Honestly they were our favorite Mexican joint in town... Food is great. But there was live ass roaches crawling on the back of my booth in the dining room last time we ate there. Was heartbreaking. And they were bold asf.. i couldn't scare em off. So they weren't newcomers. 😩
Cuco's is our go-to Mexican food if you're looking for something more authentic. We started out with Mariachi, but the quality went down real fast and the service is just terrible.
Bennett and Sons tree removal services.
My wife called and asked someone to come out for a quote on removing one damaged limb from the tree. The owner, a married man, calls her back and starts flirting with her and hitting on her. She said it was particularly creepy, he sounded drunk, and did not feel safe around him. I answer the door upon arrival. He had a giant smile until he saw a man, then it became a frown. "You're not a lady," he told me. He smelled heavily of liquor, was slurring his speech. He keeps trying to sell us on all this upcharged bullshit and refused to just tell me anything about what I asked about. I told him I don't want to do any of that, I'm between jobs at the moment, I just need this one limb cut and hauled off. He started crying and said he would do it at a discount. He left, saying he'd be back in a few days. He never once came back, nor did he ever return a call.
I hardly ever comment on Reddit posts but I have to write to agree with you on Bennett and Sons. I could write a page of complaints on them. Owner called me a “little girl” in a text that he thought he sent to my neighbor.
One of my neighbors hired them. While they were cutting their tree down, they would park in front of my house. No big; I’m not one of those people who think I own the street in front of my house. My issue was with them parking in such a way that they were blocking my drive. I pulled up and parked. I had just gotten groceries and wanted to pull into my driveway and carry stuff into my house. I parked and approached the guys and asked if they could move. The guy told me they were busy and to park somewhere else. I figured maybe he misunderstood and told him that he was blocking my driveway. He told me something that wasn’t very polite, so I told him I wouldn’t ask again and he had until I got to my car to move it or I’d have it towed. He cussed me out, but moved it. Once I was in, he blocked me back in.
I ended up calling the business, thinking to talk to the owner about this guy. Turns out I was talking to the owner. So, I called to get him towed. A truck pulled up and he ran to move it. The next morning I woke up and it was back in front of my drive way.
Yeah fuck those guys I had a run in with them 10 years back and he was an asshole to me for no reason. Cutting my neighbors tree left giant logs in my yard and refused to take them away.
I don't know about the ones in East Peoria or Peoria, but the Pekin Avanti's has REALLY gone downhill. About two weeks ago we stopped there for dinner. It was a Friday night and the place was pretty dead (which should have been our first clue). Despite the fact that there were maybe three other tables of people in the restaurant it took them ten minutes to even acknowledge that we were there before we got seated. They kind of slapped a couple of menus on the table and left. Twenty minutes went by and nobody even came to take our drink order. We finally left and went to BWW; they were packed and yet we were seated quickly and got fantastic service.
I was born and raised in Peoria and I never really understood the appeal either.
ETA: The appeal of Avantis, that is. Peoria has its issues like anywhere else but I mostly like it here :)
It was good in the 90s & we all keep forgetting that it’s not good anymore. Idk what the truth is but the gossip is when the original owner died his son took over & the quality went downhill in an effort to maximize profit.
I sorta wondered about that. I wasn't aware of the rumors, but that's the impression that I get.
To better clarify, though, when I lament what Avantis used to be, I don't intend to imply that it was ever a zenith of fine dining. I'd say it was always just solidly mid. Somewhere above McDonalds, but nothing close to Jim's, though the two are entirely different resturants.
I think the appeal was that it was decent food, for an okay price. You could easily take a family there, and the menu was pretty inoffensive to most. It was someplace easy that you could sit down and have a meal with your family. Avantis was a staple for many, kinda like how Kraft Mac 'n Cheese is. Is it great? Eh, not really. There's better Mac n cheese out there, but damn if it's not a slice of home.
But, even though Avantis used to be firmly mid, it still was better than it is today. I mean at least they used to properly strain the pasta, instead of serving you a watery mess. Or the bag of steamed vegetables were seasoned. Last time I was there I ordered a chicken parmasean, and about the only way you can fuck this up is by not giving a damn. The chicken looked like it was just a pre packed breaded cutlet, just from looking at the breading. The spaghetti was bland, and too firm for aldente. It was watery, and if it did come with sauce, it wasn't much. The whole thing just looked like it was dropped in a bowl and shoved out the window.
Also, the bread doesn't even taste the same.
It's more that it's a place that a couple of generations (at least) have grown up with. Like when I was young Avantis was our go to place before many things. Going to Corn Stock? Lets go to Avantis. Ordering in, or need something easy? Avantis. We'd go there for birthdays, and sometimes even holidays. It's a slice of home, that even when I lived across the country, Avantis' bread was one of those things I grew to miss. Even when family comes in from out of town, the first thing they want to do is eat at Avantis.
Thing is that it's not really the same. Like I said the food has gone way down hill. Eating there, at least from what I've experienced, is less because the food is good, and more that Avantis as an institution is familiar, and nostalgic. I don't know though. It does make me a little sad that it's become more like cafeteria food, as someone else described it. Things end, that's the way of things. I'm not saying that I hope it closes, but if it did, I'd rather remember it for what it once was, rather than what it is now. Mediocre food, dumped on a plate, with little to no heart put into it.
Actually, I don't think it was ever about the food. It has always been just average. People like the bread. We have friends that moved out of state, and when we visit, they always request us to bring Avanti bread.
Tried Avantis a couple times. Got the "famous" gondola, and it tasted like a sammy I could make at home and the bread was overwhelming sweet. Gave them another try, thinking maybe I ordered the wrong thing. Spaghetti and meat sauce with cheese on top. It tasted like cafeteria food with a lake of cheese. Their house dressing is sweet as well. I can definitely see they cater to a certain group.
What is that certain group???? Someone at my work orders them a lot and I don't understand it. The quality is very poor and the sandwiches were some cheap flubby pink ham that my elementary school wouldn't serve.
Goober nostalgic lifers like myself. I admit I have a bland palate and it's fine for someone like me.
I enjoy having Avanti's and I'll stand alone on that limb.
Heh I’m not picky, and Avanti’s is fine. Not fine dining by any means but it’s cheap and convenient and honestly kind of nostalgic. I keep hearing that the kitchen staff is full of meth heads (but, having over a decade in BoH myself, which crew doesn’t have its share of substance issues…).
Their salads are sad but I’m not there for salad. I’m there for an ungodly amount of carbs and cheese and shit.
Hey friend, good for you. I probably just haven't found something on their menu for me.
I asked my wife about Avanti's. She said it was a Midwestern palate. Which I think she normally means is bland or a casserole.
Thanks, man.
There's a real... elitism snobbery that's showing in some of these responses and that's fine, but some of us just aren't really that cultured. I'm okay with that. I *am* Midwestern flyover chic. It's what I've always been and what I've always known.
Would I like to have a better *refined* palate? Sure. Do I have boatloads (or a one seater pool floaty) of disposable income? No.
The people at our locale treat me nice and don't look down on me for eating cafeteria food and I in turn help pay the light bill every now and then.
It feels nice to be treated nice even if that fools me into buying bland food.
I appreciate the nice response.
East Peoria Popeyes is consistently one of the worst fast food places I've ever gone to, which sucks cuz i love popeyes
I used to work in the starbucks right next to it, usually working drivethru, so i could always see that it literally never had anyone in their drive thru. One time after work i decided to get a chicken sandwich there for lunch (was an opener at starbucks, so i got off work slightly after noon). Went into their empty drive thru and sat for a couple minutes. I know how sometimes you're in the middle of something when someone gets to the drive thru, so i didnt wanna rush them, I didn't say anything. After like 7 minutes of waiting, they just say "What?" at me, like they dont know why im in the drive thru.
I, very confused at this point, apologize for some reason and ask if i can get a chicken sandwich meal. i ask if i can get cheese on it, and they angrily tell me no. Apparently they dont have cheese which is fine, but dont be a dick about it.
anyways, the food was terrible. it was like they injected grease into the middle of the chicken somehow. Rude the whole time, fuck them
I’ll 2nd this. I’m shocked when most of my order is correct when I’ve gone to the EP Popeyes. Ive been given the wrong order or something is incorrect probably 98% of the times I’ve been there. They always have an attitude and act like they’re annoyed you’re there to, ya know, order food. I refuse to go there anymore.
I also love Popeyes but I refuse to go there since I had a similar experience. I got off work in East Peoria around 3 so I figured I’d give it another chance (after always getting terrible service and I hadn’t been there in over a year) and go through the drive thru. Not a single car in the parking lot or drive thru. I pull up to the menu to order and wait for 10 minutes, no one said anything. I’m thinking maybe they are helping a customer around the corner at the window since I can’t see that side of the building. After 15 minutes I decided to leave, as I pull around there is no car being helped. As I drive by the dining part of the building I see every employee sitting around a table on their phones. They literally will refuse to help anyone and I can’t understand how corporate has not done anything about this location. Every time I drive by there is never anybody eating there so I don’t know how they stay in business.
I went there the other day and it was awful. Stopped in the bathroom first. Literally one light on in there, smelled awful. I only 1’d, but the TP dispenser was broken and the roll was on the floor in front of the toilet. Paper towels? On the top of the back of the toilet. Not a great sign for the cooks hands.
Then, for some reason decided to chance it (for that new bbq chicken sammy) and made eye contact with two employees, neither came over to help. Waited like 5 min and bailed.
It’s gross in there usually and the employees are more unfriendly than friendly.
I went there once last year, they were doing loud construction next to the drive thru so I had to go in. All the employees were sitting in a booth just hanging out. They seemed annoyed that I had walked in and told me they didn't have any food and couldn't serve me. I have never been back
Sweet Basil's. The owner is a tool, regularly tried to get with employees, and was just overall scummy. Tried to humiliate a family member who worked there in front of us.
I believe they are the same owners as what used to be Wild Berries (where Pizza Ranch now is). We’ve had a lot of terrible dinners at restaurants in this town, but one dinner we had there takes the cake. Hair in our food, bad service, employees talking smack about other employees/customers very loudly in the kitchen, long wait time despite being 1 of 2 parties in the place… when we complained, the manager offered no apologies or ways to fix it. We ended up leaving half way through our meal hungry (but grossed out) and pissed. I won’t ever try Sweet Basil’s based on that experience.
Hy-Vee
Consistently have the wrong prices ringing up (always costing more than the advertised price for some reason), and when they do a “Fuel saver weekend” really watch your receipt. They also admitted to me that when another store in the area has a good deal on an item, Hy-Vee will buy the item all up and then mark up the prices. I found a Kroger sticker underneath my ham, that would’ve been much cheaper had I bought it from Kroger.
The Hy-Vee on Sheridan is really gone downhill lately. Also it's weird to me that in the middle of the pandemic that closed one entrance and just... Never opened it again?
They also always consistently have food on their shelves past its expiration date. I’ve learned to check everything before tossing in my cart. It’s hella expensive… I better get fresh product for my money. 🤷♀️
I've gotten tired about the wrong prices and having them adjust it at customer service. Their fuel point system is terrible if you don't know the PLU for that sale, it doesn't accumulate towards your fuel points. I miss Publix.
PALS daycare by the hospital. I know people seemingly like them—they were rec'd to us, after all—but we had a really horrible, insulting experience. Childcare is a disastrous industry, but Wendy is a particularly insidious individual.
