24 March, 2008

Mos Burger @ Bukit Panjang Plaza

I should have seen it coming really - because she was taking her own sweet time packing the takeaway for the customer 2 positions in front of me. She started off the next order with just a word of "Yes" - no "Can I help you?" or "Can I have your order please?" - I frowned.

"Hi, does the nuggets come in a set or meal"

"Erm... No"

"Oh in that case I will just have a nuggets then"

"Sorry we ran out of nuggets" ... o.O

"Erm.. ok, I will have the Fried Chicken Set instead", pointing to the laminated
menu "I will have the set that comes with the fries instead of salad and I wanna change the drink to a Hot Milk Tea"

Waitress proceeds to key in the order, "That would be $5.05"

"Are you sure? The menu states $6.25 for the set, or you sure it's a set I am having?"

"Ermmm.... yes .... ermm... cos you changed the drink to a milk tea"

"Ok"


While attempting to pass me back my change, her fellow colleague came rushing out from the kitchen "Wait, we ran out of the bun!" The manager who overheard came over and the 3 of them started a discussion behind the counter in front of me and another customer behind.

"Eh, it's ok, you can just deduct the bun off from the cost, I can just make do with the rest of the items"

After taking back the change, I proceed to walk over to find a table and started reading my newspaper.

"Sir, your order"

"Erm... Where's my fries? I thought I ordered a set?" I waved for the manager to come over. "I ordered a set but it didn't came with the fries"

"You want a small or large fries we can give it to you"

"Your girl told me it was a set I ordered"


"You want a small or large fries, we can give it to you" (Hello! I think I heard you pretty clearly on the first time)

"It's ok, I don't want the fries already"

She proceed back to her counter and print out a receipt

"Sir, my girl only key in the chicken, not the set" She proceed to put the receipt on my table to show me.

"But she told me it was a set"

"You want a small or a large fries, we can give it to you"... o.O

"It's ok, since I never pay for it, I don't want anything"

I left the place after eating a piece of not so piping hot chicken & hot milk tea and my cr
aving for the nuggets and the fries yet to be satisfied.


End note: Why is there no nuggets and buns available during the supposedly dinner hour where Bukit Panjang Plaza is packed full with people. If the girl at the counter is new and not sure how to work the machine, why isn't there anyone to guide her? Why isn't the message that the bun is sold out relayed much earlier? AND if they assumed that I have ordered the bun via the set meal - WHERE THE HELL IS MY BLOODY FRIES!! I fear the backlash of bad service when the IR is open -- seriously!

31 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bro...I think you'd better stick to Mickey Ds then...there you confirm have:

1.your nuggets
2.your buns
3.your fries
4.your sets
5.your service
6.you can even get personalized service.

Can't really expect to get service here in Sunny Singapore when you are not paying for any.

cheers.

His Food Blog said...

Hello there!

I was looking forward to MOS nuggets because they are deep fried only upon order - alas they didn't have it and the chicken wasn't well fried as well.

I was actually more agitated that the staff told me it was a set I was ordering (even after I confirmed with her), when it was not. Rule No.1 - If you do not know, please check.

And then the service recovery was even worse - you have the manager asking in my face "You want a small fries or a large one" when all I want was my set meal! It was what I ordered and it was what I was told and therefore it was what I was expecting.

Anonymous said...

Come on, the manager is offering you a free fries to amend the error the order taker made. It is simple English many surely can understand, or perhaps you want to punish her for her poor comment of English? The only thing you can complain is she did not say "sorry Sir for the mistake, we will give you a fries, do you want a small one or a large one?". You chose not to take it yourself. So don't complaint your craving for fries is not satisfied and instead making hypocritical statement like "Since I did not pay for it, I don't want anything". Didn't you ordered and paid for a set which you thought came cheaper? You are watching the mistake happening knowing it will happen and using this posting to punish her. That truly shows what kind of a person you are.

JOjo said...

Cool it man...
Dun go patronise Mos burger anymore =)
Fastfood not good for health =p

His Food Blog said...

Anonymous: Perhaps you would like to sign in with your identity so that everyone will get to know you.

