12 Things Customers Say Annoy Them The Most At Texas Roadhouse

According to Texas Roadhouse's own mythos, founder Kent Taylor sketched his vision of the enterprise on a cocktail napkin. No telling if a cocktail was actually involved as well, but all these years on from when the first restaurant opened in 1993 (in Indiana), that scribbled dream has become a successful reality. The chain has over 800 locations in the U.S. and beyond, all staffed with employees and team members known as Roadies. Patrons don't have an official nickname themselves, but at any given moment you can call a fair share of them annoyed.

As much as Texas Roadhouse invites a loyal following with its own, very deliberate vibe, it's also vulnerable to customer dissatisfaction. Honestly, any eatery that numerous, that widespread, and that busy is bound to tick off at least some people. And, those people are bound to take to the internet to voice said grievances. 

These are a dozen pet peeves, problems, and perturbances customers have with Texas Roadhouse. Maybe if you're a TXRH visitor, these are what annoy you as well. Or, maybe you're just an enlightened, elevated soul who transcends such base, earthbound feelings — and likes the honey cinnamon butter too much to care about the bad stuff.

There's been a growing debate about tipping in the service industry. Whether it's the preponderance of tipping requests you get at any coffee shop, the question of whether the restaurant industry should pay staff more in lieu of tips, or those unwritten, between-the-cracks quirks of the tipping culture (such as whether you should add gratuity to a takeout order you pick up). Well, Texas Roadhouse has entered this ring of fire by using, according to customers, some fuzzy, misleading tipping math.

"Texas Roadhouse suggestions are out of control," headlined one Reddit thread, posting a picture where the 15% tip recommendation was not 15% — at least on the pre-tax amount. This irritated another Redditor: "Calculated after tax? F that!" That was followed up by a commenter getting all libertarian: "Yeah, im not going to tip the government."

Granted, this is not an issue exclusive to Texas Roadhouse, as other restaurants have also tried pulling this post-tax-percentage-on-a-pre-tax-amount move. In their assumed defense, they could easily say they're just trying to get better tips for their employees. But, one could also respond by saying they could also pay them better so that pulling a fast one on the customer isn't necessary.

"Don't judge a book by it's cover," they say. Time to retire that cliché and change it to the far more eloquent "don't judge a Texas Roadhouse steak by its grill marks." Sure, they can make a piece of beef look the part, but it's what's going on with the interior that really counts for the meat.

Roadhouse customers have felt like they've gotten a bit duped at times, in this regard. Not a good feeling to engender in people who are holding big, serrated knives. Good thing they pretty much all do their attacking on the internet. "Grill marks are overrated," volleyed a Texas Roadhouse Redditor. A fellow commenter pointed this out as a serial problem with Roadhouse: "Consumers have been tricked by grill marks for years." That's straight-up conspiracy talk right there.

Another patron posting an image of one such obfuscating steak under the headline "Texas roadhouse L" noted: "Couldn't eat this chewy monstrosity ... Outside was deceiving as could be." The follow-up pic of the inside showed something closer to tartare than to medium. Deception accomplished.

It's difficult too argue against the idea that we're a big enough world to support any and all who need a bit of accommodation. And, even though all kinds of progress has been made in the public realm to make sure everyone gets the equitable space we all deserve, there are still issues. Customers of Texas Roadhouse have pointed out some of those issues at the restaurant, in their estimation.

One Redditor described her experience trying to get a table for her family, which included someone in a wheelchair (even after calling ahead to let the restaurant know there would be one). "The waitress lead us to a booth that was clearly not made with people in wheelchairs in mind ... We had not one, but two lead waitresses telling us that they were not able to seat us in different ways." The excuse was that it would be a fire hazard, which seems bogus.

Other commenters were quick to sympathize, and, one other Redditor confirmed this kind of treatment on a visit of their own. "One of the adults was my FIL who was using a cane. They made NO accommodations, we ASKED for a table, they tried to give us 2 booths, that were BACK to BACK! So nice for family togetherness right!?"

If a complaint is lodged and no one of consequence hears it, did it even happen? It probably feels like it didn't to the person complaining, which just exacerbates the frustration. Texas Roadhouses are known for being busy, loud hubs, which may cause some of the disorientation griping customers feel when they just want their voice heard by someone in charge.