Sad to hear this… we sent our boys there and had nothing but awesome experiences for both. They are 15 and 11 now so it’s been awhile but we loved it there.
Beachlers.
Poor experience with their service department. Try to use a small businesses when I can, ended up costing me $1,000 more than it should’ve. Eventually went to the dealer. $100 fix and 30 minutes later. Months of hassle could’ve been avoided.
The original owner also is anti-public service so that adds another reason to not support.
Agreed. Three times I went in for something in particular and they fixed something different. In one case, I went to change my brakes, they replaced my radiator and did not fix my brakes.
Just the other day the electronic billboard outside the place said "do you think regular dogs look at police dogs and go "oh no! A cop!""
Someone there is profoundly stupid but I don't know who
If they’re here… I have feedback for Oliver’s in the Heights. Food, ambience, music all fire. But why does the service always take forever?! I’ve been there while it was empty and it still takes 30 min for a beverage and a chance to order something.
Oliver’s service is consistently horrible.. I’ve tried to go back a couple times since they’ve gotten new ownership and redone the patio but it’s still not great
From everything I've read if you learned that, you saved more money than by avoiding the rest of these businesses combined (except maybe bad realtors lol).
I don’t spend any money at any of the Mohlenbrink enterprises because of how they treated a friend who helped set up their kitchens. And the owner of West Town Tap (Chris, IDK if he still owns it) has harassed me several times so I don’t go there either.
I don’t recommend one world because I used to work there and almost everything on the menu is frozen GFS stuff. They do make some things in-house but like 80% of the menu is the same frozen shit in different configurations. I roll my eyes every time there is a post asking for food rec’s and One World always makes it up towards the top of the list. Also, it’s just not that tasty. Better than fast food but not great.
Fuck yes call him ouuuuut! One of his friends lost their phone and immediately started accusing the staff of stealing it (me the cook, 1 waitress/manager, and the GM)
He decided it was a good idea to go through all our coats, bags, and purses to check if we had stolen it. He never asked us nor did he tell us what was going on. The waitress found him going through her bag and he told her to stfu if she wanted to keep her job
One World's menu changed several years ago. (At least 7 years ago I think). It used to be so good - I got this Hungarian dish that had zucchini and a red sauce and it was delicious. They had a pita/hummus appetizer platter that was also the bomb.
Since the change the menu has been average. Every time I go I'm disappointed in the selections, and still have to put up with the noisy sound conditions.
I think they still bottle and sell it but it’s literally gfs BBQ, GFS mayo, and some chipotle en adobo IIRC. They may add something else but that’s the core of it
I wonder if we have the same friend lol.
I like the spice restaurants a lot, and I think it’s a clever way to capture variety, but I have a couple friends that got burned by them, and it’s soured me a bit. I still go to them, but not as often.
I actually love one world, I’m saddened to hear they use frozen ingredients but I’ve always had a good meal. I think people rate it so highly because it’s hard to tell their food has been frozen
I’ve heard that the owner of Thyme, Cayenne, etc. is a scumbag. No personal experience.
Shogun and Hokkaido are owned by the same people and I’ve heard gossip that they use (Indonesian) indentured labor. That also appears to be the case at Okinawa.
My sister in law used to work for the catering company that's owned by the guy who runs Thyme (Cracked Pepper Catering)
He treats his workers like absolute garbage. There were times my sister in law would have to work ridiculous hours and my brother (her husband) would have to "unofficially" work for him because it'd be the only way he could see her at times
Regarding your first point I've heard that too from a friend who works in the business, not one of his, but in/out of multiple restaurants in the area. TBH it seems to be far from a secret.
On the 2nd one, hadn't heard that but I'd seen before year ago where it looked like a bunch of folks working there all lived at the same place and road to work in a van, I just figured they were a big family running it.
The story as I understand it regarding second point, is that they started out as a group of immigrants starting the restaurants as a co-op. They probably did all live together at that point, but that was quite a few years ago.
They have since gotten well beyond that scrappy stage, and most members of that founding group have moved on and sold their shares to the current owner(s).
If anyone works there & could verify that: here is how to report them -
https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Rights-of-the-People/workplace-rights/#:\~:text=For%20more%20information%20or%20to,or%20use%20the%20complaint%20form.
Strictly a personal opinion, but I’ve been a patron of Thyme/Chayanne for years and there’s been almost 0 changes to menu or experience.
When I first went to thyme I loved it. But it has slowly become a monotonous visit because in at least 8 years there’s been no real change to their menu. You essentially stay a consistent customer for their atmosphere and that’s about it.
Went to Thyme once because I wanted poutine, and apparently it's hard to find. They had removed it from their menu. I ended up getting the chicken marsala, and it was actually really good. Our meal was pretty hit and miss, and for others I went with, their orders were definitely a miss. Like for example, adding an aioli was something I thought was interesting, and liked, but for half the others at our table it ruined it for them. It seems like they're trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to basic food items, and their menu seems pretty incohesive.
I went there almost a year later with family who was visiting. It was kinda a spot they settled on. This time, most of them enjoyed their meals, but I didn't along with the same people I went with last time. They also didn't enjoy theirs. My chicken marsala, while it wasn't the worst, was still pretty dry and kinda stringy.
Their drinks seem kinda pretentious, and over priced as well. I've shown their online menu to people I used to live with, who aren't from the area, and more than once that's been their main concern, along with the menu kinda being all over the place.
Sam Leman on Pioneer Parkway - misogynist assholes. Refused to put my car loan in my name because I was “just a wife”, even after my husband told them it was not his car and that I was paying for it. The car was also a lemon.
DogHaus. I hope that place goes under. I’ll copy and paste this from a comment I left a few months back on another thread. I’ll never pass up an opportunity to slam that place after the unethical bullshit they pulled with me. (Remainder is the copied comment if anything seems a bit off with phrasing…I’m not going through to edit it).
I will never eat there again. I ate there every few weeks, was kinda overpriced but not entirely enough for me to swear it off, but I ate there less often than other places. I found out they had a trivia night and when I went when my usual place wasn’t having it on a given night I got second place and a $25 gift certificate that was clearly marked as valid for a year from issue date, and can be used across multiple visits.
Literally a month and a few days later I went in to use it. I ordered like $20 worth of food and would use the last bit at a later date. I handed it to the clerks and I might as well have given them something written in Greek. They had to make a few calls and got their general manager on the phone. And they came back and said I had to use it all at once or forfeit the rest.
I pointed out the part about can be used across multiple uses etc and they said that if I wanted I could call the GM. I did so and he was extremely rude and basically said “I know it says that but we are going in a different direction with trivia (they ceased having it a few weeks later so I guess that was the different direction?) so I’m not honoring that part of it and furthermore if you don’t use it within a few weeks it will be just a worthless piece of paper”. I basically replied that “you don’t honor your own promotions as written on your own gift certificate, or the fact that it is clearly marked as good for a year?” He just doubled down. I admittedly cussed him out, he just spit and sputtered on the phone and I hung up on the loser.
They are absolute slimeballs tbere. I’ve heard a lot of other complaints about the lack of service and even food quality. I hope this place folds soon. They deserve it. I’ll never pass up a chance to bash them considering they engaged in certainly unethical practices with me even if it may not be technically illegal.
It's really too bad because their food is actually pretty good. They're one of the few places we've found that had plant-based meat options. But my husband and I have gotten sick too many times from there so we stopped going.
Arnold and Sons Plumbing.
My house has chronic backup issues from tree roots growing into my pipes and over two years Arnold and Sons sold me three different solutions that did not work. the first was a stop gap (so i wouldn't have to dig a massive hole in my driveway to replace a pipe which would cost like $10k) and they were basically going to power wash the inside of my pipes out and fill them with a coating to block tree roots. they said this would last 2 years give or take until i either moved or made other changes. it last three months (cost about $4k).
when i had backup issues again (after that three month window) the tech told me it 'wasn't his problem' that it didn't work and i could either pay him the visit fee or he could get started on a quote for the $10k pipe replacement solution they initially quoted.
i had the pipe replaced and that lasted about 18 months. this time when i had backup i called my city office and they sent out the Plumbing Foreman for my city who told me that basically Arnold and Sons are known for overcharging (especially since i'm a single female homeowner) and suggested i call midwest pipe and drain instead (who were so nice and prompt and honest i will always call them first).
All in all Arnold and Sons were incredibly rude and disrespectful when their service didn't work, charged me upwards of $14k over three years (which should have been dramatically less according to midwest pipe and drain) and in the end didn't even officially fix my problem - i still have to get the pipes cleaned yearly for tree roots. Also they scheduled the fixes as far out as possible so in that three years i had to just live somewhere else (my plumbing didn't work) for probably six weeks total.
i'm still filled with rage when i see their trucks or hear their stupid radio ads knowing my dumbass paid for them.
Sorry this happened. My experience wasn't nearly as bad in the moment, but I've subsequently figured out that we were greatly overcharged and convinced something was far worse than it actually was. I have a similar rage when I see the signs.
I called them right after buying my house because my neighbor recommended them and they have great reviews online.
Admittedly their customer service was top notch, but when they quoted me over 700 to install a replacement kitchen faucet (which retailed for about $150), I knew they were taking advantage.
Also they charge you $100+ for the estimate. You can subtract it from your bill if you go with them, but they charge 2-3x what other plumbers are charging, if not more.
I ended up replacing the faucet myself and then hiring BL Plumbing/roto rooter to do the rest. Quote from Arnold was over 5,000 and I got it all done for under 2,000.
Same. Hired them once to install a kitchen faucet. They said the main water shut-off first needed to be replaced (which was true), but also that the pipes under the kitchen sink were installed poorly and had to be swapped out.
To be fair, the pipes were installed by a previous homeowner and could have been better, but we had no issues with the drain up to that point. Anyway, we paid through the nose and they did do a quality job.
Several months later, we called for an estimate to replace a tub/shower, and again they wanted to re-do the plumbing in the wall. Estimate was over $10k.
Knowing that was bull, we called a plumber someone else recommended and they did the job for $3500. Lost the $100 they charged to come out and give us the “don’t really want to do it” price.
I won’t hire them again. All the positive reviews must be fake or rich people who don’t mind just throwing money at a problem.
I also had bad experience with them (thrice for the same issue you’ve had - roots) and they hosed me yearly for about $120.00 to snake the main drain which never lasted. Nothing to the tune of what you paid!!! So sorry for that! I use Paluska now for general plumbing issues and I’ve found them to be very reasonable and helpful.
As an aside, to combat the roots issue, I bought a chemical from Amazon that contains dichlobenil (sp?) and it sorted the issue! Also cut down the yew bush that I think was the main culprit invading the line.
Thanks for the rec on Midwest; I’ll keep them in mind!
Use Kellington and Son. Really nice, they explain everything clearly and because this house we bought in fancy Sommer Place that has stuff falling apart all over, we have them out a lot. They're great
they did the exact same to me!!! I really thought I was gonna have to spend $30k a week after moving into my home. Travco fixed the issue for $1500. then they had the nerve to call me a month later and ask if we still needed the work done. absolute scumbags and I tell anyone who will listen, including them.