Honestly, I don't think it was an offer for a packet of free fries based on the tone she used, the words she used and the fact that she gave me a choice to choose from. It was more like you if you want a packet of fries I can bring it to your table - you do not need to queue up and order.

Then it comes to the question of "punishing" her in your own words. Yes - if you want to put it that way because I want to and choose to highlight the bad service that exists in our F&B industry. I give credit when credit is due but I also dished out criticisms when I see it - that for you is me being me. :)

jojo: Hmm.. I will probably just boycott that outlet unless there is a change in service standard. I love the nuggets too much to stop patronising them totally!

Anonymous said...

I love love love the nuggets from Mos! Especially with their mustard sauce!! yummmy!!!

But the service... well, that's Singapore for you lah. Kenna alot like this before too.

His Food Blog said...

Hi Claudia!

Hmm I usually go with their BBQ sauce. Would try the mustard sauce next time.

Anonymous said...

hi! I am anonymous no. 1. :p

the other anonymous is anonymously not me. hahahaha

anyways...macD's is just for nostalgia sake...no? :)

His Food Blog said...

Hi No.1,

Yeah I was referring to No.2 actually but nevertheless I prefer my readers to at least leave me their nick at the end so that I can get to know them better.

Anyway I hardly venture to Macs nowadays. For nostalgia sake I prefer heading down to WaffleTown at Balmoral Plaza. :)

Anonymous said...

Put it this way, if what I said made sense, you and your reader don't need to know who I am, I could use any nick I chose. If what I wrote do not make sense, even more you don't have to bother who I am.

As for the manager's tone, as a gentleman, you could have ask her to clarify. Not many people out there who has good education ended up as a service staff.

His Food Blog said...

That's not true actually. It's about taking responsibility for your words as well as I mentioned to get to know my readers better - however if you choose to hide behind differing nicks that's fine by me too as I cannot stop you.

However do note that this blog was meant for interaction in the first place otherwise I would have disable the comment box long ago.

As for the manager - I do not see education as a hindrance to bad service. I have a personal friend who is only an N-level graduate but dish out the best friendly service ever. If I ever I have a chance to open a restaurant, she would be the first person I would poached for the manager position.

Anonymous said...

anon no.2 - also like to add that not many well educated pple can be good service staff either.

and nothing wrong w being an anon commenter wat.. the blogger is just as anon to everyone..

can i be anon.3?

Anonymous said...

My apology if my comment offended anyone. Like to remove that as it is indeed right that education has nothing to do with good service, whereas training and attitude have.

About this statement you wrote: " That's not true actually. It's about taking responsibility for your words ". I stand by what I said and unless your blog requires full name, address, NRIC as in ST Forums and again reiterate what I said earlier, if it make sense, whether there is a real name does not matter. You have not put up your real name, photos and full detail either have you? To know me better? I think you would already know me better by my post. Besides are all the people who put up their comments using their real name either?

His Food Blog said...

Hi No.2,

If you read carefully, at no time did I request my readers to use their real names, but just to identify themselves - use a nick, use anon 2 - just so that whoever that is reading the comments can separate one anon from the other and follow the discussion and in time get to know the person better.

Imagine with me 50 anons coming in debating about this topic, how would an outsider then take a stand when one cannot figure out who is who? So even anon 1, 2 or 3 helps a long way - hope you and the rest of my readers see where I am coming from. :)

Anonymous said...

anon 3 says no offense taken by anon 2's comment. anon 3 totally agrees with anon 2's comments re: education and service.

anyways, there have been heaps of debate by hospitality veterans whether good service mindset can be trained or it is a born trait. i believe training can teach someone how to do it, but heck, if by nature the person doesnt care for it, they wont do it, nor would they know their mistakes. takes a lot of empathy. i know wait staff who can be very charming and personal when they are dealing with a customer directly, but they are absolutely clueless when a customer needs help. Some also pick who they wanna help too.. perhaps most pple in the industry arent serious about it. part-timers wat..

red fir said...

lol. okie. hisfoodblog, here you go...I am no longer anon 1. :)

anon 2 + 3: chills.

