline - holy cow. Crunchwrap had no meat, bean burrito was all onions, red sauce, and cheese with almost no beans (and the order said no onions), chicken quesadilla instead of a burrito...it goes on. And before the "why on earth would you go to Taco Bell" people arrive - I'm from the North. It was all we had. Sometimes I just want someone to hand me a sack of bean burritos followed by a nap.
Yes whataburger sucks ass now
I go to UT so I frequent this whatab A LOT. This location is a total hit or miss.
My husband has a theory that whataburgers have an “A” team and a “B” team. If you get the A team your burger is perfect and the topping are just right and nothing is missing. But if you get a B team there’s no telling what’s gonna be wrong, missing toppings, wrong drink, bad burger. He pretty much knows the schedule of the A team at our local whataburger and can even tell it’s them by the voice on the drive thru speaker. 🤷♀️
I think they have really tanked in quality. I stopped going there. I think it started when they were sold to a company in Chicago.
Ever since the buy out it’s gone down rapidly
Yesterday at Whataburger, the person at the register overcharged me but I decided to let it go because he was struggling with doing the most basic tasks of his job and I wasn't sure I could get him to understand the error. The overcharge was around $2. The food was fine. Overall, it was a negative experience. I'm not in a hurry to go back.
This thread is very cathartic
It’s been garbage for years now. Maybe -maybe- you could have gotten a decent burger at the Oltorf location 5 years ago before they closed it, but not now. And at these prices? No thanks.
Can we also add Kerbey Lane….yuck
It’s not you. Very hit or miss now, in terms of speed and quality.
Like with any restaurant, quality can very significantly from location to location. Whataburger is no different. This is coming from someone that used to manage a Whataburger over in west Texas. Usually the higher volume/sales stores get more love and more staffing which results in better service quality (and sometimes food quality). I will say on average the quality of Whataburger locations in Austin is lower than other areas of Texas. Whataburgers in south Texas seem to be better on average. The only decent Whataburger experiences I’ve had have been at the location on west parmer lane. Just my two cents though.
Whataburger taquitos used to be my all time favorite breakfast. Idk wth they have done to the eggs but they taste and smell terrible now.
Lately I’ve noticed my peers have been getting in n out
Their buns have become cardboard and the cheese is never melted. I used to literally eat Whataburger weekly and I haven't felt the urge to eat there more than twice in the past year and a half. It's actually really sad.
The drag location has always been the worst in Texas. That being said the quality across the board has definitely dipped.
They lost me when they got rid of the mushroom Swiss burger… I miss it 😢
For me it was the Jalepeno Cheddar Sausage and Egg biscuit. Damn that was a good sandwich. It would hold you over til lunch.
When that patty melt first came out I couldn't believe how great it was. I had 2 or 3 that were that awesome and then they started to go downhill - sauce to onion ratio was never quite right.
Ok so I moved here from Florida where whataburgers are far and few (but always over the top great service)…. I have not had a good experience at an Austin whataburger once in the last 2 years I’ve been here and I feel like they may just be understaffed and undermanaged. They always forget my sauce in the bag 😫
When Whataburger got rid of the A1 Think and Hearty Burger, I stopped going.
Yeah I used to swear by them but that was 5 years ago. Had it a few weeks back and it wasn’t anything close to what it used to be. P Terrys all the way baby
Since they sold. Cutting corners wherever they can.
Whataburger is owned by a national giant out of Chicago. Only a matter of time before it all goes downhill.
The one in Manor sucks, but then all fast food in Manor sucks.
I haven't gone to Wait-a-burger for an actual burger in years. Quality is barely above a McDonald's these days and even with McDonald's inflation of prices Waitaburger is still far more expensive. Fries have gotten bland too. Brand is smelling its own farts and loving it Plus the wait. God the fucking wait. Edit: take it back, I had one during the pandemic and just went "meh it's okay"
There’s one up north at Howard or something on 34 that has notably crunchy toppings: onions, pickles, lettuce, bacon. I don’t see that elsewhere. I’ll go to that one in particular. They’ve reliably been outstanding.
Huge Dive! Hop Doddy, Casino El Camino, or Dan's Hamburgers 🍔 for me.
Whataburger has gone down a lot. Just had one recently and I almost threw it away had it not been for the fact that I paid $8+ for what turned out to be one of the most uninspired burgers in my life. The party was dry and the burger overall was flavorless. It’s In n out or Chick fil-a from now on for me.
While I agree that fast food in general has been phoning it in, I think whataburger is in the top 10% of fast food declines. The last three trips to our local whataburger had the order wrong and missing items. We haven't been back in months.
Mighty Fine's burgers have also nosedived in quality, and they always seem understaffed now, at least on Brodie.
I’ve tried but I’ve never understood the love of Whataburger. Perhaps I’ve never been to a good store. The first time I had it was in 1993 at a location in Phoenix. I moved to Round Rock pre-pandemic and renamed the location closest to me “Waitaburger” because it is so incredibly slow. I could go to HEB, buy the ingredients, and make a burger from scratch at home faster than going through their drive-through. I also don’t fully get In-N-Out burger. They’re fine. They don’t blow me away. When you see them making the fries from scratch in the store it seems like they should taste so much better when you actually eat them. I’d say Hopdoddy is probably makes my favorite burgers in the area but I don’t like the weird awkward assigned seating + counter ordering. It’s a strange and confusing way of doing things. I’ve been to two different Hat Creek locations and I’ll probably go back. I haven’t yet formed an opinion but my first two experiences were pretty positive.
Pterrys is significantly better. Haven’t had a bad burger yet.
I quit going to whataburger when they discontinued the mushroom Swiss Burger last year