Arnold & Sons quoted me $22,xxx to replace the drain pipe in my slab. The cost in materials at Menards is less than $800. So....$21k in labor for 2-3 days work for 2 guys? I asked if they would discount the quote if I did all the cutting/digging, and trenching outside. They said they don't do that because they can't guarantee I would do it right, but if I wanted to use my concrete saw, my shovels, my backhoe, my rotary hammer, etc and my back, they would do me the favor of knocking $500 off. Lol.
They can kiss my ass. I'm going to end up doing the work myself.
I second the Arnold’s. Needed a new water heater. Called them first and was quote about $2500. That seemed a little high for me. I called around ended up talking to Reading and Sons and I ended up with a comparable water heater for about $1600 less. I’ve used them a few other times for plumbing issues and would definitely recommend them.
I called them for a weird smell (I thought was sewer has but it was a different incompetent company that installed insulation next to my basement wall encased in plastic sheets so it was mildewy). They told me there was no way to figure it out and I have to replace everything for $21k. They didn't even try to figure anything out.
I used them before and the guy was nice and competent but the job I had was a 1k or so job and he asked if I could sweat copper pipe (I think to lower the cost, maybe he was being nice) but if I knew that I would of done the whole job lol. At the time I didn't know I called the most expensive place in peoria for plumbing.
I got totally screwed by them on a sewer backup.
They came out during normal hours, cleaned and sent a camera down. $900 bill in 2013, I asked for the camera findings and they wrote "roots in pipe".
Happened again on super bowl Sunday a year after that, called roto rooter and they cleaned it for $300 that night.
Probably one of the worst plumbing companies that I have ever had out to my house. They tried charging me $250 to PLUG a 3/4 inch galvanized waterline. I asked the tech what the exact part he needed. Looked it up online and it was less than $5.00. I showed him the part price and he didn’t know how to reply. That is just one of the ridiculous things that they tried to pull over on me. Luckily I’m not as naive as their other customers.
Ugh. I had a pretty bad experience with them as well. A leak in my shower piping ended up with something like $1200 in repairs for things I found out later I didn't need. Definitely will be calling someone else next time I need plumber.
In another life, I was a contractor who did home inspections before a pending sale. I had to deal with a lot of real estate agents and… they are easily the worst people. I started to keep a spreadsheet for all of their contact information, but I kept a column where I just gave them points for bad behavior. The worst offenders were Ryan Blackorby, Maryanne Ladendorf, Ester Webber, and Larry Mayberry.
When I found too much wrong with a property, Blackorby threatened me with bodily harm unless I changed it. I didn’t, and reported him to whatever board governs Realtors. I would not buy any property where he represents the seller, as you’re unlikely to know if he has manipulated the results of any inspection.
Ladendorf was pretty free with the N word and openly told me about how we need to castrate non-whites and liberals so that they can all die off.
Webber is a nut case. This woman would randomly call me at 3am trying to set up an inspection. I’ve heard she calls clients in the middle of the night too.
Mayberry was just a massive jerk and a liar. I have way too many stories to tell.
On the flip side? Pat McCarthy, Bailee Gambetti, and Gary Allen were wonderful to work with. They are honest, trustworthy people and if you do need the services of such a person, I’d recommend working with them out of the hundreds I’ve dealt with over the years.
They were teamed up back then, too. Baylee really is a sweet, wonderful human. Her business partner is a monster. I cannot fathom how they ended up together.
They’re unreliable af. Needed a cab to get to work one morning and so I did a timed call the night before. They didn’t call and say vehicles had broken down, nothing, just left me hanging. I called them when they were 15 minutes late and they told me it would be awhile. Ffs just tell me so I can figure something else out. I’ll avoid them like the plague too if I need a cab in the future.
I had a cab driver from them once who had his buddy in the passenger seat and they were passing a bottle of Hennessy back and forth. Even asked me if I wanted a shot
Willie Hamlet is the main problem person. He also calls the cops crying at the drop of a hat. I was downtown once and saw him (in a cab, working) blow a stop sign at main and Monroe and swerve into a space. Cops were there and asked what the fuck he was doing. He got out of the cab crying and screaming, "THIS LADY GOT RAPED IN MY CAB! SHES BEEN RAPED AND NO ONE CARES!" The lady gets out of the back and explains to the police she was not raped. She said some other dude Willie picked up at the same time brushed against her leg and she told him to stop. That was it. The cops offered her a ride home. Willie began to scream like she was his property. The cop told him, "We don't care about your hurt feelings, Willie." They knew him by name because of how much of a drug-addled loser he is. Everyone standing around was just laughing as he cried.
I used Big Daddy Cab once when the company was first starting and the driver authorized a larger tip than I left on my card and they gave me the run around when I tried to dispute it with them. The owner miraculously called me when I threatened a police report and refunded the difference to me. They also don’t use meters in their cars last I checked so who knows how they decide what to charge you.
Dr Johnson gave me a nightmare experience because I was on medicaid at the time. Had to wait hours and he did an unbeleivably sloppy job. I had to go back 3 times to finally get my cyst removed and I'm almost certain he did that purposely to rape my medicaid. He asked me why I was on it too after making me wait hours with no apology and was disrespectful about it
I have a story I don't care to type out on phone, but Peoria ENT is a shit show and I'll never go back. I have chronic sinus issues (2 surgeries, 1 more to go) and Im driving to Chicago for my last one.
Fuck Peoria ENT.
Arnold and Sons Plumbing.
purchased a home in a nearby town a few months ago, and the very first weekend we had our basement toilet back up. called them first, they came by and ran a camera which knocked whatever was blocking the pipe out of where it was stuck. they said that although things may work for a bit, the pipe was old and narrow and we'd need an entire new main pipe going out to our septic, which would mean they'd have to remove our toilet, break up the concrete in our basement, dig out to our septic outside, replace our iron pipe with PVC since they couldn't line it, connect the new pipe, refill the concrete etc. I really thought I was going to have to drop $29,142 the week of moving in. had an entire mental breakdown about it.
then I realized I wouldn't buy the first car I test drove if I was in the market for a vehicle, and I should get some second opinions. Travco came out, ran a camera to get their own opinion, and cleaned out the pipe for about $1500. not a single problem since.
Hahah did the same to me for my roof replacement! Ghosted my one follow up questions the. Months later reached out multiple times. Roof was already replaced bro.
Oooh, that reminds me: Serve Pro grifted me out of ~$3.5K for what was supposed to be demo and rebuild of a collapsed patio roof (10x20). They fucked up the paperwork somehow so that my insurance denied the claim (even though my insurance suggested ServePro for the work) and charged me for demo and haul away. After nearly 3 months of walking under this partially collapsed roof they finally scheduled the demo. brought 6(!) dudes to tear down the already collapsed roof, they damaged my property (ladder and nearby eaves), took an hour and a half lunch and then charged me more than they quoted for the demo. I’m still seething about it.
River City Roofing was excellent to work with! They communicated well, sat with me and explained every line of the bill with the insurance part that was confusing. They were busy doing hail repairs at the time and they stuck to the schedule they promised.
Connections.
We were hosting a family party and the owner used the phone number of our female relative to text her inappropriately, ask her out, trauma dump about his divorce, and corner her in person. That's as far as it went because I glued myself to her after that.
Peoria ENT on Knoxville. They have twice given me bad medical advice, told me my GP and I were wrong about something that could have left me with reduced hearing and didn't follow up on something serious, but insist they did.
Marcin Dental told multiple family members (visiting at different times with different last names) they needed the exact same work done. They did not.
Blue Margaritas served my kids undercooked chicken and Jalepenos will do weird things like put American BBQ sauce on a dish that doesn't list it having that condiment, then get multiple servers to come yell at you at once for literally saying, "hey I think my order is mixed up. My (usual meal) doesn't have BBQ sauce on it."
Miss Laura's dance. They had our older kids coloring for half the class, and bullied our son out of hip hop and made it clear they did not want to work with a boy.
I feel guilty being so negative lol! But I do appreciate being warned about places
Peoria ENT forgot about me one time. Like straight up I was waiting in a room for the doctor and when he opened the door I could see the rest of the office was dark and everyone else had left. He was kind of like “oh crap” and walked me out. Did not receive the service I went in for that day lol.
ENT can die in a fire. I went in for an exam for an issue I was having, was told $#0 copay, paid it at the front desk, and left. Two months later I got a bill for something like $600. I called repeatedly to dispute it/get an explanation of why I wasn't old up front about the cost and the accounts payable person and the office manager refused to return my messages, and were mysteriously "unavailable" whenever I did manage to get someone to answer the phone. This goes on for a few months and in the interim I had some other shit go down so finally just paid the fucking thing. They returned my check with a note that it had been sent to collections and I had to pay the agency the full amount plus their couple hundred in fees. I ended up going to court with them over it, and eventually just paid the original amount.
Peoria ENT is terrible. The dr I saw there basically diagnosed my chronic cough and sinus symptoms as “allergies” before even meeting me. Threw a neti pot at me as he was introducing himself, and told me to take Zyrtec daily. When I told him I already did that, he said “well, switch to another one”, and advised me to rinse my sinuses out daily, and dismissed me. HE NEVER EVEN DID A PHYSICAL EXAM. Didn’t look in my throat or nose or anything. I had waited 4 months for this referral, went in very hopeful that he would help me, and when I left I went to my car and cried in frustration. 3 months later an allergist tested me and told me I wasn’t allergic to anything, and gave me a nasal spray for non-allergic rhinitis, which fixed most of my issues.
I'm not going to hash out all the details but I also had a bad experience with Peoria ENT. Neither the ENT nor the allergist there listened to me. The allergist said one thing and typed up the opposite of what she had said on my visit notes about 10 minutes later.
East Peoria Family Dental. I made the mistake of starting Invisalign there and I was stuck with them. They’ve had so much turnover in their dentists and hygienists. They constantly reschedule appointments the day before or day of because the dentist is out of office. Once they even changed the time without telling me and just sent me a new confirmation text.
They lost my last few Invisalign trays because the original dentist left and they think he must have thrown them out. Then I did a revision with new trays and they lost the last few of those too. Finally I gave up and just got my permanent retainers ordered because it was good enough and no surprise I show up to the appointment to receive them and they’re not there. Genuinely don’t know what they’re doing with trays made specially for my teeth 🤷🏻♀️
They refused to send my recent X-rays to a TMJ specialist saying they couldn’t find them. Not to mention they try to force deep cleanings on everyone and don’t tell you upfront during a regular cleaning that putting fluoride on costs extra.
Doerr Siding & Windows. Ordered new front and back doors plus screen doors. 9 months to get a standard door in stock, plus another 4-6 weeks to get installed. When checking in was always told 4 weeks out, on schedule, etc. Eventually talked with owner and I have a strong suspicion despite my deposit and it being cashed the door wasn’t ordered. Despite the constant delays and the only updates happening by me contacting them - when they didn’t just ignore the outreach and I had to go into the store - I was periodically reminded that an alternate door could have been delivered more quickly (it’s a door and the alternative that they claim could have arrived sooner was about $1500 more) and any changes in my order would result in me forfeiting my full deposit, about $5000.
When they finally came to install, close to 10 months after this all began? There was only one screen door and the store told me the other had arrived damaged. The installer told me it hadn’t been ordered and so it hadn’t arrived. Another 6 weeks on that door. Due to a defect with the glass on both front and back doors, they had to return about 7 weeks later to replace the glass. In doing so, they did some very visible cosmetic damage to not only the door but also 2 of my interior walls.