PolarBear said...

Sad to see that they had such bad service. I like their food esp their milk tea though. Hee...

fuzk said...

Wow. So much discussion going on around here. Heh.

What you have just witnessed is just one of the many examples of bad service. Perhaps like what anon3 had said, they're part-timers.. so they can't give a rats ass. Even then, I do come across full-timers (in various establishments) that doesn't even know how to smile; much less know about service.

I do think though, service staffs are often overlooked for their efforts. That's why I think Gems is a good start. Good service starts from you and I. Let's hope they (the general service industry) clean their act up and let's hope they get their due recognition and compensation when a good job is done.

Oh, and yes.. milk tea is yummy and so are their nuggets. =)

His Food Blog said...

Yep. I cringed whenever I read an article of a foreigner criticising our country's service standard in the newspaper - so bad that it is becoming a norm and people are slowly laughing about it, or worse, accepting it.

I dread the negative reports generated when the IR and F1 starts - where hordes of VIP come to this tiny island and wonder what's great about it?

If Hong Kong can make such a leap in service standards within 10 years, I really do not see why Singapore cannot do it.

And one thing I hope that restaurants will start implementing - tipping - I will advocate it if I start my own cafe. 10% Service charge is rubbish!

Anonymous said...

So who are you going to tip?

1. The person who waited on you?
2. The Chef or his kitchen assistants?
3. The old lady who cleans the floor and washes the toilet after you had messed it up?
4. The Blanga who have to clear up the rubbish which you have left behind.

Let me know when you HAVE STARTED your own restaurant.

I will CERTAINLY be ther to give you my HUMBLE opinion on areas which you can improve.

His Food Blog said...

Hi Darius,

Tips from customer should be shared among all service staffs - as all of them play a part in creating a good dining experience.

Anonymous said...

But how would you ensured that it is shared?

How would you know that the wait staff would put the tip in a common pool, and that the boss would share it out among the staff, does the boss get a share too. WHat would you do in your own restaurant?

His Food Blog said...

I reckon the boss should not get a share. I see tip as an incentive for the staff to work harder for. We can have measures whereby the receipt will have a tips column for the customer to indicate how much he would like to dish out so that the cashier can counter-check.

However if the customer decides to just leave $$$ behind without indicating, then its really up to the integrity of the waiter who collects the bill to drop it into the box.

fuzk said...

Woo.. I see someone nitpicking here. Haha.

IMHO, I think that only the wait staffs should deserve the tip. Why? Because they are the one dishing out the service, so they definitely deserve it more than anyone else. Let's say they (or anyone else) screw up, they'll be the one bearing the brunt of the customers' wrath(even though it might NOT have to do with bad service).

For everyone else, well, I'm sure when hisfoodblog becomes a boss, he'll reward them accordingly. (Be it salary, increment, etc etc.)

Oh, and IF you do open a restaurant, I wanna go eat too. Heh. =D

Anonymous said...

i muz comment that Mos has one of the nicest fries & nuggets around. Yupp, dip in mustard (yummmmy!) And i love their milk tea!!

Talking abt service from mos, my colleagues n i tried their delivery last year. one word - atrocious! we waited for a good 2 1/2 hours for our food to arrive. n when we tried to call to check, the reason the call centre gave: we can't reach the manager from the outlet. *faint* so in e end, after 180mins of wait, the food finally reached us - cold. that was the 1st and last time we'll ever do a Mos Delivery.

however, i muz praise the outlet manager for their service recovery. they actually refunded us the total sum! so all of us had a free dinner that nite, which totalled up to $150. =)

His Food Blog said...

Hello!!

Hmm... never knew the mustard dip exists, but I am sure to try it soon. Wah! I can't imagine waiting 2.5 hrs for my food - will note not to do a Mos Delivery as well.

But then again $150 is still a pretty good deal IMO though a tad cold. :)

Anonymous said...

Hi,

Just stumbled across this post and thought I would give my two cents worth.

I actually worked as a service staff for about one and a half years while studying in Perth and I really have to say that being a service attendant is hard work.

