You lost my business!

   My client and her entire office was participating in the Polar Plunge this past Saturday.  She had requested that I help with the after party and of course, to bring some filipino food.  Since I don't cook filipino food and neither does my wife, I decided to ORDER. 

I go to the filipino restaurant and asked the gentleman behind the counter for my order.  He asked,  "What is the name?" I responded, "I am Arnel Tanyag". He looked at me dazed and confused. Again he asked, "What is your name?" Again I replied, "I am Arnel Tanyag".

He left the counter and walked in the kitchen. He proceeded to walk around the store as if looking for my order.  Of course, he did not find my order so he asked, "What did you order?" 

I told him I ordered 50 lumpia and a regular pan of pancit. He left the counter once again and went to the kitchen. He came back out and told me that he did not have my order.  He asked if I could wait 30 minutes so that he could prepare the pancit and lumpia.   

 I needed the food by 1:45 PM and it was already 1:15 PM so obviously I could not wait.  He was apologetic but as I was walking away, I realized the root issue.  At 11 AM, I called this restaurant to order the food. Unfortunately, the lady who answered the phone did not speak English very well and was in a hurry.  She asked me at least twice to repeat my order. I didn't pay any attention to it. Hey! I am a Filipino American and rarely do I not receive my order because of the language barrier. Unfortunately, it happened that day. 

I ended up ordering some fried chicken for the "after party".  I was embarrassed walking into my client's office knowing full well that they were all expecting me to have lumpia and pancit.   With all that said, I will not be returning to that restaurant for any of my catering orders.  It is a shame that by just fixing one issue, the restaurant can receive a substantial amount of business.  The issue being that the person who answers the phone should be well versed in not only Tagalog but English as well.  Lesson learned: Know the gifts and talents of an individual and place them in that role.  If you know that your employee has poor phone etiquette, please do not place him or her behind the desk to answer all your calls!  

Comments

[Samantha Gregg-Montella]

Well said Arnel and very true.

[Arnel Tanyag]

Sam, I appreciate you commenting on my post. You have a great week and take care. Say "Hi" to your husband and the rest of the family.

[Carolyn]

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[Arnel Tanyag]

Carolyn:

Thanks for your comment. I appreciate you taking out the time to read my post. I hope to see you again.

[Air Jordan]

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