7 Frequent Customer Complaints About Popeyes

There are quite a few popular chicken fast food chains out there, so you'll have no trouble finding a location when you're in the mood for poultry. However, Popeyes, specifically, brings unique qualities to the ring, offering its Louisiana spin on food and drink. It has things like seasoned fries and shrimp that competitors such as Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane's don't have. There are many things that set it apart from its fellow chicken chains, which can be seen as a positive; however, some of its loyal customers have major gripes. 

We did our due diligence to research what customers and critics alike have to say about Popeyes, and these are some of the most frequent customer complaints we found. Not to mention, these are major issues mentioned by multiple people at various points in time; that means they are not isolated experiences one disgruntled customer had. Perhaps you've encountered these issues, too?

Popeyes is notorious for taking forever to complete orders, and it doesn't really matter what time of day you go. Whether you're getting a random little lunch to dine in or a late-night meal via the drive-thru, it's better to set the expectation that you'll be waiting a long time. Of course, it doesn't happen 100% of the time, but it happens frequently enough that people have a lot to say about it. It has been a persistent issue for years, with a Reddit thread from 2021 asking why the lines take so long. 

Even food delivery drivers say they tend to skip any Popeyes order because of how long it takes. Other customers say they consistently have issues with the wait times, and it doesn't matter whether they order in the store or via the app to offer a bit of a heads-up. Some say they've waited up to 20 minutes in the drive-thru, only to find out the order was incorrect. One person said they were waiting for 30 minutes with only three other cars in the queue. It's hard to know why it occurs, but delays are frequent.

Another major issue is incorrect orders, whether that's getting the wrong thing, the wrong number of items, or items being missing. In our experience, sauces, sides, and chicken have been missing from the bag on several occasions, so it's not specific to any one type of food. One time a side may be missing and another time they might have added the wrong sauce to the bag entirely. Others report that their 8-piece family meal came with only legs and thighs. Even if you order the dark meat-specific option, it should come with thighs, legs, and wings, so clearly something was missing. 

Customers have mentioned items were missing from their order, which was bad enough, but it was totally greasy to boot. Even food delivery drivers report that they ultimately found out the order was incorrect after delivery (since they are instructed not to open the food bag to check the contents). One driver said the order was supposed to be chicken sandwiches, which include chicken, a bun, a pickle, and mayonnaise, but the recipient only received a chicken thigh on a bun. 

Issues were so frequent at their store that they now decline Popeyes orders. Incorrect to-go orders happen so frequently across locations that people say you should skip ordering takeout from Popeyes. Another customer shared that they received three chicken strips and unsweetened iced tea without ice, even though they ordered a dark-meat 3-piece chicken meal with a standard (ice-included) tea; that's a totally different meal altogether.

It's hard to justify spending money on food when the food itself is bad, but issues with Popeyes' food's flavor and quality cropped up quite frequently. For one, people share photos of unappetizing or raw chicken pieces. People say that every time they eat the poultry, it tastes like it's been hanging around a while rather than being freshly made. That seems to align with other concerns of the chicken being overcooked. One Redditor said theirs was "just tiny and fried beyond recognition. Might as well have been chicken jerky." The experience was so off-putting they never visited that location again. 

Some say the meat has a bit of a funky or foul odor, which is a pretty concerning aspect not only of quality but also of food safety; odors can be a sign of bacterial growth and spoilage. Plus, people think the portions and pieces have gotten progressively smaller. The complaints span just about everything the company sells, though. One person on Reddit described the red beans and rice as "rubbery rice pellets coated with Cajun spiced chemicals." Others share that even the fish isn't immune to issues. That, too, was difficult to eat because it was so overcooked. Beyond that, customers have expressed dislike for everything from the bad coleslaw to the sour-tasting sweet tea.

Unsurprisingly, multiple items we mentioned here are among the Popeyes items to avoid ordering. It's clear that you truly never know the state of your food until you take a first bite — or whiff. 

Continuing with the poor state of the food, one complaint that deserved a longer discussion is the biscuits being dry. This seemed to come up often enough that it should be a red flag for your next order. In our experience, sometimes the biscuits are merely dry, and sometimes biting into them is so dehydrating it's like you inhaled desert sand instead. People talk about the dryness, like it's a matter of fact, sharing that it's assumed you'll order a drink to wash it down with or perhaps dunk them fully in a side of gravy. 

Patrons say the only thing that makes them edible is if they add a generous amount of butter and honey. Considering the biscuits are included in just about any combo order, that's a concern about the overall food quality. Dipping, dunking, or drizzling them with some kind of moisturizer seems to be the only way customers are eating the bricks passing as biscuits. Perhaps that's why there's a wide array of sauces at Popeyes. The dryness is so bad that there was a challenge going around social media to see if people could eat a Popeyes biscuit within one minute without water; let's just say there were a lot of losers. You may want to whip up your own Southern biscuit instead.

Popeyes is known for its Cajun fries, which are supposed to be nicely seasoned. The flavoring sets them apart from relatively plain options from places like Chick-fil-A or McDonald's, at least when it is done correctly. If they're made well — my goodness, they are tasty and even were deemed the best of all the Popeyes side offerings. But one complaint many people have is the complete lack of seasoning on the fries. 

Folks share that the fries were plain and devoid of any sort of flavoring you'd associate with Cajun seasoning — a contrast to the tasty fries they used to get. Others think the recipe changed and back up the sentiment that they're relatively unflavored in comparison. "Is it me or are they not Cajun anymore? " a Redditor asked, showing a photo of a pile of mostly unseasoned fries; a couple appeared more pepper-flecked than the others. Patrons say the location may have run out of fries and swapped in something from the store instead, which is a relevant but separate issue. If you get a good batch coated in seasoning, you should consider it your lucky day.

We get it; sometimes you run out of product. That can simply be a stock or supply chain issue where you were already running low on something, or maybe customers purchased a lot of a given item. We have worked in the food industry and have seen this happen, so it's not unexpected. However, the rate at which it occurs at Popeyes makes it a more widespread, persistent issue. It's often out of some of its most popular items. Customers have claimed their nearest Popeyes was out of fries on their last visit, while another user's location had apparently been out for a couple of weeks. 

A patron mentioned that their store was out of chicken sandwiches for three days, while one Redditor recalled a time when their store was out of chicken entirely. Others with a similar experience wondered why the restaurant — a chicken chain, remember — would even remain open if it was out of its main ingredient. One time, our store was out of basics like ice and syrup for the soda fountain.

People are definitely annoyed; they say being out of items is nothing new, considering how many issues they've had with Popeyes.

Given how many people are unhappy with their interactions with Popeyes employees, it isn't much of a shock that the company is notorious for its terrible service. Some say the employees are apathetic, unpleasant, or just straight rude and cussed them out when the customer noticed the order was wrong. People say the service is generally terrible, calling out an employee who misunderstood a coupon that required a lot of effort from the customer to explain it.

That is unfortunate because the coupons are typically sent by mail from Popeyes for customers to use (but the app also has offers). With or without a coupon, folks share that they almost feel "like an intruder just for buying chicken." They went on to say that the service is genuinely rude and not just a stereotype of the company. According to customers, the only thing Popeyes is consistent with is hiring impolite employees who don't seem to care about providing pleasant service. "The workers give no F***s," one Redditor said. They might have forgotten your order entirely, but it doesn't seem to make a difference because, as they continued, "No one cares."