I've loved Tenders in Huntersville, from whence PDQ was birthed, since the beginning (expect for that pork sandwich which is years removed from the menu). The food is excellent!
I've loved PDQ's Concord location since it opened, too. Until my last visit, that is (7.10.14). My family and I have eaten there often but this last trip was a disappointment. We were there around 12:30 pm and everything seemed normal--staffing, cleanliness, good customer traffic, ordering experience--until I picked up the tray for the four of us.
My chicken tenders (3pc. meal) appeared to be about 70% of the size I'm used to. Maybe that's imagination, maybe the H'ville location has me spoiled. Still, it's not what I remember from PDQ Concord. Chock that up to a subjective determination, but one that made an impression nonetheless.
What was objectively different from every past experience is the temperature of those tenders. Usually they are too hot to eat without some cool down. Not so this time. The flavor was right but smaller and just warm = no bueno.
And the fries were objectively unusual too. They were limp and a tad oily instead of their usual crispy. Luke warm, not hot. Very disappointing.
So, has People Dedicated to Quality moved to some "make it ahead, hold it 'til it's dead" production model? I don't know, and wouldn't think so. I'm thinking the "Chef Coat" who essentially signs off on every order wasn't doing the Quality Control part of his job very well that day.
That's enough of a review to make the point. No need to detail the experience of my wife and daughters beyond the common theme: This trip wasn't what we've come to expect from PDQ.
Obviously, as I'm writing this review a week later, our sub-par experience made an impact. In hindsight, I should have cared enough to speak to one of the chef coats. My bad--I'll do better if it happens again. My hope is that it was just an off day and not a sign of problems leading to decline. We'll see soon enough. I want PDQ to thrive. When it's done right it can't be beat!