ComplaintsforEl Pollo Loco Inc

• Initial Complaint

  03/01/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My husband and I ate at Pollo Loco located at *************************************************************************** on February 25, 2022 and we spent $15.57. The temperature this day was 41 degrees. We ate at the location and could not enjoy our meal because it was SO cold. They was another patron and we ALL (including staff) had to wear our jackets, beanies to be able to eat our meal. We asked staff to turn on the heater and they said they were not allowed to per the owners request. It was a horrible experience which even further made this experience less enjoyable. It was difficult to eat out food not only because of the cold but also knowing the conditions that the staff were working under.

  Business response

  03/11/2022

  Thank you for sharing your recent experience at El Pollo Loco. 

  We appreciate your feedback and have shared it internally with our Franchise Business Director and location's Operation Leaders, who will be looking into improving the atmosphere of the location. We will do everything we can to ensure that our customers and Team member experience the best that El Pollo Loco offers. 

  We look forward to serving you again soon!

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  01/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On January 28, 2022 I made an online order to El Pollo Loco at the * Olympic Blvd and Atlantic Ave establishment. As per usual I got an email minutes later confirming that the location received my order and that it would be ready shortly. However, when I went to go pick up my order, the dive-thru was blocked off and there was a paper taped outside the door stating that the store was closed. Not only did I not get any prior warning for such an event, but I had already been charged $15.31 for a meal wouldn't get.

  Business response

  01/31/2022

  Hello, 

  Thank you for contacting El Pollo Loco regarding your recent experience.

  We are committed to providing customers with the best restaurant experience possible and I have shared your online ordering experience with our restaurant Area Leader. Would you please provide us with the online order number? I want to make sure that we are able to process your refund request. 

  Thank you again for your patience as we work to create a better customer experience within our restaurant. We look forward to hearing from you!     
      
  
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Made a purchase and the cashier charged me twice on an El Pollo Loco giftcard, this has happen a few times over the last 2 months. Was told I would receive a refund in 3 days. Did not receive a refund. Reported the issue 3 times to corporate and never received any refund or any promised communication. The company does not honor their word, took my money, and is not refunding me as promised multiple times by multiple people. I will never purchase an El Pollo Loco giftcard ever. The customer service is awful. I will be lucky if I get half of the value of the giftard from employee mistakes and there is no visibility to verify transactions which is very dishonest. Such a waste. I really like El Pollo Loco otherwise but the giftcard program is a total mess.

  Business response

  01/31/2022

  Hello, 

  Thank you for taking the time to contact El Pollo Loco with your valuable feedback. Please see the below transactions for the gift card ending in 9438. 
  - 12/4/21 for $30.08
  - 12/7/21 for $0.94
  - 12/9/21 for $6.47
  - 12/17/21 for $6.47
  - 12/21/21 for $6.47
  - 1/19/22 for $5.39
  - 1/20/22 for $5.39 
  - 1/27/22 for $6.45
  - 1/30/22 for $14.85

  We see that only 1 transaction was processed for your 1/19/21 visit at the El Pollo Loco located in ***********, **. We are sorry for any confusion, but please feel free to visit www.elpolloloco.com/gift-cards/ to check the Pollo buying power remaining on your Gift Card. Our Team has added $8 in banked rewards to your loyalty account to make up for any confusion. 

  Have a great day! 
  
  

   

  and have added $6 in banked rewards to your Loco Rewards account for the overall inconvenience

   

  Customer response

  01/31/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

  I would also like to say to El Pollo Loco I appreciate their explaination on this matter. After an hour on the phone I was never given any of this information which is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you. Also there is something wrong with the numbers reported, the total of the transactions listed is $82.51 and my current balance is $11.02 from a $100 card. So that's missing $6.47. I appreciate the added rewards money. That makes up for the missing transaction. I wish there was a way for me to see the transactions on the card but it is impossible without alot of hounding on my part. This would have avoided most of my frustration. I don't think I will be buying another gift card, way too much trouble but thank you for responding to my concern.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  El Pollo Loco charged my gift card twice for the same amount. Four calls to corporate office customer service. Each rep took my information and told me the gift card **** will call me back within days, week and *************************** the information from the previous call was never forwarded to the gift card ****. I sent two responses through their website. No response. I tried calling today Monday one week after my last call. The number now says No one is available to take my call.

  Business response

  01/31/2022

  Hello ******, 

  Thank you for taking the time to contact El Pollo Loco. 

  We have looked into the Gift Card ending in **** and see that the balance on the Gift Card is $17.60. The gift card was used on 2 occasion listed below. 

  - 12/13/21 for $16.20 at our ****************************************************************************

  - 12/27/21 for $16.20 at our ****************************************************************************

  Please visit www.elpolloloco.com/gift-cards/ to check the Pollo buying power remaining on your Gift Card. If you have any questions, please feel free reach out. 

  Thank you! 

