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Dozens Of Red Lobster Patrons Sent Home Without Their Orders

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Some Mother's Day dinners turned into nightmares on Sunday night after dozens of Red Lobster patrons were sent home without their food.

The parking lot of the Red Lobster along with McKnight Road was packed with close 100 people and their cars waiting for their orders.

Many of them did not get the food they paid for.

Some of the people in the parking lot were food delivery drivers trying to keep in contact with their customers.

"I talked to them and said it's going to take a long time," said Khalid Alzahlani.

Others were waiting for online orders.

"We've been waiting for two hours and 20 minutes and they said there's no way you can cancel it," said Ron McAdams. "You can't cancel it online..."

However, the long wait turned into an outright denial when police arrived and a manager came outside to tell the crowd they wouldn't be fulfilling any more orders.

Patrons left frustrated and without food.

"I blame Red Lobster," said John Morrison. "They took way more orders than they could possibly fill. I put mine in at 10:30 this morning."

It wasn't just individuals and families losing orders, it was delivery drivers losing time and money.

"You don't get paid for the lost orders and your time," said Shanda Welsch.

Red Lobster replied in an email:

"During these unprecedented times, we are grateful for our guests who continue to want to celebrate with Red Lobster. It's always our goal to provide our guests with a great seafood experience, while also maintaining high standards for health and safety, including social distancing. We apologize that some of our guests experienced longer than anticipated wait times and crowds today and in some cases may have chosen not to wait for their orders. To Go orders placed on RedLobster.com that were pre-paid and not fulfilled will be refunded. Guests who placed an order through a third-party and would like to request a refund should reach out to the company through which the order was placed."

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