The best restaurants serving American food in Riverside Northampton East Midlands

Pretty basic diner. Service was bit slow considering place was virtually empty

My husband and myself went to this restaurant yesterday. We are older people and my husband is 70. Order no 6031 1:22 pm. Positives: Parking was good, restaurant was very empty so plenty of tables and seasoned fries were tasty. Negatives: Staff were extremely unhelpful and lacked any care or customer service. There were at least 3 staff behind the counter, they stood together chatting, as no customers were coming in. We were the only ones there and just a family at another table. The impression was 'overstaffed'. We thought someone could have helped, as they have 'Happy to help' advertising in the area right in front of them. We took a long time to work their unfamiliar machines, our ticket even says 'delayed order'. We visited the till area at least 4 times to ask questions, firstly can we pay by cash, do they serve coffee and twice to ask how to place our order and then to ask for some help. Each time they just pointed at the ordering machines. Finally, to ask if they had any table numbers for the table service, which was offered by the machine. I was told there are no table numbers, they will note where we are sitting and bring the food to us. The tables were not very clean and had crumbs on chairs, we found one which was just ok. When our order was ready a staff member shouted our number from the till. I called back we have ordered table service. The reply was 'we don't do table service'. I was obviously frustrated at my experience, left it a few minutes, and they did not bring our meal over. There was no one in the queue or being served at this time. I asked to speak with the manager privately about the experience. This was done over the counter. The manager listened to my complaint and asked which members of staff I was referring. All 3 female staff members were of a similar height, age, and wore cultural head coverings, and had no name badges. They were all customer facing and were aware of our difficulties. The manager apologized and said it must be a language issue and she would speak to them. The manager was kind and empathetic, which I appreciated, as I was feeling disrespected. I was upset that the staff were laughing at our difficulties as we were older customers. I recommend some enhanced customer service training, as currently those staff would not be able to help customers who have a disability, hidden or physical, or who are unable to operate the machine. This is a lost opportunity for customers from the disabled community who may wish to visit independently and have a positive experience. I suggested management study the CCTV to see how poorly our order was handled. I will add that we regularly use the McDonalds and Burger King machines and also choose sometimes the option to order at the till. These businesses seem to ensure every customer is treated equally and maintain their service levels. Also, table service is offered, even in their busy London restaurants.