   

  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/18/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Restaurant info:Pollo Loco **************************************************** ************** On 1/17/2022, I placed an order for curbside pick up using their mobile app. The order was placed at 4:08 pm, then I got a notification that my order was completed. I got there before 4:45pm and found the restaurant closed. I left without any food; yet, they charged my credit card $39.06. The next day, I tried calling the restaurant, but they never pick up the phone. I had to go in person, and they told me it takes, 3 to 5 days for a refund. I was expecting my money back right away since they did not prepare my order. If they were closing early, my order should have been canceled before charging my credit card.

  Business response

  01/19/2022

  Hello *****, 

  Thank you for taking the time to contact us at El Pollo Loco.     
      
  We are incredibly sorry for the overall Curbside experience with our North Hills, ** location. We have begun processing your online order refund, which will take 1-2 business day to ************** your account. For the overall inconvenience, our Team has added $15 in banked rewards to use at your convenience at any participating El Pollo Loco Restaurant. Thank you again for your patience as we work to create a better customer experience within our restaurant.    

  We look forward to serving you again soon!    
      
  Sincerely,    
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/05/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  1/5/2022 @ 6:32pm I went to pick up an online order through the El Pollo Loco app. I prepaid $9.06 on my credit card. On the order page it said thank you, go to the counter to pick up your order No where did it say the store was closed, and that I would have to drive through. When I pulled up at 6:30, found the door locked. I knocked loudly on the door, the 3 employees inside ignored me. There was a sign taped up that said drive through only. Very hungry and now angry, I got in the drive through line. There were about 8 cars in line, plus a couple at the front. After 5 minutes with zero line movement, people began to get out of line and leave. I had paid for my meal, and I was very hungry, so I kept waiting. After 15 minutes not 1 car had moved. By now I am experiencing low blood sugar, and need to eat. I had to get out of line and go somewhere else. I tried to call the store to speak to the manager, no answer. As far as I am concerned they stole my money and I want it back.

  Business response

  01/07/2022

  Thank you for taking the time to contact us at El Pollo Loco.     
      
  We are incredibly sorry for the overall experience with our ********, ** location. We have begun processing your online order refund, which will take 2-3 business days. For the overall inconvenience, our Team has added $10 in banked rewards to use at your convenience at any participating El Pollo Loco Restaurant. Thank you again for your patience as we work to create a better customer experience within our restaurant.

  We look forward to serving you again soon!    

      
  Sincerely,    
  

  
  

  Customer response

  01/07/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  NOTE: This complaint is mainly for the corporate office, or specifically the location at ************************************************** I tried using the tool on the BBB site to add this location, but the form is broken and reports an invalid zip code regardless of what I enter (*****, **********, etc.).COMPLAINT: I have a physical gift card that I tried to use at the El Pollo Loco location at **************************************************. The cashier reported that the account number was "invalid". Calling the phone line to check the balance reported the same thing.It's a $25 gift card, and it has either never been used or only been used once.I contacted El Pollo Loco about this via their Contact Us form on their site. Their first response was this:"Hello, we hope you doing well and thank you for providing us with your 19 digit gift card number. Our records show that the card has a balance of 0,00$, every gift card has a expiration date."I contacted them again and pointed out that the card does not have an expiration date and that because I am in ********** (and the card was purchased in **********), that would be illegal. I also pointed out that the card explicitly states that it retains the unused balance.They responded again, with:"Thanks to the federal Credit CARD Act of 2009, gift certificates and store gift cards can't expire for five years. However, issuers can still charge an "inactivity fee" if the card has not been used within twelve months. This gift card was purchased on Aug 26, 2018."** consumer protection laws for gift cards are stronger than the federal laws, an in ** they can only charge a dormancy fee if the card has a balance under $5, has been dormant over a year, AND the card has a printed disclaimer (10 point font or larger) about the fees and how/when they are assessed.Their story has changed from "invalid" to "expired with $0 balance" to "$0 due to inactivity fees". They cannot or will not provide a transaction history.Thanks

  Business response

  01/05/2022

  Thank you for taking the time to contact El Pollo Loco with your valuable feedback.

  We have looked into the Gift Card ending in **** and see that the balance on the Gift Card is $18.22. The gift card was used at the **********, ** location on 1/15/2019 for $6.78.

  The strip on the back of the card may be worn out or demagnetized. Our Team will be sending a replacement card out this Friday, January 7, 2022 to the address provided to the BBB. For the overall inconvenience, we have added $10 in banked Loco Rewards to your account for use during your next visit. We look forward to serving you again soon!

  Sincerely,
  
  

  
  

  Customer response

  01/05/2022

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In April 29 2021 I let El Pollo Loco know via email that the promotion that I purchase to buy a gift card which included a $10 bonus card did not work. I attempted to use the $10 on multiple occasions at their stores and it did not work. I emailed them again on 5/6/21 to check on it. The issue was not resolved receiving my $10 bonus card.Also, I have the EL Pollo Loco app on my phone and I made some purchases that I attempted to upload on their app that give rewards points. However the app was not working properly. Therefore, I emailed them and no one ever responded to upload my points to my account. The purchase dates and amounts are 7/14/21 & 8/31/21 for $5.39/each purchase.Please restore the $10 card and add the rewards points to my account.Thanks,****

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