Service to wipe out smiles
TWO weeks ago, we went to celebrate a friend's birthday at the Brazilian Restaurant in Wan Chai. Our festive mood was ruined by a surly, incompetent waiter. He took our order wrongly, so the birthday girl was served only a starter but no main course, and was inattentive and uncommunicative throughout the evening.
After we paid the substantial bill so one guest could go to another appointment, some of us stayed on and ordered another jug of sangria. The waiter put the jug on the table and demanded $75. We informed him we were not finished yet, and to present the bill when we were ready to leave. He turned away, muttering: 'It's about time to leave anyway.' Unfortunately, the situation was not helped by the manager. We commented on the drawback of the menu, pointing out that as all vegetarian dishes were listed together, not differentiating between starters and main courses, the vegetarian in our group had ordered an appetiser as her only dish. We suggested a new menu design, and the manager retorted: 'It's my problem, so I'll take care of it, OK?' On a visit to the Rainforest Cafe in Festival Walk, some customers were enjoying their meal when the waiter accidentally poured a glass of iced water on one of the guests. Most of the water went on the table, but some of it went on the person and the clothes she was wearing. The staff were apologetic, but made no offer to compensate the guest for the discomfort of sitting through her meal in wet clothes.
At the Grand Cafe at the Grand Hyatt, a waiter accidentally poured a glass of cold coffee down a customer's back. The waiter apologised and handed the guest two napkins to clean herself up. When she requested that her clothes be dry-cleaned at the Grand Hyatt laundry, the waiter suggested she go home to change. After putting up a huge fuss, the manager finally offered a room for her to shower and change.
While Hong Kongers do not have to put up with what New Yorkers have had to endure - the snooty, condescending 'I'm not really a waiter, I'm an actor' riposte - we are still frequently on the receiving end of a take-it-or-leave-it attitude that is infuriating.
From waiters who refuse to turn down air-conditioners to owners who do not set aside at least a token area for non-smokers, it seems that this sector of the service industry is not always taking the Hong Kong Tourist Association's 'Be a good host' campaign very seriously.
William Mark Yiu-tong, president of the Federation of Hong Kong Restaurant Owners, comments: 'The decline of service has been a problem for some time, and I blame it on lack of training. Before the monetary crisis, when business was good, staff were always on the move and there was no time to train them up. There was a restaurant boom and junior staff were promoted up the ladder before they were ready, and professional standards went down.' Johnny Yip, novelist and food writer, agrees that the economy has much to do with the decline in service.