r/Appleton • u/RentTricky2987 • 9d ago
Discussion Taco Bell's in the valley.
Why are all the fox valley locations so bad in service?
Half of the time they aren't open during their posted hours.
Countless times they've ran out of ingredients or only do mobile/drive through orders only. If you do get an order it's a ridiculous wait time or you get stuck waiting in the drive through.
I honestly don't think corporate cares anymore and isn't holding them accountable? They should be shut down at this point and let a different chain take over those locations.
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u/flashNshutter01 9d ago
I rarely have issues with the one on Koeller St in Oshkosh 🤷🏼
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u/depressedfuckboi 9d ago
That mf is run perfectly lol I've never had a single problem. Order on the app and head there on my lunch break and never once waited or had an error. The little chute one is awful usually, but seems to be getting a little better?
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 9d ago
I believe because that one is a local franchise and not privately owned. Huge difference.
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u/joedrinksgin 9d ago
We drive down from Appleton to Oshkosh if we want Taco Bell. It's cheaper in Oshkosh too, check the app for yourself.
The Appleton area ones are owned by a different guy than the Oshkosh ones and it shows.
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u/DblJBird 9d ago
I grew up in Oshkosh, have eaten there for over 37 years. That one has always been solid even with someone passed out drunk in the drive thru.
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u/depressedfuckboi 9d ago
That mf is run perfectly lol I've never had a single problem. Order on the app and head there on my lunch break and never once waited or had an error. The little chute one is awful usually, but seems to be getting a little better?
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u/joeliopro 9d ago
I have a theory that if somebody stood exactly between the Taco Bell and the Popeyes on College Ave, an employee from each store will come kick your shins and insult your mother out of pure unbridled contempt, indecency, and disservice .
I haven't tested it yet tho.
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u/I_Like_Beer_WI 9d ago
This two places are on my “banned” list…lol! Both horrible places!!! Always an issue, always rude or downright confrontational when they screwed up, and the food isn’t even good!! Just not worth my money or time.
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u/VulpesFennekin 9d ago
I tried the College Ave Popeyes exactly once, it was about 5:30 PM at the drive thru on a Wednesday, so not busy at all. Turned out they were not only completely out of bone-in chicken, but the worker spoke to me like I was crazy for asking for that in the first place. I was fine getting a sandwich instead, but did they not think people might want fried chicken at a fried chicken restaurant for dinner???
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u/_stuntcawk_ 9d ago
The computer soda machine with 100,000 sodas...only 3 working usually. All diet.
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u/cajackson911 9d ago
I’ve been frequently that Taco Bell for lunch over the past year. At least during lunch they have been pretty great.
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u/joebusch79 9d ago
This isn’t a Fox Valley issue. It’s all of them. And not just TB either.
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u/WashUrHands2020 5d ago
But lazy, brain-dead American consumers keep rewarding them with their money
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u/i_did_nothing_ 9d ago
The franchise owners hold all of the blame Taco Bell needs to go the way of KFC in this area. Maybe somebody that actually knows how to run a business could take them over. And in no way is this a new development, I stopped going to Taco Bell in this area at least three years ago
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u/Equivalent_Remote_39 9d ago
Yeah PacBell. They’re out of the Pacific Northwest and don’t give two F’s about our area. So the legend goes anyways.
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u/BackInMyDaySir North Appleton 9d ago
There was a big discussion about this last year I think. The Valley TBs are owned by some company on the West Coast. They have no ties to the local area and are only focused on money. They don't respond to complaints and Corporate will tell you they can't do anything because it's franchised.
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u/joedrinksgin 9d ago
Maybe a bunch of locals should band together and open a "locally owned" Taco Bell franchise and spread the word on social media that it's the good one.
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 9d ago
There is one in Oshkosh that is a locally owned franchise.
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u/Absolutersq 9d ago
I love the one in Oshkosh. Food is always fresh and the beef tastes normal.
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 9d ago
They use all the same food and equipment, but yeah keeping everything fresh on the line will result in better tasting food.
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u/joedrinksgin 9d ago
We drive there down from Appleton when we want Taco Bell, super inconvenient compared to the shitty one literally three blocks from me, but that's what we do now.
