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Most people try to avoid complaining when they’re out to eat. Even if the fries are cold or the drink’s wrong, you let it slide just to keep the dining vibe chill for everyone involved. But sometimes, the service is so bad, you hit a point where staying quiet just isn’t an option. That’s what happened to one woman who says her night at Buffalo Wild Wings was so chaotic, she had to go full Karen—something she says she’s never done before.
TikTok user Ally Fruland (@allyfruland) says that she and her fiancé were excited for BOGO (buy one, get one) wings and unlimited appetizers in a recent storytime.
But what was supposed to be an easy weeknight dinner turned into what she called the “worst dining experience of [her] whole entire life.”
“We were both starving,” Fruland explains. “We just moved into a new condo. … This is gonna be way faster than us cooking dinner.”
The Appetizers Arrive, But Everything Else Goes Downhill Fast
When they arrived at Buffalo Wild Wings, Fruland says they got seated around 8:10pm, placed their first order—chips and queso, fried pickles—and waited. Thirty minutes later, the appetizers showed up.
They finished them, emptied their waters, and waited for someone to come take their main order.
By the time their server returned, “we’re like 50 minutes into the meal,” she says. They asked for 15 wings through the BOGO deal and another round of apps. Another 30 minutes passed, but still no food.
“She’s avoiding us at this point,” Fruland said. “Won’t make eye contact. Won’t come over.”
2 Hours In, Still No Wings—And Then Things Get Weird
By 10pm, they were still wingless. Fruland says she finally asked for the wings to be packed to-go so that they could at least go home and eat. She says she even requested to pay in advance just to speed things up.
But when nothing happened after another 15 minutes, she’d had enough. “I’ve never been a Karen before, but I was like, ‘I’m gonna go look for the manager,’” she recalls.
She found him, explained the situation, and asked for the incorrect wing charge to be taken off. That’s when their server did something unexpected.
“She looks at me, and she goes, ‘I’m not her server,’” Fruland recalls. “I was like, ‘Yes the f— you are my server. You’ve been serving me for two hours.’”
Even more confusingly, the server had entered the wrong number of wings—30 instead of 15, which completely messed up the BOGO pricing.
“We ordered 15 wings,” Fruland says. “What are we gonna do with 30 wings that are probably cold ’cause they were just sitting back there?”
Management Didn’t Remedy The Situation
Despite everything, Fruland says the manager didn’t comp the meal, offer a gift card, or do anything at all. Fruland and her fiancé left after paying just for the appetizers and a Dr. Pepper.
“I just want to leave,” she recalls thinking. “I don’t want the wings; I don’t want anything.”
So, they hit up Taco Bell instead.
“I had to be a Karen for the first time ever, and it felt terrible,” Fruland admitted. “I literally kept apologizing.” But even the takeout girl reassured her, “’You’re so fine. I would be pissed, too.’”
Is This Part Of A Bigger Buffalo Wild Wings Problem?
This isn’t the first time a Buffalo Wild Wings customer has complained about service.
A dive into Reddit and Yelp shows diners complaining about slow service, wrong orders, and inattentive staff at Buffalo Wild Wings across the country.
On Yelp, multiple reviews describe frustrating waits for food—even when the place wasn’t packed. One reviewer in Lawrence, Kan., noted the “horrible, slow service” she experienced.
Overall, the restaurant’s rating on Yelp is 2.2 out of 5, with more than 218,000 reviewers to back it up.
Reddit threads reveal even more problems. One user recalled a bartender who “left for 30 min in the middle of dinner rush to smoke weed out back,” leaving guests thirsty and angry.
Bad service is sadly the usual experience I’ve had at various BWW locations for years now,” another user noted.
Earlier reports suggest that part of the blame lies with recent changes at the top. Since Inspire Brands acquired Buffalo Wild Wings in 2018, some say cost-cutting has led to shorter staff hours, heavier workloads, and less consistent in-store support. As Reddit users argue, drained workers often struggle to keep up.
@allyfruland When I catch you BWW. No but I love BWW and I was heartbroken #restaurant #storytime #restaurantstory #resturantreview #badservice
Commenters Weigh In
People in the comments shared similar experiences at Buffalo Wild Wings.
“Buffalo Wild Wings always has the worst service and takes foreverrrr. It’s a shame,” one person wrote. Fruland replied, “It’s so sad. I love the wings.”
“Last time I dined in at BWW it was horrible,” another said. “App came out at the same time as the food… and then it took 30 minutes waiting for our check.”
“We are actually raising the chickens,” joked a third. “Be back soon.”
BroBible has reached out to Fruland and Buffalo Wild Wings via email for official comment.