"My family went out to texas roadhouse and had several issues w staff being rude," started out one post on Roadhouse Reddit, "so we asked to talk to management and the manager was kind." Okay, seemed to be all good there ... until a higher-up on the chain got involved. This franchisee was allegedly "horrendous" to both the customer and the staff.

Trying to do something about that guy's rudeness, however, proved difficult for the poster: "I wanted to complain about him to higher up, but my online complains seem to just go to him ... how can i complain to this guys boss??" The responses on the thread offered only muddled suggestions into what to actually do in this situation. Understanding the complaint ladder seems tougher than getting a freshly cut steak at Texas Roadhouse.

Yes, it's a Roadie tradition: The coordinated staff line-dance that occurs throughout the night. Even though it essentially brings service to a halt for a moment (to the chagrin of more than a few customers), Texas Roadhouse has no plans to do away with it. And, to be fair, it's a solid strategy in a way: It attempts to put the workers in control of the energy and the atmosphere during busy services. Unfortunately, some customers don't get the tactical art of it.

"Dear Texas Roadhouse. Love the food, but please stop the line dancing." That was one headline on Roadhouse Reddit, followed up in the comments by: "We don't want to see it. Your employees clearly don't want to do it. And, it's in the way when we need to get to the bathroom."

Another Reddit headline: "I hate the goofy a** dance they make the servers do." The accompanying comments to this were quite, um, choice, so we'll refrain from repeating them here. Just know that a fellow Redditor responded with, "Makes me not go at all."

This may be a regional thing, so there is that caveat. For many people in the U.S. of A., when they ask for oil and vinegar with their salad, they expect olive oil. Sometimes, that category of eater makes their way into an establishment called Texas Roadhouse. Here, things are a little different come salad time. You are not getting olive oil with that vinegar. To some, this is completely acceptable. To others, this is nothing less than preposterous.

"Am I crazy or is this normal??" headlined one Roadhouse Redditor, attempting self-awareness. "When asked for my choice of dressing I asked for Oil and Vinegar, which the server did not contest against." But then: "When the salad was brought out I was given a pale yet somewhat see through dressing. Upon tasting it, I was given vegetable oil!!!"

The three exclamation marks only up the drama of the situation. Yet, although a few commenters certainly empathized with the plight, another Redditor considered this perfectly okay: "I've never been given olive oil when ordering oil and vinegar (and they give you the two bottles to put it on yourself). Not in any restaurant." Hey, everyone lives their own truth.

Texas Roadhouse is still one of the places you can get solid entrees for under $20. We have to give it that, especially since such a thing has become increasingly rare at any sit-down restaurant. However, there are plenty of customers who are feeling like the food quality at TXRH has fallen off in recent years. Which, if true, kind of offsets the bargain. You can have all the deals you want, but the food still has to be decent.

One Facebooker and ex-Roadie rued what's become of the chain, in their estimation: "What happened to the quality of Texas Roadhouse? S**t would have never flown like that when I worked there yeeeeears ago." A mildly less profane Redditor seconded that notion: "Has anyone noticed that Texas Roadhouse kinda sucks now?" Commenters did not challenge this.

Another moderator on Roadhouse Reddit shared a microcosm of this frustration from personal experience: "We had to ask 3 times for our water, our app came before anyone had their beer, we had to then wait 10 minutes on silverware so we could eat the apps ... they finally brought us our bread after we ate our meal." Better late than never?

This feels like something once said by the great philosopher-slash-New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra: "Nobody goes there anymore, it's too crowded." This paradox is something all too real for Texas Roadhouse customers annoyed by the long wait times for a table. On the one hand, a busy place is probably a good one. On the other hand, time is the most precious thing we've got. Or, is a bone-in ribeye, actually?

To some customers, it's definitely the former. "It's a 2 hour wait at Texas Roadhouse!" posted one emoji-liberal Facebooker. "That bread ain't that good." Another Facebooker was baffled by the double wait-time he apparently received: "Was called up 20 minutes to be seated. But was left standing up front for 20 more minutes before they took us back to a table."

