Customer Service Review: Wok Hei Cafe

Business: Food & beverage services
Location: Plaza Damas, Sri Hartamas
Website: N/A

The Situation:

As per the usual modus operandi, I went off for lunch with a couple of people from work to our usual haunt: Plaza Damas. I thought we'd go to Wok Hei Cafe, the one outside (not inside) so that I could have my favorite yee mee.

Round 1: I ordered the sizzling chicken and mushroom yee mee. (Sorry, ma'am, we don't have mushrooms today).

Round 2: I ordered the sizzling roast chicken yee mee. (Sorry, ma'am, we don't have roast chicken today).

Round 3: I ordered the usual sizzling prawns with yee mee. (Ok!) . Success.

So off I go to wonder around in a nearby shop and then come back and sit down and chit chat. Suddenly I realised that everybody had their food and were halfway through while the space in front of me was woefully empty.

Excuse me, can you check on my order please? (Sure ma'am).

15 minutes later: Excuse me, can you check on my order please? (Sure ma'am).

10 minutes later: Lemon chicken with yee mee? Er, no, I ordered the prawn.

5 minutes later: Sorry ma'am, we mixed up your order with the other table. That's not my problem. Bring my food in 5 minutes or I'm not paying for my drink.

10 minutes later: We decide to pay the bill. Sorry about that ma'am, we got the order mixed up with the other table.

Apparently they decided that since they were too late in bringing the food, that there wouldn't be much point bringing the food now. Apparently they decided that they were going to get it anyway so why bother?

The Verdict:

I've never seen such incompetence in customer service. What the hell was that? You mixed up my order so just don't bring it? I had to go pack a mee rebus (which, incidently, took all of 3 minutes) for lunch instead. It's ridiculous.

That being said, this is just 1 out of like 5 times I've been to Wok Hei and other times the service has been credible and not out of the ordinary. This, however, takes the cake.

Homework

One of the blogs that I read every once in a while is Back in Skinny Jeans, which is a blog by an average woman about meeting the extraordinary expectations of today's world. Last week, she put up an entry citing 7 Ways to Help You Make It Through the Thanksgiving Insanity, and while we don't celebrate Thanksgiving here, I thought she had a couple of pearls of wisdom that were very relevant to anyone. Just replace "Thanksgiving" with [Insert your holiday here]:

Thanksgiving is basically one big homework assignment. You said you wanted to become more patient, understanding, forgiving, and loving. Well, this is your biggest chance of the year, and even better, you can get some two for ones in there. Remember in Evan Almighty? God doesn't give people patience, he gives them opportunities to become a patient person. You only become by practicing, so remember that when the irritants begin.

Don't give your fears & insecurities more power than your happiness & joy. Who's really in charge? It's you! And why spend your day miserable? What will you gain? Wouldn't you rather experience joy even if it's just a small dose over nothing. Again, everything is perspective, and you have the power to look at your family and this Thanksgiving day with a whole new set of lenses.

The day can turn instantly just based on one decision you make to look at it and everyone involved differently. Remember last week when Nathan talked about how one day you can look into a mirror and see a superstar, and the next day see a haggard. It's the same face looking in the same mirror, so what's the difference? Perspective. That's it. You choose how you look at things.

Amen.

Casualties of Casual Sex

This article that I found on the BBC has got me thinking about something that I feel for personally - casual sex. From the BBC: Sexes split over one night stands:

Many women are left unhappy in the aftermath of casual sexual encounters, a survey has revealed.

Just under half of women who answered the internet poll, published in the journal "Human Nature", said they felt it had been a bad idea.

Four out of five men, in contrast, said they were happy with a brief fling.

The academic leading the research said it showed that there was no evolutionary advantage for women in one night stands.

The survey was answered by 1,700 people who had all experienced this kind of relationship.

While men reported feeling more content, sexually satisfied and confident after meaningless sex, women were more likely to worry about feeling used and "letting themselves down".

Some of the their reasons for the encounters were because they felt there was the possibility of a longer term relationship.

This article simply provides proof for my theory that not all women like casual sex. Recent social movements have promoted casual sex as a lifestyle of choice that is preferred by strong, modern women because it provides sexual and emotional freedom. Shows like Sex & the City have made it popular and trendy to have casual sex. While it is true that it provides sexual and emotional freedom to some, it's not for everybody, and I feel that some women are feeling pressured to conform because they feel that this is how they should be feeling.

Personally, I'm not a prude, but I can't separate sex and emotions. I've tried the casual sex thing and it doesn't do it for me. I do respect that other people feel differently, and it is what they prefer, and by no means do I mean to say that it's wrong. My worry is that there are kids growing up who think that casual sex is what they should be doing and what they should prefer, because when I was 18ish, that's what I thought.

Maybe it's time to pay equal respects to those who prefer longer-term relationships and lift the modern stigma associated with those who choose the "traditional woman's" way, of being sexually active with longer-term partners, of choosing to be a housewife, and of wanting kids.