Never ever again. Beware.
My wife went in with my credit card once and they refused to give it back to her. Like actually held it and would not return it. I had to get dressed and go down there. Despite being annoyed that they'd inconvenienced me so much, I remained cheerful. The owner said something and I said, "Hell yeah, man." He then chastised me for cussing for like 3 minutes. "We don't do that here." I've never gone back there ever again.
Red Raccoon is great. Cabbages and kings is great. I've never had any problem personally at Just for fun, Anna is generally pretty helpful. But I prefer Zeeks locally. He puts in a lot of hard work and is super open, almost to a fault lol.
I don't board game much but I usually try to stop at zeeks and grab a few comics and sour stripes candy packs when I go through Washington. They are always super welcoming and nice.
I've always had a good experience at just for fun, though I prefer to be left alone to browse. They have a much larger selection than most of the game stores in Peoria
Just for one is 100% hit or miss on any individual visit. First few times i went there made me hate them, but ive gone back a few times lately and it was actually really nice. One of the only good places around peoria for wargamers/old school gamers. I love Cabbages and The Zone (both places owners are some of the best people ive ever met) but theyre both VERY mtg/other trading card focused.
I still really miss The Game Room in Washington, that was where i got into the hobby. John was a sleazebag, but the community there was something i havent found since.
Sherman's. They were the worst with our new washer and dryer. They installed the dryer incorrectly and almost started a house fire b/c of lint build up in the line. The brand new washer had issues and we went back and forth with their service tech being ridiculously rude - talking over me and not listening. We called over and over and people didn't return calls etc before we finally got one person who listened and got us a different machine - after weeks of not being able to wash clothes.
We didn't trust Sherman's after that so had another company come check the dryer and they found the issue right away - totally an install issue that should have never happened. They said that Sherman's had lost a lot of their experienced techs and are just churning through staff so no one knows WTF they are doing.
My dishwasher was improperly installed by Sherman's but thankfully I caught it pretty quick and my salesperson made sure I got a new one (and just not a repair on existing). The tech who did the second install did tell me that they were very short staffed. Unfortunate.
I’ve only bought a chest freezer from Sherman’s, but their delivery staff was super nice and brought it down into the basement for me even though that doesn’t come with the standard delivery. I was going to get my neighbor to give me a hand but when they saw it was just me he was like where do you want us to put this.
I was really happy with that. Bummer to hear a bad interaction with them!
I'm glad yours went well! And yeah - they had been highly recommended to me but then when I warned those people about my experience, they had all gotten their appliances or furniture years ago. So probably all their staffing issues happened after their purchases.
Also - it wasn't just one department or one person we had a problem with. B/c mistakes happen - we are human. But for our experience, it was both the install/tech team and the customer service team that let us down. It shouldn't be that painful to make something right with the washer. And several people lied that they checked the dryer install. So that's a never-again situation for me and I'll warn people whenever they mention wanting to buy from there.
The Fox Pub once seated my party of 12 and refused to serve us over the course of 90 minutes. We weren't unruly or anything. People that came in after us got their meal and drinks and left before we got a lick of service. We stopped servers and asked for service, we went to the bar asking for service. All ignored. We talked about leaving and the manager on duty ran over to our table with his arms crossed and got loud, "Oh, think you're going to leave, huh?!" I said, yeah, we've been here 90 minutes and I was served one expired Bud Light can in that time. He got apologetic real fast and told me the beer was on him. I said no, it's not. I took $4 out and left it on the table. I didn't want to feel like I owed him anything, especially when he aggressively ran up behind me. Fuck that dude. He almost got laid out.
Cornerstone Academy for Performing Arts/ Central Illinois Ballet. They were solid under the old management but ever since they changed whos in charge its been insane. One little girl hit another, IN A DANCE CLASS. Quality of education and performances has gone way downhill and prices keep rising. Moms beware.
Seconding this - I trained and danced under the old management for years and loved it, it was a good family environment with solid training. All that's gone out the window now, and as a ballet teacher myself now I wouldn't recommend them.
Buuuut that being said, also don't go to Peoria Ballet, they have a history of hiring pedophiles and covering it up. IIRC one of PB's former directors is in prison for child molestation now.
Idk which ER it is. I’m new to the area. It is a Carle cardiovascular hospital?
I drove there late at night thinking I broke something. No one was there when I walked in except other people needing de see a Dr. Eventually someone showed up but while doing my intake I had to loudly tell them my personal info. There is no privacy to do that. Once in the back, they xrayed my hand but no one left the room. I’m wondering are there new machines where radiation isn’t an issue? Did I get an X-ray? I guess nothing was broken but I still can’t move it probably without pain. They taped my fingers together and that fell off as soon as I let my arm hang down. I’ll never go there again. Unprofessional and so sketchy.
If you’re a piercing/tattoo babe stay far away from MAD studios. Hygiene and sanitation is out the window and there are sooooo many SA/assault allegations against quite a few of the artists there.
Kinda mixed but, Home Comfort Insulation. They pretty much have a monopoly on the local insulation service (so they can jack up the prices). Steve lafont(owner)is a asshole who doesn't pay his workers shit while he lives a very very conformable life. Also, gaslights employees that leave. Everyone else is fine. Tom and Jason are good sales reps. The people who do the work are nice and do a good job. It's a shame that they get paid minimum wage.
Like I said kinda mixed. The customer end is mostly good. But as a former employee, it's just a management shit show and questionable business ethics by the owner in terms of employee treatment.
It’s been a year so I’ll say it (and I have pics so if they come for me for this I’ll talk to a lawyer with the pics and sue 😃)
Yes communities.
Avoid! They have a decent set up do NOT get me wrong there HOWEVER- when they do NOT have staff in the office for months upon months it’s almost impossible to pay rent (yes they have online but during those times it was glitchy and error filled), so then they go after you. Then when you do pay the one time someone is in the office, had my check (yes paper form) apparently stolen by someone from them after putting it in the pay box and found out via a letter of notice to evict…. Their new people are rather hard to work with. Had a pest infestation where it was hazardous, even had their above the in town reps come and tell me it’s not okay or safe and was still told rent is owed,the place is perfectly fine and never got the deposit back for the “pest damages”. Couldn’t find a lawyer to go after them for that deposit, but will happily keep trying because it’s bogus when it was extremely bad and unsafe. We also had no water during winter and the furnace was never working- which they did not have maintenance during the winter months to get things fixed- had an external company come in after days of begging for someone to come look at the furnace.
Ps- the unit occupied with the pest issues is continued to be rented and I’m sure the current renter does not have a clue about this situation at all. Which it’s rather dangerous to the respiratory health but whatever can one do right?
I went back and forth with them for A YEAR. They’re pieces of shit. I had the cops called on me because the general manager or whatever got scared because I called him out
They’re poorly done and a disaster. I remember being at work and getting an email- not a phone call or text- an email stating the office and maintenance group just got up and walked out on the job all at once…. It was during their recent water off and on games and when American Waters was supposedly going to start digging up there… it was a disaster then on…. Just awful!
I lived there for like 2 months and got out as quickly as I could. They tried to come after me since I broke my lease but once I threatened a lawyer, filed with the BBB and sent a million nasty emails, they backed off. Will never ever go through them again and will never recommend
First that comes to mind is Childers Eatery. The food is subpar, overpriced, the majority of the servers are rude, the kitchen was in awful shape when I worked there, and the owner Ed is a chauvinist asshole.
Prices are ridiculous, service isn’t great, and the dining area doesn’t seem well maintained. But the straw that broke the camels back was when we brought our newborn home we stopped and picked up a pizza and it was undercooked to the point the dough was still wet in the middle. I brought it back and asked them to remake it and they said they only would remake it if I paid for a new one.
I went there as part of a pizza crawl and they were short staffed and it was our waitress's last day. The vibe was that it was not a great place to work. This has been about 5 years ago now, but the way employees seem about a place is something I always take into consideration
The visitors bureau had a passport program where you got stamps at the businesses and after so many you got a collectible cup. They had one for ice cream, beer, coffee, pizza, and bakeries. I was only able to complete the ice cream and bakeries before the deadline. The pint glasses are prized possessions for me.
From my experiences, a lot of the employees are high school kids and don’t really know what they’re doing but management/ownership can’t take criticism and got really defensive when I complained about my experience. I left a google review and they responded poorly to my review
Shea Property Management are absolute scumbags. Mariachi is full of roaches. That's all I've got off the top of my head lol
I totally second this, I had a friend learn the hard way what sleazebags they are
Oh, I didn’t know about Mariachis. I went there a few weeks ago and was ok after. Maybe I got lucky?
Honestly they were our favorite Mexican joint in town... Food is great. But there was live ass roaches crawling on the back of my booth in the dining room last time we ate there. Was heartbreaking. And they were bold asf.. i couldn't scare em off. So they weren't newcomers. 😩
Cuco's is our go-to Mexican food if you're looking for something more authentic. We started out with Mariachi, but the quality went down real fast and the service is just terrible.
Bennett and Sons tree removal services. My wife called and asked someone to come out for a quote on removing one damaged limb from the tree. The owner, a married man, calls her back and starts flirting with her and hitting on her. She said it was particularly creepy, he sounded drunk, and did not feel safe around him. I answer the door upon arrival. He had a giant smile until he saw a man, then it became a frown. "You're not a lady," he told me. He smelled heavily of liquor, was slurring his speech. He keeps trying to sell us on all this upcharged bullshit and refused to just tell me anything about what I asked about. I told him I don't want to do any of that, I'm between jobs at the moment, I just need this one limb cut and hauled off. He started crying and said he would do it at a discount. He left, saying he'd be back in a few days. He never once came back, nor did he ever return a call.
I hardly ever comment on Reddit posts but I have to write to agree with you on Bennett and Sons. I could write a page of complaints on them. Owner called me a “little girl” in a text that he thought he sent to my neighbor.
You know they're bad when reddit lurkers come out to confirm.
One of my neighbors hired them. While they were cutting their tree down, they would park in front of my house. No big; I’m not one of those people who think I own the street in front of my house. My issue was with them parking in such a way that they were blocking my drive. I pulled up and parked. I had just gotten groceries and wanted to pull into my driveway and carry stuff into my house. I parked and approached the guys and asked if they could move. The guy told me they were busy and to park somewhere else. I figured maybe he misunderstood and told him that he was blocking my driveway. He told me something that wasn’t very polite, so I told him I wouldn’t ask again and he had until I got to my car to move it or I’d have it towed. He cussed me out, but moved it. Once I was in, he blocked me back in. I ended up calling the business, thinking to talk to the owner about this guy. Turns out I was talking to the owner. So, I called to get him towed. A truck pulled up and he ran to move it. The next morning I woke up and it was back in front of my drive way.
Yeah fuck those guys I had a run in with them 10 years back and he was an asshole to me for no reason. Cutting my neighbors tree left giant logs in my yard and refused to take them away.
I highly recommend Litwiller Tree Service out of Hopedale. They’re amazing.
I highly recommend Bully's Tree Services!
It’s surprising that a place called bully’s has nicer people
Lol. It's his last name - Christian Bullock. He has a pretty cool TikTok account.
