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Jan 12, 2010
Staff and owner miscommunicate, customer suffers
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LAST Saturday evening, my girlfriends and I were walking down Bukit Pasoh Road in Tanjong Pagar in search of a cosy cafe to enjoy a cup of tea. However, most establishments there were pubs. When we passed Magma, we were attracted by its homely setting and decided to have a cup of tea there.
As we were carrying a box of strudel, we asked one of the waiters if it was all right for us to enjoy the strudel with our tea. He looked at the box and asked me what it was. I said it was strudel. He replied: 'Oh, it's okay. We don't encourage patrons to bring their own wine, but if it's dessert or cake, it's okay.'
We were shown to our seats and we ordered our tea. Not wanting to bother the service staff, who seem harassed as it was a busy night, we put the strudel on our tea saucers. However, before we could eat it, a woman who identified herself as the owner told us there would be a $20 charge to eat the cake.
She explained that her establishment was not a foodcourt but a restaurant and added that everything cost money, including the tablecloth. I then said we had asked the waiter, and he said it was okay.
She then emphasised that she was the owner and explained that the situation was similar to corkage.
Hoping to ease the tension a little, I asked if the $20 was inclusive of the tea we had ordered. The bill for the tea was around $11. She said no, the $20 was an additional charge just for the cake.
Not wanting to pay such a high amount, we had to scoop the strudel back into the box. The owner stood at our table and continued to watch us scoop the strudel back into the box, after which she started to clear the unused napkins and dining ware from our table. She made a total of three trips to take away the menus, napkins and dining ware from our table of five.
We are upset not because we were not allowed to eat the strudel in the bistro, but because a miscommunication between staff should not mean the customer has to bear the consequences.
Cerelia Lim (Ms)
Staff and owner miscommunicate, customer suffers
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<!-- end left side bar --><!-- story content : start -->
LAST Saturday evening, my girlfriends and I were walking down Bukit Pasoh Road in Tanjong Pagar in search of a cosy cafe to enjoy a cup of tea. However, most establishments there were pubs. When we passed Magma, we were attracted by its homely setting and decided to have a cup of tea there.
As we were carrying a box of strudel, we asked one of the waiters if it was all right for us to enjoy the strudel with our tea. He looked at the box and asked me what it was. I said it was strudel. He replied: 'Oh, it's okay. We don't encourage patrons to bring their own wine, but if it's dessert or cake, it's okay.'
We were shown to our seats and we ordered our tea. Not wanting to bother the service staff, who seem harassed as it was a busy night, we put the strudel on our tea saucers. However, before we could eat it, a woman who identified herself as the owner told us there would be a $20 charge to eat the cake.
She explained that her establishment was not a foodcourt but a restaurant and added that everything cost money, including the tablecloth. I then said we had asked the waiter, and he said it was okay.
She then emphasised that she was the owner and explained that the situation was similar to corkage.
Hoping to ease the tension a little, I asked if the $20 was inclusive of the tea we had ordered. The bill for the tea was around $11. She said no, the $20 was an additional charge just for the cake.
Not wanting to pay such a high amount, we had to scoop the strudel back into the box. The owner stood at our table and continued to watch us scoop the strudel back into the box, after which she started to clear the unused napkins and dining ware from our table. She made a total of three trips to take away the menus, napkins and dining ware from our table of five.
We are upset not because we were not allowed to eat the strudel in the bistro, but because a miscommunication between staff should not mean the customer has to bear the consequences.
Cerelia Lim (Ms)
