Johnny Rockets

Johnny Rockets are usually small. The one in Kingstowne is just about the same size, as is the one in VA Beach in Lynnhaven Mall. The largest I've been in was in Nashville at the Opryland outlet mall and it was only about twice as big as the one in Brambleton.

 

It's been a long time but I seem to remember the JR in Union Station in DC being pretty small. Silver Diner it ain't!

 

As I said above, they are all small. If anyone who has complained about the size of this one in Brambleton has been in more than this one, please let us know. I have and they are not known for being large. Tables and booths for 4 are typical. You cannot compare them to Silver Diner or other diner type restaurants as they have never been like them. They are obviously profitable as they are spreading across the country.

 

We tried it out yesterday for lunch. I enjoyed the decor and music, but the food was subpar. I agree with the person that said the shakes were thin. When going to a diner, I'm used to thick, rich milkshakes...and this was not. There was nothing special about the food and in my opinion and it was just "okay" at best. On a positive note, our server was terrific and very attentive. I think I'll give it some time to return and I think it could be a nice addition to Ashburn.

 

not true, the 2 other JR's Ive been to, in Chicago and Vegas were 3 times as large. and food was great. no silver dinner, but the silver diner is not great.

 

Yeah, Silver Diner's food isn't all that impressive but I was referring to the size of the place.

 

I have been to numerous JRs across the country and have always had good experiences. Granted, it's basic, diner-style food, so I wouldn't expect five-star food or service.

I tried the new JR a few nights ago with my 2-year old daughter. Given the small size, I was not surprised to wait several minutes for a table to open. When we were seated, we had to wait a little while (longer than expected) for a server to show up and get our drinks. From that point on, everything was slow - food order, food service, drink refills, dessert. While our server was polite, she was not a ball of fire. The experience was lackluster, but I figured that this was probably the worst it could be.

I was wrong! Today my wife, daughter and I, accompanied by another couple and their daugher, went to JR for lunch. We again waited about 20 minutes for a table. Our server was clueless. She didn't know the menu at all and had no idea what she was doing. From the time we sat down, it took over one hour to get our food (which was wrong, but we didn't want to send it back for fear of waiting another hour, so we lived with it). Again, we're talking burgers and fries here...

We then made the mistake of ordering dessert; one chocolate shake and a single scoop of ice cream for my daughter. That took another 25 minutes!

At the end of our meal, the manager came over and asked how our meal was. My wife explained to him how long everything took, and how our waitress was nice enough, but didn't know the menu at all. The manager said, "Well, we've only been open eight days and we're working out the kinks. Try us again and I'm sure we'll do better next time." No attempt to make things right at all! We were kind of floored by this, but had already decided that we probably wouldn't be back.

Shortly thereafter, the owner came by and asked the same question. Obviously the manager hadn't talked to him. We said the same thing to the owner, and he said the exact same thing that the manager did - 'sorry, we're new - try us again though'.

So, 2 hours & 20 minutes later, with my wallet $70 lighter, I vowed that I'll never go back. Any manager AND owner who cares so little about how their patrons are being treated does not deserve return business.

 

They were fine when we went on the 1st night. Like any new restaraunt, there will be some rough patches along the way.

 

We won't be back either. Our waitress also did not know the menu, it took FOREVER to get our food and the order was incorrect, the food was horrible (I couldn't eat even 1/3 of my burger!) and at the end they even messed up our bill. We had to get the manager to fix the errors, but we were so disgusted when we left.

 

Sounds like another Dan Snyder owned "experience" .... Redskins Fedex ... Six Flags ... Johnny Rockets .... He really knows how to mess up things ...

 

Yeah, I am sure Snyder has nothing better to do than get involved with the day-to-day operations of a fast food (allegedly) joint.

And he had to do something right in the business world to be able to afford and convince others to buy the Redskins for $800 million AND make them even more profitable.

His net worth is easily over a BILLION dollars. Not bad for a man in his early 40's

 

Like anything .. vision of the CEO / owner is reflected on how each company is run ...to be more specific how each customer experience is handled ...

Even though Redskins has been "profitable", most of the Redskins fans attending games at FEDEX has been less than pleased on how mr Snyder is treating his common fan.

Same thing could be said about Six Flags ..which he took over not that far back .. As you can tell by number of bad PR related to Six Flags along with its stock price .. you can assume, his ownership of Six Flags did not "improve" his customer's experience.

When some company / person only cares about the bottom line ( short term view ), it shows in customer's experience. It will only take couple of bad experience for people to choose something else.

Six Flags >> go to another amusement park
Johnny Rockets >> go to another resturant
Redskins >> Now only if we had a choice to root for another team .. IT WOULD BE GREAT !

 

This is exactly why I decided never to even try Johnny Rockets because of my dislike for Snyder. Nor will I go to Six Flags. AND I may become a Baltimore Raven's fan.

 

One would hope that someone who works at JR reads these comments (at least the applicable ones) and passes on the complaints to the management.

Has anyone who has experienced bad service there written their complaints down and sent it to the corporate HQ?

 

So you are going to "label" JR based on a few posters experiences for a new opening? This happens with just about EVERY new opening for this type/style of restaurant. And let's not forget how many posters who are dissatisfied with the Brambleton location that like JRs overall. One store does not a company make.

Do not know much about 6 Flags other than they have had a few high-profile accidents in the past year or 2, but so has Disney. And 6Fs are a lot more affordable and accessible than Disney's 2 locations in the US. Haven't heard about an overall dissatisfied customer base.

As for a choice in what NFL team you root for, I do not see where you do not have a choice. There are 31 other teams in the league, pick one! You can get NFL packages on TV where you can watch every game. You can root for the Ravens who are only 1.5 hours away if you wish to see a game live.

JR - I have been to a few and have not had any issues.
SF - last time I went to a theme park was long before Snyder gained controlling interest.
Redskins - I attend a couple/few games a year because my best friend bought season tickets. They are damn near the worst seats you can get but I still have a good time, as a mere common fan.

Look, I get what you are saying about "vision" but other than Mark Cuban and maybe a few others, CEO's worry about the share holders and let their underlings run the businesses. I am sure that JR has an operating model just like McDonalds and other similar type establishments so I am with other posters who and will give this PARTICULAR JR's time to get settled in before we go for a meal.

 

So, if you dislike the president, does that mean you want to become Canadian? If you dislike the governor, will you move to another state?

And why such a dislike for Snyder that you won't even try a burger?

 

As a lifelong Redskins fan .. it really is hard for me to root for anther team just because of lack of success .. its owner .... Although, it is becoming harder and harder for me to root for Danny's Redskins ...

As far as JR is concerned, I went to one is Pentagon City from early 90s before Danny boy took over and might give the local one a try. However, with so many local choices why give more money to Danny boy.

 

Sorry - I won't contribute to his empire.....there are far better burger places around here if I do want a burger, but I could count on one hand the number of times I do eat a burger out. And no - I wouldn't become a Canadian or move to another state if I disliked the President (which I don't, but I did for the previous eight years) or the governor. That doesn't even compare to a hamburger, that's rather silly.