Good Service?

It is so easy to have "the generally good service of 3 people" brought crashing down by a single person's bad service. An example was during our dinner at a nice Japanese restaurant off Bukit Timah Road.

The price wasn't on the low side, the place was clean and neat, and the 16 of us were seated at the back of the restaurant in a cosy corner, enjoying an a la carte buffet. There was even a Marine Fish Tank (4ft length x 2ft depth x 3ft height, with beautiful fish, corals and crustaceans, costing $6000-7000 to set up and $500/month in maintenance) next to where i was seated! The ambience was excellent in my opinion. The service of three of the waitresses was "generally good"; they were understanding, forthcoming in recommendations and patient in explanation of menu and constraints. But one particular waited made us doubt this restaurant could be ranked "a great restaurant".

Bad Service Incident 1
Colleague: "I'd like to order this, and this, and this"
Waiter: "ok"
Colleague: "Can i add this item as well"
Waiter: "Remember that you that you will be charged for leftovers"
...?!?!?!?!? Note that there was no "please", as in "please remember" or "please be reminded". Ok, ok, maybe this was just trivial; a gentle reminder...? Fine, but you can't deny the bad service in the 2nd incident.

Bad Service Incident 2
Colleague: "Can i add more dishes?"
Waiter: "ok"
Colleague, intending to check if he was ordering too much: "Can you repeat my order?"
Waiter: "I thought i told you just now?"
Colleague: "...(speechless)..."
...?!?!?!?!? What cheek!

Would you as a customer service representative of the company pull your company's service reputation down just because you're having a bad day? Ok, maybe not as a junior waiter. But wait...

This Incident Takes The Cake
Waiter: "Sir i'll have to charge you leftovers for this, and this"
Colleague 2: "How if we finish half of it, will it be a half-charge?"
Waiter: "No, the price is this and this"
Colleague 2: "So if we leave one slice, it will be full charge?"
Waiter: "Yes"
Colleague 2: "I see... interesting! May i request to speak with your manager?"
Waiter: "I am the manager"


He was the operations manager! Interesting eh? Now you know why people want to hire "the right people for the right job"... he'd definitely succeed in a job requiring firmness and no tact, but in this occupation, i'm not so sure...