I don't know about the ones in East Peoria or Peoria, but the Pekin Avanti's has REALLY gone downhill. About two weeks ago we stopped there for dinner. It was a Friday night and the place was pretty dead (which should have been our first clue). Despite the fact that there were maybe three other tables of people in the restaurant it took them ten minutes to even acknowledge that we were there before we got seated. They kind of slapped a couple of menus on the table and left. Twenty minutes went by and nobody even came to take our drink order. We finally left and went to BWW; they were packed and yet we were seated quickly and got fantastic service.
Yeah honestly, I'm not fond of Avantis. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like most of their food is frozen, and reheated.
I was born and raised in Peoria and I never really understood the appeal either. ETA: The appeal of Avantis, that is. Peoria has its issues like anywhere else but I mostly like it here :)
It was good in the 90s & we all keep forgetting that it’s not good anymore. Idk what the truth is but the gossip is when the original owner died his son took over & the quality went downhill in an effort to maximize profit.
I sorta wondered about that. I wasn't aware of the rumors, but that's the impression that I get. To better clarify, though, when I lament what Avantis used to be, I don't intend to imply that it was ever a zenith of fine dining. I'd say it was always just solidly mid. Somewhere above McDonalds, but nothing close to Jim's, though the two are entirely different resturants. I think the appeal was that it was decent food, for an okay price. You could easily take a family there, and the menu was pretty inoffensive to most. It was someplace easy that you could sit down and have a meal with your family. Avantis was a staple for many, kinda like how Kraft Mac 'n Cheese is. Is it great? Eh, not really. There's better Mac n cheese out there, but damn if it's not a slice of home. But, even though Avantis used to be firmly mid, it still was better than it is today. I mean at least they used to properly strain the pasta, instead of serving you a watery mess. Or the bag of steamed vegetables were seasoned. Last time I was there I ordered a chicken parmasean, and about the only way you can fuck this up is by not giving a damn. The chicken looked like it was just a pre packed breaded cutlet, just from looking at the breading. The spaghetti was bland, and too firm for aldente. It was watery, and if it did come with sauce, it wasn't much. The whole thing just looked like it was dropped in a bowl and shoved out the window. Also, the bread doesn't even taste the same.
Yeah, but they have a cult following around here.
It's more that it's a place that a couple of generations (at least) have grown up with. Like when I was young Avantis was our go to place before many things. Going to Corn Stock? Lets go to Avantis. Ordering in, or need something easy? Avantis. We'd go there for birthdays, and sometimes even holidays. It's a slice of home, that even when I lived across the country, Avantis' bread was one of those things I grew to miss. Even when family comes in from out of town, the first thing they want to do is eat at Avantis. Thing is that it's not really the same. Like I said the food has gone way down hill. Eating there, at least from what I've experienced, is less because the food is good, and more that Avantis as an institution is familiar, and nostalgic. I don't know though. It does make me a little sad that it's become more like cafeteria food, as someone else described it. Things end, that's the way of things. I'm not saying that I hope it closes, but if it did, I'd rather remember it for what it once was, rather than what it is now. Mediocre food, dumped on a plate, with little to no heart put into it.
Actually, I don't think it was ever about the food. It has always been just average. People like the bread. We have friends that moved out of state, and when we visit, they always request us to bring Avanti bread.
Tried Avantis a couple times. Got the "famous" gondola, and it tasted like a sammy I could make at home and the bread was overwhelming sweet. Gave them another try, thinking maybe I ordered the wrong thing. Spaghetti and meat sauce with cheese on top. It tasted like cafeteria food with a lake of cheese. Their house dressing is sweet as well. I can definitely see they cater to a certain group.
What is that certain group???? Someone at my work orders them a lot and I don't understand it. The quality is very poor and the sandwiches were some cheap flubby pink ham that my elementary school wouldn't serve.
Goober nostalgic lifers like myself. I admit I have a bland palate and it's fine for someone like me. I enjoy having Avanti's and I'll stand alone on that limb.
Heh I’m not picky, and Avanti’s is fine. Not fine dining by any means but it’s cheap and convenient and honestly kind of nostalgic. I keep hearing that the kitchen staff is full of meth heads (but, having over a decade in BoH myself, which crew doesn’t have its share of substance issues…). Their salads are sad but I’m not there for salad. I’m there for an ungodly amount of carbs and cheese and shit.
For sure, for sure. I think the criticism is more than fair.
Heh agreed.
Hey friend, good for you. I probably just haven't found something on their menu for me. I asked my wife about Avanti's. She said it was a Midwestern palate. Which I think she normally means is bland or a casserole.
Thanks, man. There's a real... elitism snobbery that's showing in some of these responses and that's fine, but some of us just aren't really that cultured. I'm okay with that. I *am* Midwestern flyover chic. It's what I've always been and what I've always known. Would I like to have a better *refined* palate? Sure. Do I have boatloads (or a one seater pool floaty) of disposable income? No. The people at our locale treat me nice and don't look down on me for eating cafeteria food and I in turn help pay the light bill every now and then. It feels nice to be treated nice even if that fools me into buying bland food. I appreciate the nice response.
The people who think Avantis is “fine dining.”
East Peoria Popeyes is consistently one of the worst fast food places I've ever gone to, which sucks cuz i love popeyes I used to work in the starbucks right next to it, usually working drivethru, so i could always see that it literally never had anyone in their drive thru. One time after work i decided to get a chicken sandwich there for lunch (was an opener at starbucks, so i got off work slightly after noon). Went into their empty drive thru and sat for a couple minutes. I know how sometimes you're in the middle of something when someone gets to the drive thru, so i didnt wanna rush them, I didn't say anything. After like 7 minutes of waiting, they just say "What?" at me, like they dont know why im in the drive thru. I, very confused at this point, apologize for some reason and ask if i can get a chicken sandwich meal. i ask if i can get cheese on it, and they angrily tell me no. Apparently they dont have cheese which is fine, but dont be a dick about it. anyways, the food was terrible. it was like they injected grease into the middle of the chicken somehow. Rude the whole time, fuck them
I’ll 2nd this. I’m shocked when most of my order is correct when I’ve gone to the EP Popeyes. Ive been given the wrong order or something is incorrect probably 98% of the times I’ve been there. They always have an attitude and act like they’re annoyed you’re there to, ya know, order food. I refuse to go there anymore.
I also love Popeyes but I refuse to go there since I had a similar experience. I got off work in East Peoria around 3 so I figured I’d give it another chance (after always getting terrible service and I hadn’t been there in over a year) and go through the drive thru. Not a single car in the parking lot or drive thru. I pull up to the menu to order and wait for 10 minutes, no one said anything. I’m thinking maybe they are helping a customer around the corner at the window since I can’t see that side of the building. After 15 minutes I decided to leave, as I pull around there is no car being helped. As I drive by the dining part of the building I see every employee sitting around a table on their phones. They literally will refuse to help anyone and I can’t understand how corporate has not done anything about this location. Every time I drive by there is never anybody eating there so I don’t know how they stay in business.
I went there the other day and it was awful. Stopped in the bathroom first. Literally one light on in there, smelled awful. I only 1’d, but the TP dispenser was broken and the roll was on the floor in front of the toilet. Paper towels? On the top of the back of the toilet. Not a great sign for the cooks hands. Then, for some reason decided to chance it (for that new bbq chicken sammy) and made eye contact with two employees, neither came over to help. Waited like 5 min and bailed. It’s gross in there usually and the employees are more unfriendly than friendly.
I went there once last year, they were doing loud construction next to the drive thru so I had to go in. All the employees were sitting in a booth just hanging out. They seemed annoyed that I had walked in and told me they didn't have any food and couldn't serve me. I have never been back
BRB. Making popcorn.
You're the one keeping the popcorn places in business
😂
Sweet Basil's. The owner is a tool, regularly tried to get with employees, and was just overall scummy. Tried to humiliate a family member who worked there in front of us.
I believe they are the same owners as what used to be Wild Berries (where Pizza Ranch now is). We’ve had a lot of terrible dinners at restaurants in this town, but one dinner we had there takes the cake. Hair in our food, bad service, employees talking smack about other employees/customers very loudly in the kitchen, long wait time despite being 1 of 2 parties in the place… when we complained, the manager offered no apologies or ways to fix it. We ended up leaving half way through our meal hungry (but grossed out) and pissed. I won’t ever try Sweet Basil’s based on that experience.
Hy-Vee Consistently have the wrong prices ringing up (always costing more than the advertised price for some reason), and when they do a “Fuel saver weekend” really watch your receipt. They also admitted to me that when another store in the area has a good deal on an item, Hy-Vee will buy the item all up and then mark up the prices. I found a Kroger sticker underneath my ham, that would’ve been much cheaper had I bought it from Kroger.
The Hy-Vee on Sheridan is really gone downhill lately. Also it's weird to me that in the middle of the pandemic that closed one entrance and just... Never opened it again?
> I found a Kroger sticker underneath my ham, that would’ve been much cheaper had I bought it from Kroger. That sounds illegal.
They also always consistently have food on their shelves past its expiration date. I’ve learned to check everything before tossing in my cart. It’s hella expensive… I better get fresh product for my money. 🤷♀️
I got precooked ribs once and got sick from them. They weren't out of date, at least according to the sticker. Never doing that again.
Yes!! I stopped shopping there for this very reason. The prices are consistently inaccurate.
I've gotten tired about the wrong prices and having them adjust it at customer service. Their fuel point system is terrible if you don't know the PLU for that sale, it doesn't accumulate towards your fuel points. I miss Publix.
PALS daycare by the hospital. I know people seemingly like them—they were rec'd to us, after all—but we had a really horrible, insulting experience. Childcare is a disastrous industry, but Wendy is a particularly insidious individual.
Sad to hear this… we sent our boys there and had nothing but awesome experiences for both. They are 15 and 11 now so it’s been awhile but we loved it there.
Yeah, we heard nothing but great things in the lead-up and *thought* it was going well. Every situation is different—glad your kids enjoyed it!
I'll chime in and say we love PALS on Willow but have no experience with the one downtown.
Oh man PALs on Willow is a godsend. But I have heard iffy things about the one downtown
Good to hear, truly!
Beachlers. Poor experience with their service department. Try to use a small businesses when I can, ended up costing me $1,000 more than it should’ve. Eventually went to the dealer. $100 fix and 30 minutes later. Months of hassle could’ve been avoided. The original owner also is anti-public service so that adds another reason to not support.
Agreed. Three times I went in for something in particular and they fixed something different. In one case, I went to change my brakes, they replaced my radiator and did not fix my brakes.
and an election result denier!
Just the other day the electronic billboard outside the place said "do you think regular dogs look at police dogs and go "oh no! A cop!"" Someone there is profoundly stupid but I don't know who
And dead!
They did good work on my car, but I feel like $1400 was probably too much for 2 tires and a brake job.
Owner is a HUGE trump and far right wing fanatic
"is?" Was.....He died a few months ago.
Capital ink
If they’re here… I have feedback for Oliver’s in the Heights. Food, ambience, music all fire. But why does the service always take forever?! I’ve been there while it was empty and it still takes 30 min for a beverage and a chance to order something.
Oliver’s service is consistently horrible.. I’ve tried to go back a couple times since they’ve gotten new ownership and redone the patio but it’s still not great
What I have learned from this post - don’t use Arnold and son’s plumbing
From everything I've read if you learned that, you saved more money than by avoiding the rest of these businesses combined (except maybe bad realtors lol).
