No matter how good some food can be, everything will leave a sour taste in the mouth if you get a scoopful of bad customer service.
That apparently happened to one family when they had a reunion lunch at a restaurant in Malacca, Malaysia.
Although they were paying customers, the woman claimed that the restaurant owner made rather unpleasant comments about them.
The insults allegedly targeted her late arrival, taste, and wealth, among other things.
After the woman’s account of her experience went viral, the restaurant owner apologised for her outburst and shared that she had “failed to control her emotions”.
On 8 Jun, Facebook user SisYana Lashes shared a lengthy Facebook post, detailing her experience at Restoran 35 and her unsavoury encounter with its owner.
According to SisYana, she had arrived at the restaurant at about 2pm in a group comprising her immediate family and relatives from Singapore.
As it was a little past lunchtime, many of the dishes in the restaurant had sold out.
To confirm this, she leaned into the display and asked, “Is this the only food left?” The staff replied with a “yes”.
Hearing this, SisYana ordered everything that was left.
At this point, she allegedly overheard the restaurant owner saying, “Look at what time you came. Even if we served an elephant, it would be gone by now.”
She let the comment slide as the group, which included kids, was hungry.
Even after everyone had taken their seats and staff started serving dishes, the restaurant owner allegedly continued berating the group.
In a video attached to the Facebook post, the restaurant owner can be heard saying in Malay, “This is my shop, it’s my problem if I want to sell or not.”
SisYana shared that she was wary of the restaurant owner’s reputation for a foul mouth but to become the subject of her attacks was something else.
At one point, the owner even allegedly deemed her poor for ordering an omelette.
According to SisYana, the restaurant owner exclaimed, “No money, that’s why eat omelette only. If you don’t have the cash, don’t bring your mum and dad out to eat.”
The comment apparently hurt her as she shared that she felt embarrassed in front of her relatives from Singapore.
Despite the remarks, she paid the bill for the meal, which amounted to S$75 (RM240), without question.
Following the incident, the Malaysia Gazette reported that the restaurant owner has issued a public apology for her outburst.
In Malay, she explained that she was “emotional and upset, ” which was why she raised her voice.
However, she pointed out that that “customers make mistakes too”.
Standing her ground, she emphasised that she won’t change her ways and would implore the public to make an informed decision.
She further declared that, “People of Malacca are rude and loud. But not all conversations contain swearing.”
Though the restaurant owner apologised, attributing the incident to her hometown’s culture may seem like a poor excuse.
No matter what, there are surely nicer ways to package a reply. After all, she is running a business which relies on regular patronage.
We hope she’ll realise that being polite doesn’t hurt and will try to practise it in her future interactions, to provide customers with more pleasant experiences at her restaurant.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and SisYana Lashes on Facebook.
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