Eateries with attitude problem, will you go?

[framerunner]

Your views please.

I witnessed a few incidences of boss/staff being rude to customers as their business is so good that they are not worried about losing a few customers. What amazes me is that a lot of people will still patronise that eatery even they are abuse verbally. Personally, i will never patronise that shop no matter how good the food is if it is manned by rude staff. Afterall part of their earninngs come from me, so why should i pay to get rude treatment. There are always other food outlet with good food and service

Just to describe this incident i saw earlier at this rundown shop sells fish head steamboat beside bio-ocean. I saw the crowd while on my way to bio-ocean and as typical singaporeans got crowd and means good food so i I decided to take my dinner there.

As it was dinner time, that place is full of people and naturally finding a seat is a problem. So i approached one of the many staff hurrying in/out of the shop to help me find a table, this young lady ignored me and walk away. Then i saw a long queue leading into the kitchen and i suspect that you have to queue up to give your order. As i do not want to queue up unnecessarily, i ask another lady to confirm if i can give order at my table or i need to queue up here. She did not even bother to look or answer me, just nodded her head. So i presume that i have to queue and my wife went away to look for a table for the 2 of us.

The last straw came when this guy(customer) ask the lady in the kitchen on the portion for medium and large steamboat and for how many people. This lady answered something like this in mandarin in a very rude manner, "If you think you can eat more then you order more lah, if you think that you cannot eat alot, then order less. Don't ask me to recommend, how would i know how much you can eat." Another guy (customer) who heard this gave me a "Bo bian, even though their attitude sucks, i also want to eat" look.

Naturally i ended up in some other place to settle my dinner. No way i am going to pay money to be abused.

[zephyros]

hmm ... the way they answer is wrong ... but the answer is correct

[Justiana Er]

hmm ... the way they answer is wrong ... but the answer is correct

I think there r many places out there 2 eat, but i think u 1 gd food with gd service ah abit difficult. Got nice food 2 eat d attitude isn't nice tat's norm.

[valerossi]

some place got attitude problem`````

[riot]

I will take my money elsewhere. No way I am going o pay good money to be treated like that. In other places, I can get more negative treatment, for FREE somemore

Seriously, it boils down to attitude and how they value the customer. Being busy is not an excuse for poor manners. A simple smile and a nod in reply to your question about queueing up makes a world of difference.

[BFG]

Not siding with the staff but put yourself in their shoes. Here she is trying to do her job. You saw her hurrying in and out of the stall right? Why then did you approached her asking her to find a table for you? I do not know the place you speak of but in my mind it is a typical market eateries right? There are no person in that type of eateries who would help you 'reserve' a table for you. Yes, in this type of eateries area, you must queue up to order your food. This place is not like a high class restaurant whereby you have a waiter/waitress who would come to you and take your order. No way. In this type of place, you are free to seat anywhere there is a table and stool and order from any hawker. If you want comfort of ordering, find a seat nearest to the stall that you want to order the food from.

The staff was right about the portion order too. How in the world does she is able to know how many people eat how much steamboat food? It is up to the person ordering the food to decide for himself and his entourage. She was concentrating with her work up to that point until a chap ask her how much food portion his family could eat? Don't you think that is a bit silly? Not a bit but it's full blown silliness I'd say. The guy who was probably behind that chap was thinking" Basket, is this guy real or what? 1st time eating outside, must ask the hawker how much can eat? Why must I stand behind him? Oh Heaven, why do you put me in this situation!"

Btw, I am not related nor do I know the hawker staff, the person ordering the food nor the guy standing behind him. I was also not near that area too at any time.

[zephyros]

its interesting to note that asian like to go western eateries coz

of the "better" services (eg 1 waiter/ess to a couple of tables).

Whereas, "ang moh" like to eat at hawker center and dun mind the wait,

dirty place and lousy service

[cityofangels]

I guess the Asians are the ones who eat more of Asian food for most of their lives and now, they prefer the palate of Western food. Same goes for the Westerners. *shrugs*

Anyway, I voted for the 2nd option. I refuse to dine at a place where there is a service charge and NO service at all. I mean, at a Hawker centre where there is no service charge, you really can't expect alot from them. But those restuarants where there's a 10% service charge, there is a REASON we pay for the service.

By paying for the 10% and not getting the proper adequate service is like getting the short end of the stick.

I'm not one of the highly demanding person. But I simply cannot stand waiters/waitresses who have faces long enough to touch the floor and give monotonic or sarcastic answers.

Example 1

Me: What is good here?

Waiter/Waitress: Aiyah, anything also good lah!

Example 2

Me: Can I please have a glass of warm water?

*Waiter/Waitress brings a glass of hot, boiling water*

Me: Can I have a glass of warm water, not boiling water?

*Waiter/Waitress shuffles away with the glass of hot, boiling water which he/she could barely hold because the glass is so hot & curses under his/her breath*

[riot]

I dont quite agree with BFG. His points are valid, but that still does not provide a sufficent excuse. I have seen really packed stalls at hawker centres busy like nobody 's business, and yet the old aunty who is obviously stressed, smile and respond. It takes a little bit more energy I suppose, but it really doesnt detract from the cooking & preparation effort.

The truth is, poor service "gets away" in Singapore. The customer does not expect good service (its a bonus). In turn, the customer treats the vendor poorly (its my right, I paid money). Whereas in oher countries (sad to say white, angmoh, first world nations) service is so pervasive even in small towns and small stalls. And it is reciprocated. I can understand why shops (and SIA cabin crew) favour Ang Mohs over our own people first. They are just so friggin' nice (not all hor) that it really is fun! The singaporean tends to lord it over you, "i'm the customer i'm king" mentality.

It takes two to tango.

[Sotong]

I tink no way i can tolerate bad attitude...

No matter how busy/irriated tat svc staff is , he/she shld mind his/her manners..

coz i'm a customer.. .!!

[valerossi]

I definitely mark the shop....