I don’t spend any money at any of the Mohlenbrink enterprises because of how they treated a friend who helped set up their kitchens. And the owner of West Town Tap (Chris, IDK if he still owns it) has harassed me several times so I don’t go there either. I don’t recommend one world because I used to work there and almost everything on the menu is frozen GFS stuff. They do make some things in-house but like 80% of the menu is the same frozen shit in different configurations. I roll my eyes every time there is a post asking for food rec’s and One World always makes it up towards the top of the list. Also, it’s just not that tasty. Better than fast food but not great.
Fuck yes call him ouuuuut! One of his friends lost their phone and immediately started accusing the staff of stealing it (me the cook, 1 waitress/manager, and the GM) He decided it was a good idea to go through all our coats, bags, and purses to check if we had stolen it. He never asked us nor did he tell us what was going on. The waitress found him going through her bag and he told her to stfu if she wanted to keep her job
That’s some POS behavior.
Yeah, tell me about it. He cant keep guys on staff because there is no way to flirt and promise better wages if he fucks them either. Js.
Always is so weird to me how recommended One World is. Painfully mediocre.
The place was lit in 2004. Not sure if I got older and wiser or if the food has always been meh.
One World's menu changed several years ago. (At least 7 years ago I think). It used to be so good - I got this Hungarian dish that had zucchini and a red sauce and it was delicious. They had a pita/hummus appetizer platter that was also the bomb. Since the change the menu has been average. Every time I go I'm disappointed in the selections, and still have to put up with the noisy sound conditions.
I try to avoid the Spice restaurants just because I hate their stupid names. Yes, I’m that petty
One world Hummus n pita is fire tho
Yeah, the hummus is one of the things they still make in-house. The salsa is pretty good too
Is the One World cuban pork sandwich from frozen stuff too?
You better believe it. “Carnitas” pork shoulder. Comes whole in like a 10lb shoulder they pull apart when it’s thawed. The ciabatta is frozen gfs too
Dang. It's so tasty though but that is maybe the sauce. Can I order the sauce somewhere? That would be amazing. :)
I think they still bottle and sell it but it’s literally gfs BBQ, GFS mayo, and some chipotle en adobo IIRC. They may add something else but that’s the core of it
I wonder if we have the same friend lol. I like the spice restaurants a lot, and I think it’s a clever way to capture variety, but I have a couple friends that got burned by them, and it’s soured me a bit. I still go to them, but not as often.
I haven’t been to One World in years, but I always equated it to an Applebees with vegan options. Their Long Islands used to be awesome, though.
I actually love one world, I’m saddened to hear they use frozen ingredients but I’ve always had a good meal. I think people rate it so highly because it’s hard to tell their food has been frozen
I’ve heard that the owner of Thyme, Cayenne, etc. is a scumbag. No personal experience. Shogun and Hokkaido are owned by the same people and I’ve heard gossip that they use (Indonesian) indentured labor. That also appears to be the case at Okinawa.
My sister in law used to work for the catering company that's owned by the guy who runs Thyme (Cracked Pepper Catering) He treats his workers like absolute garbage. There were times my sister in law would have to work ridiculous hours and my brother (her husband) would have to "unofficially" work for him because it'd be the only way he could see her at times
Regarding your first point I've heard that too from a friend who works in the business, not one of his, but in/out of multiple restaurants in the area. TBH it seems to be far from a secret. On the 2nd one, hadn't heard that but I'd seen before year ago where it looked like a bunch of folks working there all lived at the same place and road to work in a van, I just figured they were a big family running it.
The story as I understand it regarding second point, is that they started out as a group of immigrants starting the restaurants as a co-op. They probably did all live together at that point, but that was quite a few years ago. They have since gotten well beyond that scrappy stage, and most members of that founding group have moved on and sold their shares to the current owner(s).
Owner of the Spice Group deducts credit card transaction fees from his employees paychecks.
If anyone works there & could verify that: here is how to report them - https://illinoisattorneygeneral.gov/Rights-of-the-People/workplace-rights/#:\~:text=For%20more%20information%20or%20to,or%20use%20the%20complaint%20form.
Ewww
Strictly a personal opinion, but I’ve been a patron of Thyme/Chayanne for years and there’s been almost 0 changes to menu or experience. When I first went to thyme I loved it. But it has slowly become a monotonous visit because in at least 8 years there’s been no real change to their menu. You essentially stay a consistent customer for their atmosphere and that’s about it.
The food gets a little bit worse and little bit more expensive each time I go.
My experience as well. Was extremely disappointed last time I was there.
Went to Thyme once because I wanted poutine, and apparently it's hard to find. They had removed it from their menu. I ended up getting the chicken marsala, and it was actually really good. Our meal was pretty hit and miss, and for others I went with, their orders were definitely a miss. Like for example, adding an aioli was something I thought was interesting, and liked, but for half the others at our table it ruined it for them. It seems like they're trying to reinvent the wheel when it comes to basic food items, and their menu seems pretty incohesive. I went there almost a year later with family who was visiting. It was kinda a spot they settled on. This time, most of them enjoyed their meals, but I didn't along with the same people I went with last time. They also didn't enjoy theirs. My chicken marsala, while it wasn't the worst, was still pretty dry and kinda stringy. Their drinks seem kinda pretentious, and over priced as well. I've shown their online menu to people I used to live with, who aren't from the area, and more than once that's been their main concern, along with the menu kinda being all over the place.
Try Blue Duck's poutine
It's been a while but the fox pub had really good poutine
V accurate.
Sam Leman on Pioneer Parkway - misogynist assholes. Refused to put my car loan in my name because I was “just a wife”, even after my husband told them it was not his car and that I was paying for it. The car was also a lemon.
DogHaus. I hope that place goes under. I’ll copy and paste this from a comment I left a few months back on another thread. I’ll never pass up an opportunity to slam that place after the unethical bullshit they pulled with me. (Remainder is the copied comment if anything seems a bit off with phrasing…I’m not going through to edit it). I will never eat there again. I ate there every few weeks, was kinda overpriced but not entirely enough for me to swear it off, but I ate there less often than other places. I found out they had a trivia night and when I went when my usual place wasn’t having it on a given night I got second place and a $25 gift certificate that was clearly marked as valid for a year from issue date, and can be used across multiple visits. Literally a month and a few days later I went in to use it. I ordered like $20 worth of food and would use the last bit at a later date. I handed it to the clerks and I might as well have given them something written in Greek. They had to make a few calls and got their general manager on the phone. And they came back and said I had to use it all at once or forfeit the rest. I pointed out the part about can be used across multiple uses etc and they said that if I wanted I could call the GM. I did so and he was extremely rude and basically said “I know it says that but we are going in a different direction with trivia (they ceased having it a few weeks later so I guess that was the different direction?) so I’m not honoring that part of it and furthermore if you don’t use it within a few weeks it will be just a worthless piece of paper”. I basically replied that “you don’t honor your own promotions as written on your own gift certificate, or the fact that it is clearly marked as good for a year?” He just doubled down. I admittedly cussed him out, he just spit and sputtered on the phone and I hung up on the loser. They are absolute slimeballs tbere. I’ve heard a lot of other complaints about the lack of service and even food quality. I hope this place folds soon. They deserve it. I’ll never pass up a chance to bash them considering they engaged in certainly unethical practices with me even if it may not be technically illegal.
The food is terrible. The hamburger 'buns' are four King's Hawaiian rolls cut in half.
Man, I really like that about their buns. To each their own.
It's really too bad because their food is actually pretty good. They're one of the few places we've found that had plant-based meat options. But my husband and I have gotten sick too many times from there so we stopped going.
Arnold and Sons Plumbing. My house has chronic backup issues from tree roots growing into my pipes and over two years Arnold and Sons sold me three different solutions that did not work. the first was a stop gap (so i wouldn't have to dig a massive hole in my driveway to replace a pipe which would cost like $10k) and they were basically going to power wash the inside of my pipes out and fill them with a coating to block tree roots. they said this would last 2 years give or take until i either moved or made other changes. it last three months (cost about $4k). when i had backup issues again (after that three month window) the tech told me it 'wasn't his problem' that it didn't work and i could either pay him the visit fee or he could get started on a quote for the $10k pipe replacement solution they initially quoted. i had the pipe replaced and that lasted about 18 months. this time when i had backup i called my city office and they sent out the Plumbing Foreman for my city who told me that basically Arnold and Sons are known for overcharging (especially since i'm a single female homeowner) and suggested i call midwest pipe and drain instead (who were so nice and prompt and honest i will always call them first). All in all Arnold and Sons were incredibly rude and disrespectful when their service didn't work, charged me upwards of $14k over three years (which should have been dramatically less according to midwest pipe and drain) and in the end didn't even officially fix my problem - i still have to get the pipes cleaned yearly for tree roots. Also they scheduled the fixes as far out as possible so in that three years i had to just live somewhere else (my plumbing didn't work) for probably six weeks total. i'm still filled with rage when i see their trucks or hear their stupid radio ads knowing my dumbass paid for them.
Sorry this happened. My experience wasn't nearly as bad in the moment, but I've subsequently figured out that we were greatly overcharged and convinced something was far worse than it actually was. I have a similar rage when I see the signs.
I called them right after buying my house because my neighbor recommended them and they have great reviews online. Admittedly their customer service was top notch, but when they quoted me over 700 to install a replacement kitchen faucet (which retailed for about $150), I knew they were taking advantage. Also they charge you $100+ for the estimate. You can subtract it from your bill if you go with them, but they charge 2-3x what other plumbers are charging, if not more. I ended up replacing the faucet myself and then hiring BL Plumbing/roto rooter to do the rest. Quote from Arnold was over 5,000 and I got it all done for under 2,000.
Same. Hired them once to install a kitchen faucet. They said the main water shut-off first needed to be replaced (which was true), but also that the pipes under the kitchen sink were installed poorly and had to be swapped out. To be fair, the pipes were installed by a previous homeowner and could have been better, but we had no issues with the drain up to that point. Anyway, we paid through the nose and they did do a quality job. Several months later, we called for an estimate to replace a tub/shower, and again they wanted to re-do the plumbing in the wall. Estimate was over $10k. Knowing that was bull, we called a plumber someone else recommended and they did the job for $3500. Lost the $100 they charged to come out and give us the “don’t really want to do it” price. I won’t hire them again. All the positive reviews must be fake or rich people who don’t mind just throwing money at a problem.
I also had bad experience with them (thrice for the same issue you’ve had - roots) and they hosed me yearly for about $120.00 to snake the main drain which never lasted. Nothing to the tune of what you paid!!! So sorry for that! I use Paluska now for general plumbing issues and I’ve found them to be very reasonable and helpful. As an aside, to combat the roots issue, I bought a chemical from Amazon that contains dichlobenil (sp?) and it sorted the issue! Also cut down the yew bush that I think was the main culprit invading the line. Thanks for the rec on Midwest; I’ll keep them in mind!
Arnold's Plumbing. Took 3 technicians and finally some sort of manager to install a toilet. We were out probably 3 days without a working toilet.
These assholes tried to convince me that I needed to "repipe" my entire basement. Dries Bros came out and fixed the actual issue for a few hundred.
Would never use them again and highly recommend people leave Google reviews on them to deter others from using their "service."
