Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Letter From a Reader: Restaurant Discriminates Diners Using Group Coupons

Image courtesy www.norcalblogs.com

Dear Fashion Pulis,

First of all, I just want to say that I’m a big fan of your blind items and I can’t wait to read more items from you! Since I’ve read some of the letters from your readers, I too would want to share my experience to all the readers of Fashion Pulis.

I know that many of the readers know about the group coupons or the different promos sold online at a really low price. My sister and I would always check on the latest promos from different websites for my family to visit during weekends. Last Sunday, my family and I went to Galleria just so we can redeem the vouchers we bought online and eat in this dimsum place that has many other branches. We are aware that if we plan to use the vouchers, we should call their branch for reservation. We didn’t call because few weeks ago we went there as walk in and used the vouchers and it was okay for them.

When we went there last Sunday, there were only a few people eating there but still they did not entertain us. The waiter told us that we should reserve first before they entertain us. It was a weird thing to say since there were around 6 vacant tables and only few people were eating. To put an end on the argument, my sister got her landline phone and called them on the phone. She was already standing in front of the counter but no one was answering her calls. We were all annoyed that time because how can we reserve if we can't even contact their landline. After 3 attempts, she asked the waiter why we can’t contact their landline and that was the only time they checked if their landline was working or not. On the 4th attempt, finally the phone rang. The cashier answered the call and insisted that they won’t entertain us because we have no reservation. We got really irritated because we’re calling just so they won’t give us the reason that we didn’t make any reservation. To make things easier, my sister went in front of the cashier to talk to her. We were surprised because she was raising her voice and eyebrows while arguing with my mom and sister.

The cashier of this resyaurant told us that they don’t entertain walk-ins during ”store hours”. Out of frustration my sister told them “So kelan kami pupunta? Kapag sarado na kayo??” then the cashier told us that they can only entertain us from 2pm-5pm because of the reservations for that day. My sister asked how many reserved and what time. The cashier then told us that there was no reservation. My sister then argued that the cashier was a liar because of the reason she gave us. But to end the tension, we just told them that we’ll just go back around 2pm if that’s what they want.

When we went back to the restaurant at around 2pm, no one even entertained us. They were just looking at us for more than a minute. I got so annoyed so I went in front of the waiters just so they would feel conscious and entertain us, but still no one bothered to approach us and give us a place to sit. After standing in front of them for almost 2 minutes, I just went to as vacant table and called my dad and brother for us to eat. Even if we’re calling the attention of the waiters, no one was getting our order. Since the promo we purchased was just for dimsum, I just got food from their dimsum cart since I felt they have no plans of serving us. When they saw us eating their dimsum, that was the only time they approached us and asked us about our additional orders. After consuming the 8 dimsum orders, we wanted an additional order using another voucher. They told us we can’t use another voucher because we are only allowed to use 1 voucher per visit. But as stated in the terms and condition:

· One (1) voucher per person per visit
· For group use, a maximum of three (3) vouchers may be combined.

To make the long story short, this restaurant changed the terms and conditions that were already written in the voucher. They would also make customers feel unwelcome. They really have bad service. To add to that, my sister called the Glorietta branch of this restaurant last Monday to check if we can redeem the remaining vouchers we bought and they were very accommodating and accepts walk in any time of the day. She also called the Galleria branch just to check if they would accept our reservation, but they made another excuse that they do not accept customers who will use vouchers on weekdays. When my sister called the company where we bought the promo, they told her that they have received a lot of calls complaining about the bad services of restaurants similar to the one we visited.

I really hope that their branch would change the way they treat customers and stick to the terms and conditions that was given. We have no plans of going back there since we don’t want to experience the bad service they are giving their customers.

Yours Truly,
Adi

80 comments:

  1. What resto is this? Can you post the name ng maiwasan at tuluyan na silang mawalan ng customer

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Sir FP, for these kinds of posts, I think dapat nakadisclose na rin ang name ng restaurant and ng e-mail sender.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. sana isolated case lang ito. Group coupons are nice naman since they give discounted rates. I recently availed one in a 5-star hotel and everything went smoothly. No hassles. i hope Adi gets to relay this complaint to the customer support service of the groupon site so that they won't promote deals from this dimsum place. Really a turn-off.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I have bought several coupons from different sites. All I can say is that the bigger establishments tend to be better informed and helpful in accommodating you . There are really some businesses who use it as a fundraising thing and then when it comes to service, wow.... iinit lang ulo mo. Once they have your money, they couldnt care less coz no return no exchange naman ang coupon. so beware. You shoudl complain tot he group site so that people are informed and wont be tricked.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I agree. The name of this restaurant should be disclosed to others to avoid experiencing the same incident. Besides, the identity of the letter sender is not known to many so there's nothing to be afraid of.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I think that's M. Kahera na nga lang nagmamaganda pa! Kaya hindi umaasenso sa buhay!