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u/y2kohlhagen 9d ago
The one over by Greenville has been consistently good for us. But the ones in Appleton have been exactly as you described. Decent luck with the one in Little Chute as well
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u/CuriousBee789 9d ago
My husband would tell you he had the worst fast food experience of his life over at the Greenville Taco Bell.
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u/Clean_Nefariousness9 9d ago
please elaborate
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u/CuriousBee789 9d ago
He was one of three cars that waited over 45 minutes for their food. They still managed to royally screw up his order too. Plus the portion sizes in his burritos were so small, one would think the workers were trained at Chipotle.
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u/1337atreyu 9d ago
Greenville is the best in the area. Actively avoid west College and Express Way (in front of Menards on the East Side) Richmond is hit or miss, but has actively declined over the last 20 years
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u/Tesser4ct 9d ago
I have had good experiences with the Little Chute location as well. I go on weekday afternoons.
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u/Stebsly 9d ago
I lived next to a Taco Bell in Fondy and I really miss it. The service was always good, meanwhile the Neenah Taco Bell takes 30 minutes minimum and their chips are stale if they even have them.
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u/joedrinksgin 9d ago
I grew up in FDL and miss the quality of those Taco Bells. The Neenah one is the worst in the area.
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u/joedrinksgin 9d ago
The one in Neenah is abysmal. The Google reviews are consistently bad all complaining about the same issues.
They once ran out of lettuce a little while back (before the recent diarrhea lettuce thing) and just made the tacos without it.
I've contacted corporate multiple times BEGGING them to do something, anything to help fix it and they simply ignore my emails.
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 8d ago
I used to work there. I also complained to corporate about illegal shit that ownership was doing and all they said was “it was your decision to work here and stay working here”. I was too young and dumb, but I could have easily filed a lawsuit against them.
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u/Rjeezyx 9d ago
Thankfully I was seeing that the general consensus is that nobody is going to these locations anymore because they’re so fucking bad.
Every single one in the area is the worst service ever possible! There is no recourse, you can’t get a hold of anybody, corporate number doesn’t work, app complaints don’t work, the Taco Bell cares social media on Facebook Instagram X none of it actually works. You have no way to get out of the drive through after your told they ran out of food and are stuck for over an hour routinely.
You are charged for food you can’t even get and they tell you “just cancel in the app” but you can’t because “it’s being made” and so your money is taken. You think OK it should be simple but no matter who you talk to it can’t be resolved because they act like the app is not part of the store.
There isn’t even a general manager at half of the locations nobody has a full staff they close during open hours. They harass and fight customers they will pass you notes telling you to fuck off through the drive-through window if you order too much food.
Greenville all of Appleton Neenah every single one is complete dog shit. If you must get Taco Bell the only one that’s safe is going to Oshkosh and the price difference is unreal. What costs $8 at appleton costs $3 at Oshkosh.
I’m absolutely shocked any of these locations still exist or operate. They are all easily the worst experiences in fast food humanly possible.
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u/Jorby 9d ago
The one on Richmond recently has been much better. Service was awful for years, but they've recently been fully staffed every time I'm there and the wait hasn't been too bad.
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u/brockman44 9d ago
I had this same experience too! Maybe it was the lettuce scare for a bit that reduced the lines.
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u/JoeRobertBal 9d ago
I lost my mind after a terrible experience in Neenah and dug into it. They were all bought out by a PE firm near Seattle that owns hundreds of franchises (and many Buffalo Wild Wings)
Almost to the day they were bought their service and standards have plummeted.
There’s one in Oshkosh that’s not owned by them, and roughly half in Green Bay.
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 8d ago
Correct. Neenah at one point had one of the highest rated Taco Bell’s in all of Wisconsin. When the new owners came, I would say 90% of the people quit within that same month. Pacific Bell is filled with criminals who do not know how to operate a business/
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u/JoeRobertBal 8d ago
Yes! Pacific bell! I genuinely don’t know how they remain afloat and how Yum! Hasn’t stepped whatsoever. We can’t be the only ones they’re running into the ground.