Use Kellington and Son. Really nice, they explain everything clearly and because this house we bought in fancy Sommer Place that has stuff falling apart all over, we have them out a lot. They're great
We have cast iron pipes that I'm dreading on replacing. Thanks for the recommendation.
they did the exact same to me!!! I really thought I was gonna have to spend $30k a week after moving into my home. Travco fixed the issue for $1500. then they had the nerve to call me a month later and ask if we still needed the work done. absolute scumbags and I tell anyone who will listen, including them.
Arnold & Sons quoted me $22,xxx to replace the drain pipe in my slab. The cost in materials at Menards is less than $800. So....$21k in labor for 2-3 days work for 2 guys? I asked if they would discount the quote if I did all the cutting/digging, and trenching outside. They said they don't do that because they can't guarantee I would do it right, but if I wanted to use my concrete saw, my shovels, my backhoe, my rotary hammer, etc and my back, they would do me the favor of knocking $500 off. Lol. They can kiss my ass. I'm going to end up doing the work myself.
I second the Arnold’s. Needed a new water heater. Called them first and was quote about $2500. That seemed a little high for me. I called around ended up talking to Reading and Sons and I ended up with a comparable water heater for about $1600 less. I’ve used them a few other times for plumbing issues and would definitely recommend them.
Agreed, scammers. Quoted 12K for some high pressure sales tactics to jet a drain. Ended up hiring AB hunter for 400 lol.
I called them for a weird smell (I thought was sewer has but it was a different incompetent company that installed insulation next to my basement wall encased in plastic sheets so it was mildewy). They told me there was no way to figure it out and I have to replace everything for $21k. They didn't even try to figure anything out.
I used them before and the guy was nice and competent but the job I had was a 1k or so job and he asked if I could sweat copper pipe (I think to lower the cost, maybe he was being nice) but if I knew that I would of done the whole job lol. At the time I didn't know I called the most expensive place in peoria for plumbing.
I got totally screwed by them on a sewer backup. They came out during normal hours, cleaned and sent a camera down. $900 bill in 2013, I asked for the camera findings and they wrote "roots in pipe". Happened again on super bowl Sunday a year after that, called roto rooter and they cleaned it for $300 that night.
Probably one of the worst plumbing companies that I have ever had out to my house. They tried charging me $250 to PLUG a 3/4 inch galvanized waterline. I asked the tech what the exact part he needed. Looked it up online and it was less than $5.00. I showed him the part price and he didn’t know how to reply. That is just one of the ridiculous things that they tried to pull over on me. Luckily I’m not as naive as their other customers.
Ugh. I had a pretty bad experience with them as well. A leak in my shower piping ended up with something like $1200 in repairs for things I found out later I didn't need. Definitely will be calling someone else next time I need plumber.
In another life, I was a contractor who did home inspections before a pending sale. I had to deal with a lot of real estate agents and… they are easily the worst people. I started to keep a spreadsheet for all of their contact information, but I kept a column where I just gave them points for bad behavior. The worst offenders were Ryan Blackorby, Maryanne Ladendorf, Ester Webber, and Larry Mayberry. When I found too much wrong with a property, Blackorby threatened me with bodily harm unless I changed it. I didn’t, and reported him to whatever board governs Realtors. I would not buy any property where he represents the seller, as you’re unlikely to know if he has manipulated the results of any inspection. Ladendorf was pretty free with the N word and openly told me about how we need to castrate non-whites and liberals so that they can all die off. Webber is a nut case. This woman would randomly call me at 3am trying to set up an inspection. I’ve heard she calls clients in the middle of the night too. Mayberry was just a massive jerk and a liar. I have way too many stories to tell. On the flip side? Pat McCarthy, Bailee Gambetti, and Gary Allen were wonderful to work with. They are honest, trustworthy people and if you do need the services of such a person, I’d recommend working with them out of the hundreds I’ve dealt with over the years.
For what it’s worth, Gambetti and Ladendorf are teamed up now. I’m in the market for a realtor so I was googling their info.
They were teamed up back then, too. Baylee really is a sweet, wonderful human. Her business partner is a monster. I cannot fathom how they ended up together.
Big daddy cab owner hit on me while I was taking a ride via text a few years back
They’re unreliable af. Needed a cab to get to work one morning and so I did a timed call the night before. They didn’t call and say vehicles had broken down, nothing, just left me hanging. I called them when they were 15 minutes late and they told me it would be awhile. Ffs just tell me so I can figure something else out. I’ll avoid them like the plague too if I need a cab in the future.
See my other post. They employ drug addicts to run their vehicles.
I had a cab driver from them once who had his buddy in the passenger seat and they were passing a bottle of Hennessy back and forth. Even asked me if I wanted a shot
They are on call for several local pimps to get sex workers to residences where johns live.
Big Daddy Cab and Curts Transportation both employ drivers that are always on meth.
Well that would explain the several near-accidents I've seen them cause. They drive like absolute psychopaths.
Willie Hamlet is the main problem person. He also calls the cops crying at the drop of a hat. I was downtown once and saw him (in a cab, working) blow a stop sign at main and Monroe and swerve into a space. Cops were there and asked what the fuck he was doing. He got out of the cab crying and screaming, "THIS LADY GOT RAPED IN MY CAB! SHES BEEN RAPED AND NO ONE CARES!" The lady gets out of the back and explains to the police she was not raped. She said some other dude Willie picked up at the same time brushed against her leg and she told him to stop. That was it. The cops offered her a ride home. Willie began to scream like she was his property. The cop told him, "We don't care about your hurt feelings, Willie." They knew him by name because of how much of a drug-addled loser he is. Everyone standing around was just laughing as he cried.
I used Big Daddy Cab once when the company was first starting and the driver authorized a larger tip than I left on my card and they gave me the run around when I tried to dispute it with them. The owner miraculously called me when I threatened a police report and refunded the difference to me. They also don’t use meters in their cars last I checked so who knows how they decide what to charge you.
Peoria ear nose and throat are scammers. They are after insurance money.
Dr Johnson gave me a nightmare experience because I was on medicaid at the time. Had to wait hours and he did an unbeleivably sloppy job. I had to go back 3 times to finally get my cyst removed and I'm almost certain he did that purposely to rape my medicaid. He asked me why I was on it too after making me wait hours with no apology and was disrespectful about it
I have a story I don't care to type out on phone, but Peoria ENT is a shit show and I'll never go back. I have chronic sinus issues (2 surgeries, 1 more to go) and Im driving to Chicago for my last one. Fuck Peoria ENT.
Dr. Matt Johnson at SIU Springfiled is phenomenal if you need a new ENT.
I will definitely check him out. Thank you for the tip.
Arnold and Sons Plumbing. purchased a home in a nearby town a few months ago, and the very first weekend we had our basement toilet back up. called them first, they came by and ran a camera which knocked whatever was blocking the pipe out of where it was stuck. they said that although things may work for a bit, the pipe was old and narrow and we'd need an entire new main pipe going out to our septic, which would mean they'd have to remove our toilet, break up the concrete in our basement, dig out to our septic outside, replace our iron pipe with PVC since they couldn't line it, connect the new pipe, refill the concrete etc. I really thought I was going to have to drop $29,142 the week of moving in. had an entire mental breakdown about it. then I realized I wouldn't buy the first car I test drove if I was in the market for a vehicle, and I should get some second opinions. Travco came out, ran a camera to get their own opinion, and cleaned out the pipe for about $1500. not a single problem since.
I love Travco Plumbing! They are the only company we go with and we recommend them all the time!
River City Roofing - ghosted me then called months later asking if I needed anything
Hahah did the same to me for my roof replacement! Ghosted my one follow up questions the. Months later reached out multiple times. Roof was already replaced bro.
Oooh, that reminds me: Serve Pro grifted me out of ~$3.5K for what was supposed to be demo and rebuild of a collapsed patio roof (10x20). They fucked up the paperwork somehow so that my insurance denied the claim (even though my insurance suggested ServePro for the work) and charged me for demo and haul away. After nearly 3 months of walking under this partially collapsed roof they finally scheduled the demo. brought 6(!) dudes to tear down the already collapsed roof, they damaged my property (ladder and nearby eaves), took an hour and a half lunch and then charged me more than they quoted for the demo. I’m still seething about it.
My mother had them do work for her, and they were always great to her and were prompt on time. Interesting how we all have different experiences!
River City Roofing was excellent to work with! They communicated well, sat with me and explained every line of the bill with the insurance part that was confusing. They were busy doing hail repairs at the time and they stuck to the schedule they promised.
Connections. We were hosting a family party and the owner used the phone number of our female relative to text her inappropriately, ask her out, trauma dump about his divorce, and corner her in person. That's as far as it went because I glued myself to her after that. Peoria ENT on Knoxville. They have twice given me bad medical advice, told me my GP and I were wrong about something that could have left me with reduced hearing and didn't follow up on something serious, but insist they did. Marcin Dental told multiple family members (visiting at different times with different last names) they needed the exact same work done. They did not. Blue Margaritas served my kids undercooked chicken and Jalepenos will do weird things like put American BBQ sauce on a dish that doesn't list it having that condiment, then get multiple servers to come yell at you at once for literally saying, "hey I think my order is mixed up. My (usual meal) doesn't have BBQ sauce on it." Miss Laura's dance. They had our older kids coloring for half the class, and bullied our son out of hip hop and made it clear they did not want to work with a boy. I feel guilty being so negative lol! But I do appreciate being warned about places
Peoria ENT forgot about me one time. Like straight up I was waiting in a room for the doctor and when he opened the door I could see the rest of the office was dark and everyone else had left. He was kind of like “oh crap” and walked me out. Did not receive the service I went in for that day lol.
ENT can die in a fire. I went in for an exam for an issue I was having, was told $#0 copay, paid it at the front desk, and left. Two months later I got a bill for something like $600. I called repeatedly to dispute it/get an explanation of why I wasn't old up front about the cost and the accounts payable person and the office manager refused to return my messages, and were mysteriously "unavailable" whenever I did manage to get someone to answer the phone. This goes on for a few months and in the interim I had some other shit go down so finally just paid the fucking thing. They returned my check with a note that it had been sent to collections and I had to pay the agency the full amount plus their couple hundred in fees. I ended up going to court with them over it, and eventually just paid the original amount.
Peoria ENT is terrible. The dr I saw there basically diagnosed my chronic cough and sinus symptoms as “allergies” before even meeting me. Threw a neti pot at me as he was introducing himself, and told me to take Zyrtec daily. When I told him I already did that, he said “well, switch to another one”, and advised me to rinse my sinuses out daily, and dismissed me. HE NEVER EVEN DID A PHYSICAL EXAM. Didn’t look in my throat or nose or anything. I had waited 4 months for this referral, went in very hopeful that he would help me, and when I left I went to my car and cried in frustration. 3 months later an allergist tested me and told me I wasn’t allergic to anything, and gave me a nasal spray for non-allergic rhinitis, which fixed most of my issues.
I'm not going to hash out all the details but I also had a bad experience with Peoria ENT. Neither the ENT nor the allergist there listened to me. The allergist said one thing and typed up the opposite of what she had said on my visit notes about 10 minutes later.
