A friend of a cook at the Maplewood Steak ‘n Shake reported to 40 South that her friend the cook told her the restaurant could be closed “a couple of days, a week, two weeks, maybe even a month.”
She said her friend was told last Wednesday before she got off work that the Steak ‘n Shake would be closing on Friday to install new equipment and would reopen on Monday.
Then she was called at home on Friday, and her manager, “Steve,” told her that they didn’t know how long the closing would be. It could be a couple of days, a week, two weeks, maybe even a month, he didn’t know. She told him that she couldn’t go a month without a paycheck and she needed to know something. He told her he would see if there was an opening somewhere else and he would call her back.
He didn’t call back. She has called him repeatedly and he hasn’t returned her calls, her friend said.
The cook called a friend who works with her to see if she knew anything. Her friend hadn’t even received a call so she called Steve. Steve told her the same thing about the closing and that he was going to St. Peters to work, and thought that maybe other associates could work out there.
The cook also said the week before, when they went to work at 7 p.m. on Monday, a sign on the door said it was closed over-night for cleaning. The same sign appeared the next night. It was the first time she had seen this happen and wondered if there was a problem.
My daughter and grandson live in Maplewood and Steak n Shake has been a great place for us to go, but everytime we went to Maplewood location service got worse and worse and never experienced this at other Steak n Shake locations. Hoping when they reopen there will be lot better management for everyone.
The quality of the service there has been steadily declining over the last several years to the point that my family and I recently made the decision that we would never go back. Perhaps we will give it one more try after the store reopens, we prefer to keep our business and our own neighborhood if at all possible but the service here have gotten so bad that that wasn’t even an option anymore. Hopefully when the story opens it will be a better experience for everyone.
Who owns the franchise?
I feel bad for the employees. They were not treated with respect. Upper management should have communicated what was going on to their employees. It is a safe bet that the majority of their staff lives paycheck to paycheck. It’s a bad look for Stake ‘n Shake and disrespectful way to treat your employees.
That said, this location’s customer service was horrible and the food was mediocre. My opinion is that corporate has notice a decline in their overall food quality and customer service. They selected the worst stores and are using “remodeling” as a way to train a new staff and try to improve their customer’s experience.
Do better Stake ‘n Shake.
I love the food Steak N Shakes offer on their menus. However, in the 25 plus years I have lived in Maplewood, I have seen a decline in the quality and service at that location. The managembt changed often as did the cooks. I am sorry that it is going through tough times. I hope they can turn it around. Maplewood would not be the same without it.