    ReplyDelete
  7. tama..drop the nme of the resto, and i'll post a the link of this letter on my FB wall so people will know..sa bilis ng pasahan ng messages sa FB, baka wala nang kumain sa kanila ever again...kakainit ng ulo ang mahaderang kaherang yun@ kung ako yung andun, tatawag ako sa DTI sa harap mismo nila!

    ReplyDelete
  8. its M. i researched. tsk tsk. super unprofessional naman nito.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I never had a bad experience using any of my Groupon coupons/vouchers. Feeling ko yung Resto na yan ang may problem sa customer service nila.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hope she stated the name of the restaurant. But I think this is M Dimsum & Noodles.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It's the restaurant's fault,not the ones who issued the vouchers. Goodwill and manners- fail!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I guess the starting point here is the sender didn't have any reservation. So why rant when in fact you were the one na hindi naka reserve. I'm fond of group buying deals too and it's always stated at the terms re reservation so let's just practice that for a hassle free transaction.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Guys,
    I hope you understand. An avid reader of FP who is a lawyer advised me not to post the establishment's name even if it were a letter of complaint to avoid problems. Let's just consider it as a BI, more guessing. I hope you understand my situation.

    ReplyDelete
  14. nanggigigil ako sa kahera!!!! hahaha...

    ReplyDelete
  15. oh sige FP, wag na yung name ng resto, yung cashier na lang!! hahaha...sarap ipakulam :P

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hay! Some establishments are like that talaga, porket alam nila na wala silang makukuhang sales or discounted ang payment mo. Best to call them first before availing of any deals online. Yung iba nga, they do not know they are under a promo. Nauunahan ng mga nag-iinquire before they are advised by their management. I've tried Groupon, Deal Grocer, Metrodeal. So far, fortunately, ok naman ang lahat ng deals na nakuha ko. Otherwise, gegerahin ko sila!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hai naku ganyan talaga sila sa mga discount coupons. I purchased one also last April for a salon naman. Kamusta naman yung kaloka na August pa ako na schedule to avail their service dahil "busy" na daw sched nila and full. Kanila na coupons nila. Pupunitin ko pa sa harap nila! I'd rather pay for good service.

    ReplyDelete
  18. name the restaurant...para ma avoid na...

    ReplyDelete
  19. Lesson here is don't buy those discount coupons nalang. Am sure there's a catch to all these. They probably give you food of lesser quality and quantity as compared to if you were paying at regular price.

    ReplyDelete
  20. depende lang din kasi yan kung pano mo ihandle ung situation..since partly, fault mo naman talaga dahil di ka nagpareserve eh di dapat, nagdine in pa rin kayo tapos gamitin nyo na lang ung coupons na nabili nyo sa ibang araw..Di okay sakin eto, no offense pero I find it jologs to argue with them. Kawawa naman ung family mo pinagantay mo pa ng few hours just to eat the dimsum, where as you can treat them naman since it's not that expensive.Remember, pagnakipagaway ka sa sa crew ng resto, automatic yun bababuyin ang pagkain nyo...I wonder kung anu nilagay nila..or baka sa drinks nyo : )

    ReplyDelete
  21. we've availed of Smart Cards for four years na ata, and never pa ko nagkaproblem sa kahit anong partner establishments nila. tranferable pa yung mga discount cards...so i guess stick lang ako sa brand nila..hehe

    ReplyDelete
  22. sa letter sender,para mo na rin sinabing makakain ka lang sa resto na un kapag my mga promo's or coupons kang dala...pasenxa ka na..super jologs talga kasi ng eksena.di ko feel!

    ReplyDelete
  23. oh, my...is it really M dimsum? thought it was a really big establishment. i agree with Anon August 10, 2011 2:19 PM....the bigger establishments handle the promos better. i guess one tip that can be shared here when availing coupons is that you better research first on the merchant before you even purchase. Also join in the discussions/forum or ask questions from the groupon site so that you can be assured that it will be a hassle free transaction. And it will really be nice if you send feedback of your experience whether good or bad so that other people will also benefit from the information. Kaya thank you Adi for posting this! May we know what groupon site you got this? hehe

    ReplyDelete
  24. naku i know what groupon site you got the M dimsum deal. medyo may problema nga itong site na ito. i heard some complaints about other deals na nakuha sa kanila. i hope they put their acts together. sayang naman yung mga deals nila kase magaganda naman. in fairness, i never purchased any from this site pa so i wouldn't know firsthand if these stories were true or not. Siguro naman not all.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Oh, i have a similar experience. In their Glorietta 5 branch. I reserved at 11:30 am the day before and when we were there, they told us that vouchers can only be used between 2-5.

