ANYWHERE else in the world, eating-out horror stories are commonplace: cockroaches hidden beneath the lettuce, sour milk in the coffee, food that never makes it to the table and staff who think rudeness is part of the job.
In Hong Kong, however, complaints generally run low. Service in hotels and restaurants has been trumpeted as the finest in Asia and among the most attentive in the world.
But while Hong Kong diners should have no real cause to complain, many do. Some say that language barriers are a hassle, staff are badly trained, and that it is always the little things that irritate them the most.
'I think the quality of service has deteriorated markedly,' said businesswoman Linda Da Cruz.
'Restaurants don't seem to care any more. I've been served the wrong thing and once waited 45 minutes for my lunch. If I complain to the staff, they shrug their shoulders and look at me blankly. If I ask for something specific, they don't understand. They have a 'what you see is what you get' attitude, which is not a service-industry response,' she said.
Socialite Chantal Slim agreed. 'In many places, the quality of service is not as good as it used to be,' she said.