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Business Profile

Restaurants

Steak 'n Shake

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Steak 'n Shake's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see

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Steak 'n Shake has 30 locations, listed below.

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    Customer Complaints Summary

    • 120 total complaints in the last 3 years.
    • 39 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

    If you've experienced an issue

    Submit a Complaint

    The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

    Sort by

    Complaint status

    Complaint type

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:06/08/2023

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I ordered from steak and shake's app on 06/08/23. The store location is ****************************************************. The order was canceled by the store without notice and no refund was issued. The order number is *****************

      Business Response

      Date: 06/08/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office reference this issue.  A refund has been processed as the delivery service cancelled the order.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:05/01/2023

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Placed an order for delivery. After the app took my money for my order, the app did not display any order had been made and only took my money. I didnt get any email or text confirming my order, and I waited around to check on delivery for two hours. My card was charged for an order that was never delivered or even confirmed and Id like a refund. The app doesnt have good coherent methods for submitting complaints like this in the app or ability to speak with support. The local store also refused to answer any calls.

      Business Response

      Date: 05/02/2023

      Please provide date of transaction and confirm restaurant location.  Thank you.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/19/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On Sunday, April 16th I went into the Steak and Shake on *************. in ******, ** to get lunch. After waiting about 10 minutes, my shake came up with no other food or explanation as to why I only got my shake. about another 10 minutes went by with no food, and when I went to ask what was going on (lots of food going out to the drive thru) I was given very confused looks from the manager, no real response as to where the rest of my food was other than "shakes don't take as long as burgers"...I asked for a refund and was assured I would get one, though nothing has shown up in my bank account...it's now been 3 days and I feel like I was stolen from. The restaurant owes me $23.11, I know this doesn't sound like a lot but I want my money back and this isn't right

      Business Response

      Date: 05/01/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office to assist you with the refund request.  Plese confirm the store location as being *******************************************************************************  We will reach out to the guest under separate email for payment information in order to process a refund.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 05/01/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this response/resolution is satisfactory to me. 

       

      That's the only steak and shake in ******... this is crazy i had to go this route to get my money back...


      Regards,

      *****************************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/08/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Resolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I placed an online order on April 7, 2023. Order #*****************. When I arrived at the store (***********, **- **************), I went through the drive through to pick up the order. The employee told me that I had to come inside to get the order. I had 4 kids under the age of 6 in my vehicle. Two of them were sleeping. I was not leaving them in my car alone while I walked inside. And I was not going to wake up sleeping toddlers and then try to wrangle them all inside the restaurant. I asked the employee in the drive through to cancel the order and refund my money. He told me I had to cancel on the app. I did not use the app to order. I did it online. Frustrated, I went elsewhere to get dinner and once home, I tried calling the Spring Hill location to see what to do about getting my money back. Their phone gives a message "the number you are trying to reach has calling restrictions." So they have either forgotten to pay the phone bill or they blocked my number. I called the ********************* location and the manager was very sweet and tried to be helpful. She sent a text message to the Spring Hill manager and owner while I was on the phone with her. I have not yet gotten a response from the Spring Hill location. I would like my money to be refunded ASAP. $32.12

      Business Response

      Date: 04/21/2023

      Refund was processed on 4/10/23.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 04/21/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this response/resolution is satisfactory to me. 


      Regards,

      ***********************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:04/01/2023

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I tried to order online using gift cards. I had my card also saved on the app. It kept throwing an error so I decided I would just order inside to go. So I did that and was waiting for my food and saw I had 3 $21 charges from them but nothing in my recent orders and nothing came through on their end however. Im out $63 now

      Business Response

      Date: 04/03/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office.  We will reach out to the guest and gather more information as needed to process a refund or possibly issue a new gift card.  

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/26/2023

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Unresolved
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      On 3/25/2023 I wanted to get some food. *********************************************** was the closest open fast-food place to where I was located at the time. I placed my order at around 9:10pm. The site said it closed at 10pm. The website accepted my payment and took my order. I arrived at around 9:25pm. The doors were locked, and the workers were cleaning up. I went to the drive-through and the employee told me they were closed. I said I had an online order and he said I needed to cancel it because they were not making more food. I parked and looked at the email which said that I needed to call the restaurant to cancel. I did once I got into line at another fast food place and the phone was disconnected. I called today (3/26/23) during open restaurant hours and the phone was still disconnected. I called the broader customer service number given online which said it was disconnected. I tried to file a customer service complaint online which said the website is unavailable (attached). The number of hoops Ive had to jump through to get a $6 order back is totally insane.Notes: Store closing early and still taking orders and payments without refunds. Location: ********************************************************************* Store disconnecting phone lines *************)Broader customer service phone number disconnected. **************** Customer feedback webpage unavailable They should not take my order or my money without any service and rely on me to chase them down to be repaid. It really isnt worth it over a small dollar amount and it seems predatory at this point. The broader company-wide feedback network was equally terrible and unhelpful.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/28/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office reference this issue.  This has been forwarded to the appropriate department in which to issue process the refund.  