    I told them that the 2-5pm policy was not stipulated in the voucher and that their staff accommodated my 11:30 am reservation wit the knowledge that i will be using the voucher. And the restaurant is practically empty when we arrived.

    After a bit of argument and reasoning that we will be ordering other items not included in the voucher, they finally accommodated us.

    Never again will i eat in this resto called MK.

    ReplyDelete
  26. We had a problem rin in a high-end restaurant somewhere in BGC. We used the coupons rin for my mom's birthday celebration. It was not indicated in the voucher/coupon that only 20 coupons will be accumulated, eh we were a group of 25, so my uncle's family did not go nalang.

    When we reached the restaurant, we were suprised to see the table they set up. 2 long tables tapos nasa corner pa. What's worse, one of the long tables pa had BENCHES as a chair. So if one will go to the washroom, all 9 other people should stand up.

    Come dessert, we were surprised to see that not all of us had the same dessert. Yung iba sa amin, mousse nalang. Their reason? They ran out. It was a stupid excuse because we reserved 2 weeks prior to the dinner.

    What we did was call the company nalang and reported the incident. Good thing they gave us a refund for the 5 coupons that were not used.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh no! There is really a problem with these vouchers bought online. I have a blogger friend who got a very bad experience using vouchers in another restaurant. Her story is the most shocking! I swear!! Try reading it here: http://www.eatallyoucan.info/tag/apricot-diner/

    ReplyDelete
  28. We have to look at it on where the problem started. There a rules in these kinds of transactions that have to be followed. We cannot always have excuses for everything to get what we want. I'm sorry pero mali na yung start, reservation is a must.

    Think about it, these are still people you are talking to, they may not have the same tolerance as you but to have to handle a situation where they have already explained their side and they are not respected for just doing their job. Please that is why there are rules. I know... this may be a small start but Filipinos have to start changing themselves in order to see improvement in society and government. (Ang layo na ng napunta, but it's true.

    ReplyDelete
  29. san to?! clues please.. i really wanna know.. para aware din ako and my friends and family abt their bad service..

    ReplyDelete
  30. With these coupon companies, I read somewhere that establishments are actually losing revenue because of the terms and conditions that are part and parcel of their agreement with such coupon companies. But even if they are on the losing side, it is still free advertisement, customers might come back and entice their friends to patronize the establishment. There is absolutely no reason for them to behave snobbishly to customers. Their beef should be with that of the coupon companies not with the customers. I do not avail of such deals because I believe in paying a fair price for every item/service I purchase. If I think it is too expensive, I look for other alternatives. I feel for the sender though, their experience was really unfair.

    ReplyDelete
  31. tsktsktsk. nahulaan ko na kung ano resto... hahaha! yup, it's M. grabe naman... baka meron lang yung cashier. pero ang sarap nilang gerahin lahat! the customer is always right. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  32. i think the crew just did right. you know when you bought the coupon that you have to reserve before you go to the enterprise but you did not. it doesn't mean that though they accommodate you before, you may do it again without following instructions. is the crew when the first time you did it the same with the crew you encounter the second time? you must know how to follow rules. pinoys are really problematic with rules, i don't know why. you're making your own problem. yes there are vacant seats but what if there are new customers.

    ReplyDelete
  33. ganyan talga sa pinas. kunwari magpropromo, pero pag ginamit masama naman ang loob... hindi pa itinatago at nakasimangot pa.......... hindi katulad sa ibang bansa na promo or not, pareho lang ang service... kaya di mashado mabenta sa kin mga promong ganyan......knowing pinoy workers here.

    XONie

    ReplyDelete
  34. I think its not fair to post the name if the establishment, kasi isang branch lang naman yung ganon. Tama yung cashier nalang, sabi nga ng friend ko sa nagtaray sa kanya.., kung sisimangot ka lang din, hnd ka bagay sa harap ng customers, dun ka sa kitchen, yung hindi nakikita ng customers!

    ReplyDelete
  35. Galing ba yan sa E na groupon site? If yes, all their promos are ewww.. Try to buy coupon from a highend one. Good service since their vouchers are limited.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Best to read the fine print talaga, but in this case, the resto handled it quite badly. I also think it's M because they have a dimsum cart and at the same time I saw the deal in the group buying site.

