Month: September 2010

For a restaurant to be successful, one may think that food is the only important factor. However, from my experience at dinner tonight, I don’t believe that to be true any longer. I now am a firm believer that customer service always comes first. No matter how good the food is, one will not remain at or return to a restaurant where one has experienced poor service.

Other things that a restaurant can be “rated” upon are ambiance, presentation, and even value (as Prof. Gateman says unabashedly, “You want to get more bang for your buck”). All of these elements are instrumental to a restaurant’s financial success.

Dear restaurant-that-shall-remain-unnamed, there won’t be a next time if you aren’t able to maintain service at a time of chaos – it’s key to an enjoyable experience for a consumer. And hey, you should be extra grateful that people are still dining out after the HST.

🙂

I went to a restaurant-that-shall-remain-unnamed for Mid-Autumn Festival dinner with my grandma and some other relatives tonight. Obviously the Chinese “holiday” made for a very busy crew, and although we were regular customers at the restaurant, we inevitably experienced long waits for our courses and flurried customer service.

After the “appetizer” platter was served, we waited almost 15 minutes for the next course (N.B.: there are eight “dishes” at a dinner like this because eight is a lucky number in the Chinese culture, and two “default” dishes of rice and noodles as well). When we inquired on the progress of the next dish, the manager said to us with a grin “When the duck is ready we’ll bring it out, or when the soup is ready we’ll bring it out, or even when the lobster is ready we’ll bring it out. But none of those dishes are ready yet, so just be patient”. In my head, I thought “That wasn’t funny at all”, while my grandma and her sisters laughed along feebly.

When the soup finally arrived, it was hurriedly served, and after 5 minutes, another manager came back and asked countless times “There’s some more soup, who’d like more soup?” and repeatedly tried to grab my great aunt’s bowl to refill it while she declared “No, I’ve had enough” just as many times. I became increasingly irritated for the duration of the dinner, and realized that a restaurant is not just providing a meal to its customers. They are also obligated to ensure quality customer experiences to maximize the pleasure of dining out.

TBC…

After watching Legally Blonde 2, I asked myself, “Is this true? Can corporations really turn a blind eye to animal cruelty in the name of generating greater profits?”

When I typed ‘animal testing’ into Google and scrolled through the results, I was shocked at finding Iams’ name in a headline. Unfortunately for Bruiser’s mom (and dad, aunt, second cousin, etc…), it became apparent that there were numerous cosmetics, drugs, and even pet food companies that conducted animal testing in laboratories. As I dug deeper into the Iams mystery (how could a company whose mission is to “enhance the well being of dogs and cats worldwide” fund cruel research labs?), I found that Proctor & Gamble, Iams’ owner, had subsequently become the target of wrath by animal advocacy groups.

U.S. based PETA launched www.iamscruelty.com after footage of sick, dying, and surgically altered dogs and cats in the Sinclair Research Centre was released. Allegedly, P&G funds such animal experimentation to advertise “new (chemical ingredients)” and “improved (products)” in the hopes of exciting sales.

This ethical issue is not just one for animal lovers; it’s important that consumers know what’s behind the brand and make informed decisions.

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Ask Yourself:  are the lives of hundreds of animals meaningless?

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