You are required to smile and be friendly to all customers even though they had been nasty and rude to you. Plus, you are always the first to get the brunt of any complaints because you are the most accessible to the customers. I personally have taken many nasty comments even though it wasn't my fault but just because the food was not done properly and the buffet was stocked quickly enough.

Yes, I worked at a buffet restaurant that serve main meals as well. So in addition to having clear endless plates from tables, we have to run meals from kitchen. In addition to the condiments, mints, drinks and whatever whim and fantasies that the customer wants. And to top that of, I worked at a branch that is the busiest in all of Perth and sometimes in all of Australia. And guess what, we have only about 3-4 service attendants on for the whole night, averaging three to four hundred customers a night and sometimes serving up to about 500 plus customers a night.

As if that isn't enough, we do not get recognised for any of our good effort or hard work. Guess what, we dont even get tips or service charge or any of that crap. And customers can complain all they want and we get the consequences even though it is not our fault. Even if the customer was being unreasonable, we still get consequences.

However, having said all that, I do agree with HFB that service is important. If that cashier and manager in MOS burger were to do the same here, they will be fired in no time. I repeat FIRED. No paying customer will in their right mind tolerate that. And bear in mind that as I have worked in the service industry for some time now, not only as a waitress, I have a more relaxed expectation when it comes to service standards as I know it is hardwork. But this MOS burger kind of service standard is atrocious.

Firstly, you have made a mistake taking the order.
Secondly, when it was being enquired, you did not even check to see that it was correct nor admit your mistake and ensured that all orders were correct.

Thirdly, for a customer to come and not having enough supplies to serve them, you have to tell them before they order. We are trained here to notify customers firsthand if any stocks are out of order before they order anything. Even then, we still have customers complain!

Fourthly, for a manager to use that kind of attitude during service recovery is BAD image for both the manager and the restaurant. My managers have taken their fair share of abuse while handling complaints and they are still required to smile, refund the money and serve them a new meal! I really wonder how that MOS burger manager became a manager in the first place.

All I can really say is, Singapore still have a long way to go in terms of service. If you really want to be able to host international events and have foreign visitors enjoy themselves here, especially with the casino coming up, you need to have better service standards. I have my fair share of bad service when I return to Singapore during the summer holidays and I can tell you it is nowhere near international hosting standards.

oh well, that's it from me. Sorry for my ranting and super long post.

Anonymous said...

hi,

It's me again. Just realised I made a typo error.

Last line of third paragraph should read, the buffet was not stocked quickly enough.

Regis said...

Hey, I'm working in Mos Burger.

Just some doubts to clear:
1) "Eh, it's ok, you can just deduct the bun off from the cost, I can just make do with the rest of the items"

- You have already stated that you don't want a set. Because w/o the bun, there is no set.

"Your girl told me it was a set I ordered"

- You have already cancelled the bun so obviously it isn't a meal anymore.

2) It is very common and normal for Mos Burger to have not enough stocks because like you said, it is supposedly dinner hour where it is packed full with people, thus too much orders and stocks are finishing. But we will send a representative to the nearest Mos Burger to collect the stocks. Nobody wants that to happen.

3)"Why isn't the message that the bun is sold out relayed much earlier?"

- We make the orders only upon customers ordering from the counter. No order = no food made.

Just to clear your bad impression of Mos Burger :)

His Food Blog said...

R: In reply to your comments:

1) I wanted the set - its Mos that didn't have the bun - I didn't cancelled it, I was left with no choice. I still want the chicken, fries and hot milk tea.

2) Precisely, why is the restaurant not well stocked during dinnertime knowing that there will be crowds - poor management of inventories if you asked me. FYI: It wasn't even crowded as far as I remembered - only 4 tables were occupied.

3) Surely if you read clearly, the message wasn't made to me immediately when I was ordering, it was only DISCOVERED after I ordered. Again poor management of inventories.

And just to add, I do not have bad impression of MoS Burger, I still eat their nuggest. I just have bad impression of the service level of that particular outlet. :)

Anonymous said...

relax...maybe there is some communication error..or you speak too fast..when the manager offer free fries you should be grateful and stop kicking a big fuss.

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