Smashburger - Pompton Plains

The service was terrible. The server clearly wasn't trained to manage the front. She brought us our meals without fries, and I suspect they simply weren't ready. We watched in disappointment as they served several other tables with fries. We saw the server twice, and both times she went to the manager in the kitchen, who put a cup of fries under a heat lamp. The fries were left sitting there while the server continued with her other duties. I have five years of customer service experience and the patience of a saint, but this was beyond frustrating. I told the server I just wanted to remove the fries from the bill and go about my day, and I did so calmly, without raising my voice. The flustered server went to get the manager from the grill area. I tried to explain the situation to him, mentioning that my entire party had finished their meals without fries and we no longer wanted to wait for them. The manager offered us free food and other items, but I eventually asked if he was unable to refund the charge for the fries, and he sadly nodded yes. I wasn't sure if it was a policy issue or if he just felt overwhelmed, but he seemed defeated. I asked what he could get for us, and he mentioned he would have fries ready right away. He placed a cup of fries in front of me and instructed his fellow employees to take the fries over to us. She nodded and proceeded to serve two other orders before finally bringing us the fries. To be fair, the food was excellent, and I can only imagine the fries would have complemented the burger nicely. Regardless of the staffing issues, employees need better training before taking on responsibilities on their own. As someone who frequently leaves reviews on Google, I can confidently say this set the record for the worst service I've ever experienced.

Great food and excellent service! However, please consider upgrading to better-quality plastic cups; mine just broke at the top.

The burger was quite good! The flavors of the sauce and toppings stood out more than the meat itself, but it was still enjoyable. The pickles were excellent, the staff was friendly, and they offer a dairy-free shake that is absolutely delicious. Honestly, it was so good that I couldn't even tell it was dairy-free. I enjoyed it so much I drank it too quickly to take a picture!

I had a terrible experience in the smashburger in Pompton Plains before July 21. I hired an online order at 4 a.m. to be picked up at 4:45 a.m. There were only two things, a burger and a milkshake. I came to the restaurant at 4:41 and expected me to wait a few minutes for my order. I was surprised that the order was ready. When I left, I checked the burger and noticed that it was hardly warm and the entrance on the bag said 4:29, which is when I suspected that the burger was made. I went back to the counter and told her the burger was cold and wanted him to be made new. She called someone, I suspect the manager and told him the same thing. I also said the time was on the bag 4:29, but I didn't pick up my order until 4:45. I told him I didn't want the barely warm burger and that I restored it. He told me he couldn't do this and that it had nothing to do with this burger. I told him that I don't want a cold burger and that I would like to have done it again, and that it shouldn't have been done at 4:29 p.m. and was left to sit to get cold. He told me that it was the policy that food would have to be made 15 before the time, which I do not believe. I just said once again that I didn't want the barely warm burger and wanted him to be made new. He told me, okay, I can do this for you once, but not in the future. I told him not to worry, because I'm never going to order with this terrible customer service and this attitude you gave me. What a terrible experience of such a popular food chain, so I feel like I did something wrong that demands the order at a certain time and if they serve me a barely warm burger, give me an attitude when I asked her nicely to remake it! Unreal!

I've been to smash burger many times at different locations and the food is always spectacular, but in the pompton plains NJ location the customer service was outstanding. James is the best! Also, the Colorado burger is the best burger out there.