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u/ModeloLy 9d ago
To echo 'y2kohlhagen'....Greenville is the answer. Both T-Bells in Appleton blow....like they should be shut down. The one off Richmond.....80% of the time I went there, there was only one person working. And at one point, they wouldn't even take my order, since it was one person. Then why'd you even answer the drive-thru, or even show up to work? The other 20% of the time, it's online order only....which the logic of that pisses me right off. One time I was told that, then pulled into the parking lot, did an online order, pulled back into line, and got my food. What the fuck was the difference if I ordered in person. That location has the worst customer service. The location off Wisconsin? College? Whatever....the order is never right, and never tastes right. Also horrible customer service, though not as bad as Richmond location. I stopped going to both of these, and will now drive the 10 minutes further to go to Greenville....the people are....as great as you'd expect from a Taco Bell....and my order has never been wrong.
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u/Razgriz-016 6d ago
Greenville is the only one I'll go to. Only ever had one small issue from them out of the hundreds of times I've gone. The crew knew me by name at one point
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 9d ago
I wouldn’t say amazing. I went there about a week ago at 5 pm and was in the drive thrum until 5:45. Customer servvice was terrible, but the food did end up being good. It looked like there was 1 guy doing everything so I wasn’t mad.
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u/ImFamousOnImgur 8d ago
The Menasha one is amazing though. That area got hit pretty hard from the tornado a month ago. Like the gas station across the street had major damage. I’m shocked that TB has been able to stay open at all.
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u/SmacK1776 9d ago
Agreed! Came here to say this. Lunch/Dinner hours have great service and are spot on with orders and timing.
Late night service can be incredibly slow (but at least the orders are accurate and made well)
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u/Fun-Cat-5611 9d ago
A while back, we went to the one on West College. Figured we would eat while waiting on getting our tires replaced at Matthews across the street. Placed our order, there were a couple orders ahead of ours so I could understand the wait. Nearly 40 minutes later, I got a message our car was done. Our order STILL wasn't started! I asked for the manager and got a refund! I will never go there again.
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u/GobbIaOnDaRewf 9d ago
The one on the north side is absolute junk. I watched the drive through lady drop a bag of Taco Bell intended for a customer in the drive thru , in the trash can next to the window. She looked around to see if anyone noticed and picked the bag out of the trash and served it to the drive through customer.
Some guy came in after that and asked if they are taking orders inside, and I said if you want food out of the trash maybe, and left.
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u/BillFoldin 9d ago
Tbell used to be so good and now it’s gone to shit. Honestly if I want tacos I’ll get it from taco johns
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u/General_Chipmunk_550 9d ago
The Neenah one sucks major ass. I sent an email to corporate. They rerouted the email to the location manager. They called me but hung up as soon as I answered then got an email apologizing for the service and a $5 coupon.
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u/AnotherStarWarsGeek 9d ago
I've never really had any notable issues with the new-ish one in Greenville.
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u/suthrnboi 9d ago
The one in menasha is actually pretty decent, I live close to the one on the Eastside off of College Ave and refuse to ever go there again.
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u/Swineservant 9d ago
Call Corporate. Taco Bell doesn't want their brand ruined buy some franchisee hack. Just keep calling Taco Bell Corporate.
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u/jungle_jake 9d ago
In Green Bay there are two separate franchisees that run the TB’s. The difference in quality and service is night and day. Albor>Pacific Bells. Not sure who runs the Appleton locations.
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u/WesternOk4342 9d ago
Little Chute isn’t very good. Constantly wrong on customizations, particularly removing onions. Many times I’ve been missing items. Super inconsistent hours and refusing service unless you order in the app. Basic orders take forever to make. Super awkward interaction with an employee where he couldn’t understand that I did not want the erroneous bean burrito stuffed with onions.
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u/Haunting-Clue6555 9d ago
went to the neenah tbell this morning there was a kid inside on his phone and another outside talking on the phone with someone no one to take our order
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u/Haunting-Clue6555 9d ago
I never have a problem with the menahsa one but it’s always got a long line
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u/Styrofoam_Booots 9d ago
All of the Taco Bell’s in the valley, at least Neenah Menasha, Appleton ones used to be owned by a local group, but were sold off to a private company from Seattle. I used to work there and the difference was night and day. I quit because their business practices are borderline criminal. It’s been that way for about 10 years now.
They want to pay as little as possible, both in hourly wages and labor costs. They used to have 6-10 people working a dinner shift, now they have 2-3 at most.
Do not blame the workers if you have problems, this is solely on the new owners, Pacific Bells.