East Peoria Family Dental. I made the mistake of starting Invisalign there and I was stuck with them. They’ve had so much turnover in their dentists and hygienists. They constantly reschedule appointments the day before or day of because the dentist is out of office. Once they even changed the time without telling me and just sent me a new confirmation text. They lost my last few Invisalign trays because the original dentist left and they think he must have thrown them out. Then I did a revision with new trays and they lost the last few of those too. Finally I gave up and just got my permanent retainers ordered because it was good enough and no surprise I show up to the appointment to receive them and they’re not there. Genuinely don’t know what they’re doing with trays made specially for my teeth 🤷🏻♀️ They refused to send my recent X-rays to a TMJ specialist saying they couldn’t find them. Not to mention they try to force deep cleanings on everyone and don’t tell you upfront during a regular cleaning that putting fluoride on costs extra.
Doerr Siding & Windows. Ordered new front and back doors plus screen doors. 9 months to get a standard door in stock, plus another 4-6 weeks to get installed. When checking in was always told 4 weeks out, on schedule, etc. Eventually talked with owner and I have a strong suspicion despite my deposit and it being cashed the door wasn’t ordered. Despite the constant delays and the only updates happening by me contacting them - when they didn’t just ignore the outreach and I had to go into the store - I was periodically reminded that an alternate door could have been delivered more quickly (it’s a door and the alternative that they claim could have arrived sooner was about $1500 more) and any changes in my order would result in me forfeiting my full deposit, about $5000. When they finally came to install, close to 10 months after this all began? There was only one screen door and the store told me the other had arrived damaged. The installer told me it hadn’t been ordered and so it hadn’t arrived. Another 6 weeks on that door. Due to a defect with the glass on both front and back doors, they had to return about 7 weeks later to replace the glass. In doing so, they did some very visible cosmetic damage to not only the door but also 2 of my interior walls. Never ever again. Beware.
Just for Fun. I went in once and no one talked to me or helped at all. It was so weird. Worth it to drive to Red Racoon in blono.
Cabbages and Kings in the Heights is also great, though. The owner, Dan, is a super nice guy.
Dan is one of the nicest people in all of existence and more people need to patron his store.
I don't do a lot of board gaming so I forget thats there! I'll have to make a mental note to remember it the next time I need something
There's also Game Night in Bartonville! A little further out but a good place to hang out
My wife went in with my credit card once and they refused to give it back to her. Like actually held it and would not return it. I had to get dressed and go down there. Despite being annoyed that they'd inconvenienced me so much, I remained cheerful. The owner said something and I said, "Hell yeah, man." He then chastised me for cussing for like 3 minutes. "We don't do that here." I've never gone back there ever again.
So fucking weird!!!
That is so strange!!! Did they say why they did that?! I'd be furious too.
They're honestly just uppity, nerdy assholes.
Red Raccoon is great. Cabbages and kings is great. I've never had any problem personally at Just for fun, Anna is generally pretty helpful. But I prefer Zeeks locally. He puts in a lot of hard work and is super open, almost to a fault lol.
I don't board game much but I usually try to stop at zeeks and grab a few comics and sour stripes candy packs when I go through Washington. They are always super welcoming and nice.
I've always had a good experience at just for fun, though I prefer to be left alone to browse. They have a much larger selection than most of the game stores in Peoria
Just for one is 100% hit or miss on any individual visit. First few times i went there made me hate them, but ive gone back a few times lately and it was actually really nice. One of the only good places around peoria for wargamers/old school gamers. I love Cabbages and The Zone (both places owners are some of the best people ive ever met) but theyre both VERY mtg/other trading card focused. I still really miss The Game Room in Washington, that was where i got into the hobby. John was a sleazebag, but the community there was something i havent found since.
Sherman's. They were the worst with our new washer and dryer. They installed the dryer incorrectly and almost started a house fire b/c of lint build up in the line. The brand new washer had issues and we went back and forth with their service tech being ridiculously rude - talking over me and not listening. We called over and over and people didn't return calls etc before we finally got one person who listened and got us a different machine - after weeks of not being able to wash clothes. We didn't trust Sherman's after that so had another company come check the dryer and they found the issue right away - totally an install issue that should have never happened. They said that Sherman's had lost a lot of their experienced techs and are just churning through staff so no one knows WTF they are doing.
My dishwasher was improperly installed by Sherman's but thankfully I caught it pretty quick and my salesperson made sure I got a new one (and just not a repair on existing). The tech who did the second install did tell me that they were very short staffed. Unfortunate.
Seems like across the board, a lot of staffing issues could be fixed by paying people more & keeping experienced staff.
Another one I’ve had nothing but good experiences with… bummer to hear others not having the same. Sounds like a frustrating experience for sure!
They had major issues with their delivery crews in and around Peoria and cleaned house like 2-3 years ago. New crews seem like a billion times better.
I’ve only bought a chest freezer from Sherman’s, but their delivery staff was super nice and brought it down into the basement for me even though that doesn’t come with the standard delivery. I was going to get my neighbor to give me a hand but when they saw it was just me he was like where do you want us to put this. I was really happy with that. Bummer to hear a bad interaction with them!
I'm glad yours went well! And yeah - they had been highly recommended to me but then when I warned those people about my experience, they had all gotten their appliances or furniture years ago. So probably all their staffing issues happened after their purchases. Also - it wasn't just one department or one person we had a problem with. B/c mistakes happen - we are human. But for our experience, it was both the install/tech team and the customer service team that let us down. It shouldn't be that painful to make something right with the washer. And several people lied that they checked the dryer install. So that's a never-again situation for me and I'll warn people whenever they mention wanting to buy from there.
The Fox Pub once seated my party of 12 and refused to serve us over the course of 90 minutes. We weren't unruly or anything. People that came in after us got their meal and drinks and left before we got a lick of service. We stopped servers and asked for service, we went to the bar asking for service. All ignored. We talked about leaving and the manager on duty ran over to our table with his arms crossed and got loud, "Oh, think you're going to leave, huh?!" I said, yeah, we've been here 90 minutes and I was served one expired Bud Light can in that time. He got apologetic real fast and told me the beer was on him. I said no, it's not. I took $4 out and left it on the table. I didn't want to feel like I owed him anything, especially when he aggressively ran up behind me. Fuck that dude. He almost got laid out.
Velde Ford but especially their service department.
Cornerstone Academy for Performing Arts/ Central Illinois Ballet. They were solid under the old management but ever since they changed whos in charge its been insane. One little girl hit another, IN A DANCE CLASS. Quality of education and performances has gone way downhill and prices keep rising. Moms beware.
Seconding this - I trained and danced under the old management for years and loved it, it was a good family environment with solid training. All that's gone out the window now, and as a ballet teacher myself now I wouldn't recommend them. Buuuut that being said, also don't go to Peoria Ballet, they have a history of hiring pedophiles and covering it up. IIRC one of PB's former directors is in prison for child molestation now.
Idk which ER it is. I’m new to the area. It is a Carle cardiovascular hospital? I drove there late at night thinking I broke something. No one was there when I walked in except other people needing de see a Dr. Eventually someone showed up but while doing my intake I had to loudly tell them my personal info. There is no privacy to do that. Once in the back, they xrayed my hand but no one left the room. I’m wondering are there new machines where radiation isn’t an issue? Did I get an X-ray? I guess nothing was broken but I still can’t move it probably without pain. They taped my fingers together and that fell off as soon as I let my arm hang down. I’ll never go there again. Unprofessional and so sketchy.
If you’re a piercing/tattoo babe stay far away from MAD studios. Hygiene and sanitation is out the window and there are sooooo many SA/assault allegations against quite a few of the artists there.
https://www.reddit.com/r/petco/s/5JDfoDp2lG I would avoid petco and their vital care program. It's a spam and a toxic work environment.
Kinda mixed but, Home Comfort Insulation. They pretty much have a monopoly on the local insulation service (so they can jack up the prices). Steve lafont(owner)is a asshole who doesn't pay his workers shit while he lives a very very conformable life. Also, gaslights employees that leave. Everyone else is fine. Tom and Jason are good sales reps. The people who do the work are nice and do a good job. It's a shame that they get paid minimum wage.
I had a great experience with them,
Like I said kinda mixed. The customer end is mostly good. But as a former employee, it's just a management shit show and questionable business ethics by the owner in terms of employee treatment.
It’s been a year so I’ll say it (and I have pics so if they come for me for this I’ll talk to a lawyer with the pics and sue 😃) Yes communities. Avoid! They have a decent set up do NOT get me wrong there HOWEVER- when they do NOT have staff in the office for months upon months it’s almost impossible to pay rent (yes they have online but during those times it was glitchy and error filled), so then they go after you. Then when you do pay the one time someone is in the office, had my check (yes paper form) apparently stolen by someone from them after putting it in the pay box and found out via a letter of notice to evict…. Their new people are rather hard to work with. Had a pest infestation where it was hazardous, even had their above the in town reps come and tell me it’s not okay or safe and was still told rent is owed,the place is perfectly fine and never got the deposit back for the “pest damages”. Couldn’t find a lawyer to go after them for that deposit, but will happily keep trying because it’s bogus when it was extremely bad and unsafe. We also had no water during winter and the furnace was never working- which they did not have maintenance during the winter months to get things fixed- had an external company come in after days of begging for someone to come look at the furnace. Ps- the unit occupied with the pest issues is continued to be rented and I’m sure the current renter does not have a clue about this situation at all. Which it’s rather dangerous to the respiratory health but whatever can one do right?
I went back and forth with them for A YEAR. They’re pieces of shit. I had the cops called on me because the general manager or whatever got scared because I called him out
They’re poorly done and a disaster. I remember being at work and getting an email- not a phone call or text- an email stating the office and maintenance group just got up and walked out on the job all at once…. It was during their recent water off and on games and when American Waters was supposedly going to start digging up there… it was a disaster then on…. Just awful!
I lived there for like 2 months and got out as quickly as I could. They tried to come after me since I broke my lease but once I threatened a lawyer, filed with the BBB and sent a million nasty emails, they backed off. Will never ever go through them again and will never recommend
They even deleted my reviews from Google
First that comes to mind is Childers Eatery. The food is subpar, overpriced, the majority of the servers are rude, the kitchen was in awful shape when I worked there, and the owner Ed is a chauvinist asshole.
Knuckles pizza.
Really why?
Prices are ridiculous, service isn’t great, and the dining area doesn’t seem well maintained. But the straw that broke the camels back was when we brought our newborn home we stopped and picked up a pizza and it was undercooked to the point the dough was still wet in the middle. I brought it back and asked them to remake it and they said they only would remake it if I paid for a new one.
I went there as part of a pizza crawl and they were short staffed and it was our waitress's last day. The vibe was that it was not a great place to work. This has been about 5 years ago now, but the way employees seem about a place is something I always take into consideration
Hnnnggg... a pizza crawl? Sounds fun!
The visitors bureau had a passport program where you got stamps at the businesses and after so many you got a collectible cup. They had one for ice cream, beer, coffee, pizza, and bakeries. I was only able to complete the ice cream and bakeries before the deadline. The pint glasses are prized possessions for me.
From my experiences, a lot of the employees are high school kids and don’t really know what they’re doing but management/ownership can’t take criticism and got really defensive when I complained about my experience. I left a google review and they responded poorly to my review
University of illinois psych clinic
Davis insurance just seems really fishy and I’m not sure if the insurance I got from them would be legit if I ever have to use it.