And, you know Roadhouse Reddit had a few meaty things to say in this regard, like this commenter who titled their thread "Waiting around" while decrying the lobby situation: "Like why are we getting called/texted to come in...just to stand shoulder-to-shoulder in a packed entryway for another 10–20 minutes?? You can barely move, people are trying to squeeze past each other, the host stand is slammed, and it's just a wall of humans waiting to be called again."

Mistakes have been made at Texas Roadhouse. Even Texas Roadhouse admits this. There was the Mexican menu that lasted a whole two weeks, for instance. But, then there are the mess-ups that customers feel like Texas Roadhouse isn't noticing — or at least not doing anything about. Specifically, they're taking issue with the to-go facet of TXRH.

There seem to be problems on the front-end, with just ordering food online. At least there was with one Redditor who posted a pic of a dizzying, mystifying error screen: "Why would removal of basic toppings be unavailable?" Then there are malfunctions in the middle-part of the to-go process as well. A Redditor described an experience with an unhelpful manager when she tried to locate her takeout order: "I had to go outside to the takeout window to find out where it's at or what was going on. Please keep in mind. It's a hundred and thirteen degrees today in las vegas."

And, then there's the final leg of a to-go order, where TXRH seems to also drop the ball at times. According to a Redditor who just wanted a decent meal at the end of a hard week: "Got home and my corn side was missing, half of the rolls I ordered were hard and burnt and one of my steak medallions was completely raw in the middle only the outside was cooked." Yeah, but were the grill marks nice at least?

Nobody wants to see this from a place where they eat, at any point. But, this is especially true when you consider you're paying more for your meal at Texas Roadhouse than before. Granted, there are a great many locations, and a cleanliness issue at one could still mean a dozen others don't have one. Or, it was just one bad moment of restaurant hygiene captured forever on a cell-phone pic. But, all it takes is a moment ... and Reddit.

"Last couple I've been to on business trips have been pretty nasty including bad smells in the entrance, flies, and one had a cockroach," claimed one such Redditor. Other folks on Reddit discussed the low health-grade rating of one Winston-Salem location. "Back in September, it had apparently dropped to 73," informed the lead commenter.

Another commenter responded on the thread: "Looks like they were reinspected at 91.5 Sure they did a super deep clean after their score of 73." However, yet another Redditor caveated that comment: "but even after the 73, they had multiple violations for food safety and sanitation." As mentioned, this was just a single location. Oh, wait, there was this Facebooker commenting on a location in Abilene, Texas: "Did yall not see their health rating??? STOP eating here!"

Granted, this happens everywhere and no restaurant is perfect. Orders will get screwed up every so often. Something to do with that ever-annoying human factor. And, to be fair, the fact that Texas Roadhouse pumps out so many orders for so many people, day in, day out, sets them up for more scrutiny here than usual. (Also, some people think getting the overly greasy Cactus Blossom is an order mess-up on its own.)

A quick browse on the Better Business Bureau's webpage for Texas Roadhouse complaints shows botched orders as the primary source of ire. There was a chicken and ribs order that didn't get ribs, a burnt ribeye steak and a loaded baked potato without bacon bits, a catfish dinner with the wrong potato, and so on.

Even when a voucher was given due to one erroneous order — the aforementioned catfish — using that voucher turned into its own follow-up snafu. According to the customer, a female manager would not redeem the voucher, and two other employees started verbally abusing her, even to the point where racial stuff got involved. Ugly. Wasn't this supposed to just be about the wrong food?

This is a complaint that customers won't be seeing remedied anytime soon. That's directly from the horse's mouth, too. Texas Roadhouse CEO Jerry Morgan maintains that the restaurant's loudness — the number one grievance patrons have with the joint —  isn't going anywhere, and that's a non-negotiable. Taylor even went so far as to repost the Consumer Reports survey that ranked TXRH as the country's noisiest eatery, right on the company's website. He believes the dinner din is part of what makes the brand work.

Not according to some. "I can't go to Texas roadhouse anymore because the music is played so loud," griped one Redditor. "The seating format already makes it loud because it's so open, but add to it the volume of the music and it makes it unbearable." Another Redditor commented that the loud music prevents even basic interaction from happening. "In fact we gave up trying to converse and just sat there staring around the restaurant. Even the kind waitress had to lean close and yell." A Facebooker questioned, not only the volume, but the choice of music. "Too loud? Not loud enough? Too much Shaboozey on their playlist?"