f-up service

the following are some examples of bad service i had experienced not too long ago (except the first one that occurred years ago). i have not returned to the stores since...

• char kway teow @ marine terrace... there's this char kway teow store at marine terrace block 59 coffee shop. quite a popular store actually. and one day, my mum went there to buy char kway teow. and as usual she asked for the person not to add tau gay (bean sprouts). the man growled at her and screamed out loud "you want to eat, you eat, don't ask for no tau gay..." that was the last  time we went to that store.

• vegetarian food @ simei coffee shop... my mum frequently gets into tantrums and emotional. and whenever she does so, she would swear off meat. that happened as recently as last month. and when this happened, i have to either cook vegetarian meals for her or buy food from vegetarian mixed rice stores. one such store is located at the simei coffee shop by the simei mrt station. the food was not very nice, but eat-able. now, there are 3 different ladies attending the store. let's call them apple (a mandarin-speaking filipino?), banana (a rotund often glum-looking auntie) and chiku (a calculative and very quarrelsome prc?). on the first few days, apple sold me $5 for 2 person's worth of dishes (that comprise 2 different types of vegetables/ tofu). subsequently, banana sold me $2 for 1 person's worth of dishes (that comprise 3 different types of vegetables/ tofu). and this went on for quite a while. while i noticed the differences in the selling price, i did not ask further. after all, the differences was not significant. but sometime later, chiku came along. i ordered the same as per usual - 3 vegetables/ tofu for 1 person. first she said, "no you cannot do that, we don't sell 3 vegetable for 1 person." when i said that was what i got usually, she gave me this screwed up look and told me rudely "if you want to get 1 person's worth, you must minimally pay $3.50, else i won't do for you. also, it is applicable only for 'common' vegetables. if you want to get tofu, it is charged separately at $2.50!" of cos i was not pleased and asked how come 3 persons sell the dishes at different prices. she retorted loudly, "you want you get, my boss set the price, not me." and i protested, i mentioned that i had just purchased 3 vegetables from banana for $2 the day earlier. banana was there and she kept quiet. chiku was obviously unhappy with my protest and said, "no way, that kind of price is long long time ago. ok, ok, since you say so and you insist, only for now, i will charge you $2. next time you come, i will charge you $3.50." damned, this was a quick way to accuse your customers of lying, in order to justify your overcharging! bloody hell! no more next time, i said and i left.

• chock (cantonese porridge) @ bedok south ave 1... there is this store at bedok south ave 1 market (opposite temasek junior college) that sells cantonese porridge. it has been there since early-80s. the owner of the store is a second generation hawker has a prc(?) wife. bee and i would frequent that store on weekends for their pork porridge. usually, they would serve the porridge to us, regardless of where we sit. but of cos, out of consideration, we would not sit too far away. couple of weeks ago, i decided to have porridge and made an order with the wife. i told her i would be seated somewhere near the coffee store as usual. and quite unexpectedly, she raised her voice at me "you want you take yourself, you sit so far away i won't be able to bring to you!!!" my face turned black on the spot. the husband, noticing my changed in expression, quickly asked her "what does this uncle want? i will cook for him right away." i took the porridge, paid her and walked off. i have not returned since. 

• mixed rice @ simei... there is this mixed rice store at simei estate coffee shop (not the same one as the above but at the same block). that store is also one that i frequent for mixed chup suey rice. couple of days back, i had cooked some dishes and decided to get ready cooked white rice instead of cooking it. i arrived at the store and noted that they are ready to sell, rice and dishes. and i politely asked the lady attendant "auntie, can i have one pack of cooked rice please?" the lady looked at me, gave me a one helluva dirty look and asked loudly, you want rice with dishes or just plain rice? i told her i just wanted rice and she replied "you want rice with dishes, i pack for you now, you want rice, you wait ok?" ehhhh... auntie, no need already. i walked off, i came home, and i cooked my rice.

you know, i find it bloody irksome to have people rendering such screwed up service and worst of all, they are in the service line. while i understand that at times, they do have constraints, i cannot accept it when they behave rudely to their customers. if they cannot speak nicely and respectfully, then they can forget about having customers return to them. as far as i am concerned, if your service is excellent, even if your food is a little less than good, i will still go back to you.