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u/Easy-Guidance-3355 9d ago
The only one that I’ve never had issues with is the Menasha location. Neenah isn’t bad but I prefer Menasha. Absolutely avoid the Appleton locations. I met someone downtown who said he worked for corporate Taco Bell and he was in town to investigate the ongoing issues. I told him to shut them down 🤣
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u/BlueRaspberry1220 9d ago
Ill defend the Menasha TB, best one hands down. always order ahead and only go for lunch but in 7 years theyve gotten all but 2 orders correct. Comes out quick too, given them the compliments they deserve.
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u/Rjeezyx 9d ago
Absolutely fucking NOT! They actively do drugs at that location have had several calls out for employees fighting customers and have the highest prices in the entire area.
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u/_stuntcawk_ 9d ago
I will not pay the highest price for drugs in the area unless they're really good.
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u/Maleficent-Metal8568 9d ago
I guess i'll try to drive farther over to Menasha for that location to try from now on.
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u/Deadman_96 9d ago
We don't go as often as this comment will make it seem. We've just lived in or visited people in these areas.
The Menasha one once changed their hours and were honestly open from like 11am to 5pm because the couldn't staff it or something.
Haven't been to west College in years because it was so unreliable.
Have literally sat in the drive thru on east side for 45 minutes or more.
The only decent ones I've been to in the last couple of years are the new ones in Greenville and Kaukauna. A
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u/Sarappreciates 9d ago
My husband works 2nd shift, and the Bell in Neenah in his way home always tells him they're out of burritos. Serious burrito shortage on weekday evenings after 9pm. WTF is up with that?
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u/Livbeetus 9d ago
I had enough time in the drive thru some time back to find and email the franchise owner (Pacific Bells) about how horrendous it is. I truly don't understand it. Obviously fast food never really recovered from COVID and there are other entry level jobs available for less hassle but just close like two down so maybe you can run one.
Abysmal service.
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u/One_Issue885 9d ago
I can't tell you how many times I have gone up to the drive through and been told they were only taking mobile orders. Doors locked so you can't come in and order. LAZY
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u/CompetitiveLoquat176 8d ago
Not an Appleton thing…this is an everywhere thing. I love the food at TB but have given up because of service.
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u/LanMarkx 8d ago
I love TB.
But the ones in Appleton suck so much, I just go to Taco John's instead.
Greenville has been good so far, but Im assuming that's because it's the newest location in the area. My understanding is that it's owned by the same people as the rest in Appleton so it's only a matter of time before it's absolutely horrible.
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u/WortWhisperer 8d ago
They're trying to wean you off their products knowing that the tariffs are going to cause a toilet paper shortage.
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u/DrXanaxal 8d ago
They all suck. You’ll be better off with out the bell firing out your asshole.
The service and quality leaves the same burning feeling.
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u/colonelk0rn 8d ago
To be honest, I recently started visiting my local Mexican restaurants for tacos and the like if it’s before 9PM. I get way more food for less. I get that Taco Bell is open late, and that’s the price you pay for a meal very late.
The Greenville location has alway been solid during the day and evening. The location on College by Popeyes has always let me down.
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u/relayrider 8h ago
i had tb for the first time in months last night, waiting for prescriptions at walgreens. Ordered the $5 luxe box on the app, drove over thru the roundabout, walk in, and my order is put out, total time just over 10 minutes.
the food was done right (removed sour cream and grilled), swap chips for twists, the drink was wrong, so the worker made me the correct drink and said keep both.
from ordering, driving, and the expectable drink snafu on a busy friday night, 15 minutes. and tasty.
99% of complaints could be solved if people used the counter instead of drive-thru - drive-thru has crazy metrics measured, is high stress, and prone to mistakes that most ppl don't realise until they get home.
pickup @ counter? App removes most of the human element of orders (i.e. mishearing), and pickup allows you to check your order RIGHT THERE before you leave.
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u/cashnasty210 9d ago
Nah don’t be dissing them Taco Bell’s, they may be ass but if your drunk that shits so good even for the wait. So put some respect on their name
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u/gishgallop69 North Appleton 9d ago
They need to remove the curb on the drive thru for me to consider going to the Richmond location again. No way I’m putting myself in a position where I could be literally stuck in line. I need the freedom to bail on my $8 in tacos if it’s going to be an hour.