lately, i came across two restaurants that i think they have a lot of room for improvement in terms of hospitality. i personally think, the quality of food comes after house service, when service fee is charged.
the first one is Honey Moon, a fairly new dessert place in One Utama new wing. when i first visited the place, the lady boss was there and the waiter who served me was a polite person. so, even though i wasn't all that happy with the dessert (referring to taste), i still think i'd re-visit the place to try more of the desserts. i was using my own spoon when i saw the waiter offering me a plastic spoon (those you get buying 'mixed-rice'). yes, i have been traveling with my own chopstick, fork & spoon. unluckily, i was very forgetful that day, in this case, for the first time, and left the spoon in the restaurant.
2 days later, i went to claim it back. a friend of mine went to get it back as a favour. however, he said he was badly treated and left the place angrily. "the lady boss wasn't there. and one of the staffs told me, sorry, we don't keep things that don't belong to us." he was very pissed. but i thought, maybe its his perception, anyway i was about to go to One Utama to wait for Mao & CC, then why don't i try my luck instead?
so i went. i politely asked about my spoon and the guy who i met was the waiter. so i thought, this guy is a nice guy, he would be helpful.
me: hi, i left my spoon a few days ago, are you still keeping it?
waiter: erm... i don't know wo...
m: can u please check for me?
w: erm... i think don't have... because i don't keep, its the kitchen...
m: well, since you are not sure, why don't you do me a favour and help me to ask the kitchen?
w: erm... ok lor... (saw his colleague, a waitress) hey, you go ask kitchen if they still keep the spoon?
*clearly, the spoon was noticed and was an issue in the restaurant*
so, i smile at the waitress, a way to thank her from far. but all she did was only react to the waiter and said,
waitress: i don't know wor... i don't know!
w: you go ask lar!
she sounded very nervous and scared of being responsible on it. still, she went to the kitchen counter and asked.
i stood at the cashier, with the waiter, waiting for her 'return' to give me a simple answer of 'yes' or 'no'.
i waited... and waited... i thought, the kitchen crew was being helpful and try to ask among themselves, that's why it took her so long to tell me. (our distance was like, say, 10 steps?)
finally, she walked towards me, bypassed me, eyes looking at the waiter, not me, meanwhile said,
"no no no... don't have, don't have."
and all the polite waiter did was staring back at me, assuming i heard the conversation, gave me the 'i-told-u-so' look.
unbelievable!!!
i was so frustrated!
i mean, it was my fault to have forgotten the spoon, but did 'sorry' ever actually came across their mind, on behalf of their restaurant?
if everyone noticed the spoon, what made them think i will not be back for it? were they so lack of confidence of their spoon and they think i will not be re-visiting the restaurant, so they can just throw it away?
okay, i actually expected 70-80% that i will lost it, but i think the way they handle this case, and how they reacted was really really really unfriendly. if they would have just told me, "sorry, i think our kitchen crew has threw it away for hygiene purpose." i think i'll be more than glad to accept the answer and only blame my forgetfulness.
but the staffs are just too ignorant to the customers!!!
i'm still unhappy with this, and i don't think i want to go back. moreover, the dessert are just so-so.
the second one was really recent, last Saturday. i was at Sky Bar with a few friends. well, i think i frequent Sky Bar and always take it as a nice place to hang out with friends. but my mind changed after the previous visit.
it was a packed night, congratulations, the new management did a good job. so 3 of us who were late had to squeeze ourselves with 4 other friends on a tall table with 4 stools. so we asked for extra stools and keeping an eye for better seats.
then my 4 friends who reached on time started to tell me how rude the waiter was. he handed them the menu and expected them to order right away. when my friends politely said, give us 5 minutes, he still stood there with a grumpy face and left after 30 seconds. well, that happens, i mean, crowded night, the service crew is tired, it was totally acceptable.
we then got our extra stools and seated, browsing the menu, deciding between liquor and wine. then, a waiter actually pushed my friend's stool and asked her to 'please' move closer to the table (as there is a pool and we were seated at the poolside)in a rather unfriendly tone (having the thought my friend was blocking his way). i was pissed! i mean, my friend's seat was arranged by your people and close enough to the table, and i don't think anyone would want to have the possibility to fall into the pool at all. should he had speak to us to a better manner, and not pushing the stool, i wouldn't be so angry.
after a while, we all agreed to wine. but looking at the menu that didn't state country and year of produced, we thought taking red wine is risky. or maybe we should blame our shallow knowledge in winery instead of blaming the person who did the menu. anyway. so i suggested a white, sauvignon blanc, my all time favourite, and a label that looks like its originated from New Zealand. but to be sure, i asked the waitress for confirmation. she came back with the answer of 'Australia'. we shrugged but stuck to our decision.
then, we waited for like 20min for the first bottle.
yes, it was crowded but almost all of them had their drinks already. and i don't see how long one had to take to take a bottle of wine out. i mean, i wasn't asking for 10 cocktails. i then asked one of the waiter to check for me. in 5min time, it finally arrived. and the wine is no longer chilled. that means, the bar prepared the wine already but it was left under room temperature for quite some time. under a normal situation, i supposed the service crew should have bring along a ice bucket stand to chill the white wine, or at least, that was what i expected from a four-star hotel's bar. but it didn't happen, but we bear with it just because we were really thirsty and longing for a drink! oh ya, not forgetting to mention that the wine was actually from New Zealand! that means wrong information.
we then ordered another bottle right away after the first bottle was sent. we waited again... for i think 10min? yet, still no ice bucket stand and the bill is sent with the bottle. i insisted the ice bucket to be sent before paying. and i almost forget to mention, that you have to open the bottle by yourself. i wonder why did we even pay for service fee if everything needs to be required, or done by ourselves.
last but not the least, after we finished two bottles, the place was less crowded, we ordered a bottle of champagne and i this time, the service crew is in a better manner. i thought, i wasn't supposed to judge the whole restaurant's hospitality just because of a few unprofessional staffs. but i was wrong. after pouring our champagne into glasses, we asked him to clear the empty wine glasses. again, one need to request. but sometimes, wine glasses are not all that empty even its emptied. he happily collected the glasses one by one in a very professional way, but pouring the remaining wine on my friend's dress. not only that, he also wet a stool. but he changed it very quickly. sadly, he couldn't 'replace' my friend's dress.
so Sky Bar will not be top of my list anymore, especially weekends. yet, i still would recommend it to friends, whenever they asked. but well, try your luck if you'd be served nicely, worth paying the service fee. and, of course, not when you are in a wine mood...
Labels: crap
