Posted on 12 Sep 2009
Lousy dining experience at Iluma Bugis because staff did not understand English
STOMPer CWW was annoyed that service staff at two Iluma dining outlets had issues getting orders right because of their poor standard of English.
In an email to STOMP today (Sept 12), the STOMPer says:
“I happened to pass by HLX Fusion at Iluma for dinner with my friend.
“Just as we were glancing through the menu, the waiter standing there asked if we were students.
“From our outlook and maturity, it is common sense we are working adults.
“My friend asked the waiter whether we look like students. Insensitive to my friend's expression and remark, the waiter went on to say that he thought we were students and that there's a promotion now and so on and so forth.
“My friend then got angry and so we decided to try Cheeky Chocolate, which is the restaurant next to it.
“As usual, we decided on a meatball pasta to be shared, coupled with two desserts, which we indicated to the waiter taking the order that the main course was to be served first.
“He agreed and even nodded. However, another waiter came over minutes later with the dessert crepe we ordered. My friend then told the waiter she had earlier informed the waiter taking the order that the dessert was be served later. The waiter then kept nodding but didn’t give reply.
“Forgetting about the incident, the waiter went off with the dessert and served the main course shortly. To our utter disgust, the meatball spaghetti that we ordered was actually beef balls as the color was different.
“We soon called the manager to confirm if it was indeed beef. I can’t take beef. Due to the ignorance of the waiter who did not ask for the manager's assistance as his English language was bad, I had eaten the beef.
“It was probably not the waiter's fault if his English could not make the mark, but it is his fault when he did not seek a higher head for assistance to confirm what the customer wanted.
“Angry with the restaurant, we decided to go elsewhere even though the manager apologised and said the meal was on the house.
“Just as we were walking by the first restaurant with the prominent waiter my friend had an issue with, he suddenly kept eyeing my friend's movements and even barked loudly towards her.
“My friend had wanted to walk off but it was the waiter who kept trying to create an argument. It came to such an extent the waiter dared my friend to call the manager.
“Just when the manager was apologising to my friend about the waiter's bad performance, the waiter tried argue back, to the extent like he wanted to bash up my friend.
“Really bad service staff encountered at Iluma, who employ waiters who do not understand English.”
Lousy dining experience at Iluma Bugis because staff did not understand English
STOMPer CWW was annoyed that service staff at two Iluma dining outlets had issues getting orders right because of their poor standard of English.
In an email to STOMP today (Sept 12), the STOMPer says:
“I happened to pass by HLX Fusion at Iluma for dinner with my friend.
“Just as we were glancing through the menu, the waiter standing there asked if we were students.
“From our outlook and maturity, it is common sense we are working adults.
“My friend asked the waiter whether we look like students. Insensitive to my friend's expression and remark, the waiter went on to say that he thought we were students and that there's a promotion now and so on and so forth.
“My friend then got angry and so we decided to try Cheeky Chocolate, which is the restaurant next to it.
“As usual, we decided on a meatball pasta to be shared, coupled with two desserts, which we indicated to the waiter taking the order that the main course was to be served first.
“He agreed and even nodded. However, another waiter came over minutes later with the dessert crepe we ordered. My friend then told the waiter she had earlier informed the waiter taking the order that the dessert was be served later. The waiter then kept nodding but didn’t give reply.
“Forgetting about the incident, the waiter went off with the dessert and served the main course shortly. To our utter disgust, the meatball spaghetti that we ordered was actually beef balls as the color was different.
“We soon called the manager to confirm if it was indeed beef. I can’t take beef. Due to the ignorance of the waiter who did not ask for the manager's assistance as his English language was bad, I had eaten the beef.
“It was probably not the waiter's fault if his English could not make the mark, but it is his fault when he did not seek a higher head for assistance to confirm what the customer wanted.
“Angry with the restaurant, we decided to go elsewhere even though the manager apologised and said the meal was on the house.
“Just as we were walking by the first restaurant with the prominent waiter my friend had an issue with, he suddenly kept eyeing my friend's movements and even barked loudly towards her.
“My friend had wanted to walk off but it was the waiter who kept trying to create an argument. It came to such an extent the waiter dared my friend to call the manager.
“Just when the manager was apologising to my friend about the waiter's bad performance, the waiter tried argue back, to the extent like he wanted to bash up my friend.
“Really bad service staff encountered at Iluma, who employ waiters who do not understand English.”