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/29/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. 

      I still don't have my money back from 3/25/23 for service I never received. The restaurant doesn't have a working phone and is not close to where I live. I have had no correspondence or apology whatsoever. 

      Regards,

      *****************************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/18/2023

      Type:Product Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      My husband placed an order online on 3/18/23. When he got to the store to pick up our order, it wasn't there. He tried to get the attention of any of the employees without success for 30 minutes. Finally, someone acknowledged him. They told him someone else took the order. When I called the store to request a refund as stated on ************************************************* website, the employee on the phone accused us of taking both orders. He refused to let us talk to someone who knew how to help and couldn't help us with the process on how to get a refund. He continued to interrupt us on the phone, was not helpful at all, and ultimately hung up on us. The business has not tried to rectify anything.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/21/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office to assist with this issue.  Please provide the online order number so that we may assist the guest.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/15/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I have a gift card with a $100.00 balance that was bought right before Covid. There is no expiration date or inactivity fee. Since Covid, *********************************************** changed their systems in their stores. I have tried to use my gift card at multiple locations and the system does not recognize my card. I was given a customer service phone number by managers, only to find out those numbers have been disconnected. They advise you to write emails and they will get back to you. I have sent multiple emails and still no response. This is terrible customer service, as there's no service, and very bad business. There is $100.00 on my gift card. I have asked for a new working card that has no expiration and no inactivity fees with $100.00 balance. Either a new gift card as I specified or a check for $100.00 since my gift card doesn't even work. I want this resolved quickly.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/16/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office reference this issue.  Contact has been made with *************** and a replacement card will be mailed to her today.

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/14/2023

      Type:Delivery Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      I ordered a delivery that arrived missing 7 items. The store wouldn't answer the phone forcing me to drive to the store to correct the order. In total I paid $81.19 including delivery and driver tip. It ended up taking almost 2 hours to get lunch back to my workers who I also had to pay to wait on me to run around getting our lunch. This lunch ended up costing me almost $200 when all said and done. My order # is ***************** and the store is located at ******************************************************************.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/16/2023

      Thank you for contacting our office.  This is issue has been forwarded to the *** to assist with resolving the issue with the guest.

      Customer Answer

      Date: 03/25/2023

      Better Business Bureau:

      I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********. They have failed to contact me to rectify the matter as they stated they would be doing in their response.

      [Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

      Regards,

      ***********************

    • Initial Complaint

      Date:03/05/2023

      Type:Service or Repair Issues
      Status:
      Answered
      Resolved:
      The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
      Unresolved:
      The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
      Answered:
      The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
      Unanswered:
      The business failed to respond to the dispute.
      Unpursuable:
      BBB is unable to locate the business.
      Today, March 5, at the Ridge Ave. location in ****, I spent $29.31 at 2:39 pm. I left the location at 3:20 pm completely dissatisfied. I waited well over 30 minutes to get my food from an online order that I was told to make because they were too short staffed to take orders at the window. There was no direction as to where anyone was supposed to go. I watched 3 people leave after paying, waiting and not receiving any food. When my order was brought out, the food was cold, I was missing 2 milkshakes, a sprite and cheese fries. What I had received was gross and had clearly been sitting out. I ended up just taking my loss as everyone else did and left without my missing items and ended up taking my business elsewhere. They didnt answer the phone to get any information on when my food would be ready. When I was handed my food the man that gave it to me told me that he would refund me for milkshakes and bring the rest out. He never did. I was told they could not process refunds in the store so here I am complaining to you guys. It was completely unprofessional and I will not be bringing my business there again. Staff was rude when I could get a hold of them.

      Business Response

      Date: 03/20/2023

      This issue has been assigned to our Division President and he will make contact with the guest.  Thank you.

    Steak 'n Shake is NOT a BBB Accredited Business.

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