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Monday, July 14, 2008/ 11:32 AM Unpleasant Experience at Swensens I knew most of us were clearly upset by the Swensens staff at Plaza Singapura. Despite us mimicking on how we would like to complain to the management or write in to forums, I knew nobody would do so. Thus, I decided to write a complaint letter to Swensens to voice our unhappiness. I finally did so on Saturday (12 July 2008). Complaint letter to Swensens Dear Sir/Madam, I would like to complain about the unpleasant experience at Swensens (Plaza Singapura outlet last Sunday (6th July 2008) due to the staffs’ bad attitude. My friends had I had wanted to enjoy a bowl of earthquake at swensens to celebrate my friend’s birthday. We arrived at the outlet at 10.00 pm sharp and saw the sign at the entrance stating that the restaurant closes at 10.30 pm, with its last order at 10.15pm. We saw the manager at the entrance and the first thing he said to us was “Our last order is at 10.15pm.” I reassured him that we have already decided what to order, we only needed to know what flavours of ice cream was available. Knowing that our orders did not require any cooking efforts, we were brought to our table shortly. The waiter who served us water and gave us our menu reminded us that the last order was at 10.15pm. We told him that we understood his stand and would place an order the moment we decide on the flavours. Before we could even view the flavours available, a third waiter (who is middle aged and slightly bald) reminded us repeatedly in a harsh tone that their last order was at 10.15pm and that the restaurant was closing in 25 minutes. By then, other patrons at the restaurant started turning around to look at the ‘commotion’. We felt so embarrassed and humiliated that we left the restaurant promptly. If the staff had not wanted to serve us in the first place, they could have turned us away politely instead of speaking to us harshly in hope that we would leave soon. Being a frequent customer of Swensens, this kind of service attitude is not what I would expect from a renowned ice-cream restaurant chain. Perhaps Swensens might consider sending their staff for training to improve their customer relations skills. Regards, xxxxxxx ------------------------------------------- Their management was really effective and replied me on the very next working day. This was what they said. Letter from Swensens Dear Sir/Madam, We refer to your email regrading your recent visit to our restaurant in Plaza Singapura. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience and disappointment caused by the lapse in service provided by our restaurant staff. It is clearly a case of mishandling of the situation by our staff. Please be assured that we have since taken all the necessary steps incuding retraining and counseling to ensure that all our staff are well equipped with the relevant skills and be instilled with right atitude. At the same time, we have also reiterated the importance of good customer service to all our staff so that they would be able to serve our guests well. We seek to learn from every encounter, and we would like to reassure you that it has always been our utmost priority to provide the best service possible to all our valuable guests like yourself. Your feedback received will be used to improve our effectiveness progress.Your continued patronage and satisfaction are important to us, and we are grateful with your concern shown to us in highlighting the matter so that we could be aware of any chances of negligence from our staff. We thank you once again for your kind patience, and we look forward to your continued patronage. Best Regards xxxxxxxxx Even though they sounded apologetic in the letter, it makes me wonder if they are able to 'retrain' their staff in one working day. If it is, will it be effective? Food for thought. Posted by, Your Dearest Advisor * Please note that names are changed to xxxxx to protect the individual's privacy. Labels: Bad Dining Experience |
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