It is not often that I write a review about a restaurant, however I am in total awe in regards to the experience me and the family had last night. Being a firm believer in the wise words “A wise man never wakes with the painful past on his shoulders,” but that will not deter me from speaking about customer service; something I wrote about "Cash Is Not King, Customer Service Is." This review is not something to bash another business, just a learning experience for us all, no matter what type of business we are in.
As I sat the at table last night, sometimes removing my glasses, rubbing my temples with my right hand, just shaking my head, I had a flashback of the movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.” Yup what I had witnessed was an Asian Cat Fight; and a Tsunami was brewing. Okay, so you are busy, being that it was Chinese New Year’s Eve, I understand…but making excuses while leaving your customers sitting at a table for an hour and a half is, inexcusable. When patrons from another table is offering your children food, that is inexcusable. When you are the daughter of the owners, a representative of the business, arguing with the customer, inexcusable. When you, being the representative, stating that you are “Forced” to work in the business, well…cultural, but telling your customer that; your issue, not the customers. When you have your customers reprimanding you, stating how your customer service is horrendous, inexcusable.
The list could go on, however I am grateful that I have been on a spiritual path of learning just to go with the flow and not let anger into the equation. All I did was see the humorous side, although there were some serious issues happening; I guess I tried to balance out the situation. One of the most humorous moments, I found, was when we finally started packing the food to take home, it was noticed that we did not receive an item from the order. It was agreed to just pack it and it will be taken home as well. There was an exchange of words about how they tried to cheat us. After receiving the order of fried rice in a box, the daughter brought a serving plate to the table. I was expecting maybe something else…nope, it was the daughter trying to justify that they are not cheating and that the boxed order was the same amount as would have been on the serving plate. HUH???? Well I guess the apple did not fall far from the tree…..
During all this nonsense, we had a waitress that kept apologizing for the actions of the owner’s daughter. Come to find out it was the Birthday of the waitress and we apologized to her about what was happening, and she got stuck in the middle during her Birthday. Remember me stating about the apple and the tree? It was decided not to put a tip on the check but to give it directly to the waitress for her birthday. This was done for a twofold purpose. It is not uncommon or un-heard of of the owners taking a piece of the pie, or the whole pie, when it comes to tips. And secondly a statement of what TIPS ( To Insure Proper Service ) really means. I guess our hunch was correct….
When my Brother in Law went to pay the bill, using his piece of plastic, he crossed out the tip section. The owner asked why, and my Brother in Law stated he will give the tip directly to the server. The owner was adamant about my Brother in Law putting the tip on the receipt instead of giving cash to the girl. My Brother in Law refused. From that moment on….we were being watched. My Brother in Law decided he would go directly to the waitress and hand her the money when “THEY” were not looking. I held my breath, as I watched him make his way to the men’s room, he made to pass….INTERCEPTED! I could not believe my eyes when I saw to owner walk over to the waitress and take the money from her hands. At that point I was already tired, and I could feel my blood beginning to boil, as it was part of my money that was given to the girl. I kept composure, however my Brother in Law handled it well. He approached the owner and told him he had no right taking the money from her. From then on I was heading out the door.
So what did I learn from all of this? Plenty. What are your thoughts?
Comments(6)