    Meanwhile, I purchased a discounted massage from a group buying site, for a spa near our house and whose services we had previously used already. Haynako. Sa October pa may available na slot as of this week. But if walk-in na full price, syempre may slots sila. Oh well.

    ReplyDelete
  37. i think i know this resto. they have a branch in power plant as well. Bad service din dun when we went there last year so I never went back. Food wasn't even that great

    ReplyDelete
  38. I think the problem was with the Galleria branch talaga kasi she stated that the people from the other branch were more accommodating.

    ReplyDelete
  39. i think the crew just did right. you know when you bought the coupon that you have to reserve before you go to the enterprise but you did not. it doesn't mean that though they accommodate you before, you may do it again without following instructions. is the crew when the first time you did it the same with the crew you encounter the second time? you must know how to follow rules. pinoys are really problematic with rules, i don't know why. you're making your own problem. yes there are vacant seats but what if there are new customers.
    August 10, 2011 5:44 PM

    HELP!!! Somebody please call a police! This Person just murdered the english language! :s

    ReplyDelete
  40. If this is the groupon site E, I also had a bad experience purchasing a spa voucher from them. The spa wouldn't accommodate our voucher even if we have reservations coz they said that E did not pay them and will hold all the vouchers from them. I really argued since I already had a scheduled service and what's so annoying,we came all the way from Pampanga just to avail the promo. never again will I buy from them,after that incident I called E's attention and as usual they we're sorry for what happened and told us it won't happen again. I said yeah, coz I'm not buying from their site anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  41. I think both parties are at fault here. First, the letter sender should have made reservations as stipulated in the terms of the voucher. Kasi, from what i know, the establishments do lose revenue sa mga coupons na ito. What they get is free advertising. So ang ginagawa nila is kailangan kang magpareserve and usually iaaccommodate ka nila sa mga hours na di sila busy. I came to infer na nagpunta ka ng lunchtime. Bka may utos ang management na wag magentertain ng coupons sa ganung oras since technically it yung busy hours nila so they don't want to lose revenue.

    Second, the cashier could have handle the situation differently. Kahit na sabihin na natin at fault yung customer kasi di nagpareserve, she could have the situation in a better way. Pwede niya sabihin na sige pagbibigyan this time since hinde naman puno yung resto but you reiterate to the guest that they are making an exemption only. Kasi kahit ano pa sabihin nasa service-oriented yung business nila. So it's in poor taste na ialienate ang mga customers.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Well, they won't accommodate you like regular paying customers because: An order would be part of their quota, now if it were discounted, parang wala sya... so to them, you're insignificant, added "pagod" ka lang na di binabayaran. Most of the time wala pang tip. Seriously, sana manager kinausap ninyo and complained about it. If they wanted to have their resto included in the group coupon thing, sana man lang konting respeto sa customer dahil magiging regular paying customer mo din sila... TSK.... report nyo.

    ReplyDelete
  43. I agree the resto probably should have handled this better BUT I would also like to point out na medyo hindi rin ako agree sa ATTITUDE na parang feeling privileged ng ilan sa atin. IF the coupon stated to make a reservation, I don't think na dapat magalit kung hindi kayo i-accommodate if you did not make a reservation. Kahit na pinayagan kayo nong una (that's not an excuse... rather, swerte nga at nakalusot kayo one time... you shouldn't make that an excuse to break the rules again). Rules are rules, I guess. Now, for the subsequent attempt to make a reservation for 2 pm, I guess nainis na sila sa inyo dahil sa earlier stand-off niyo. Dito sa subsequent incident, I guess 50-50 na ang blame goes to the resto and to these customers.

    -- Fair is fair

    ReplyDelete
  44. Just to be fair not all M branches are like this. My family and i always eat at the glorietta branch and the service as well as food there are ok. They are polite and very accommodating.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Bat kasi sa kahera kasi kayo nakipagusap dapat sa manager. Baka hindi alam ng mga boss yung pinaggagawa ng mga subordinates nila.

    ReplyDelete
  46. TO LETTER SENDER..I TREAT KO NA LANG FAMILY MO NG HINDI SILA NAG-AANTAY NG ILANG ORAS PARA MAKAKAIN LANG NG DIMSUM.

    ReplyDelete
  47. i've tried some groupons site e.g. cash cash pinoy and ensogo and they're good naman. tama po yung ibang posts dito better read the print, im sure kalimitan sa mga resto eh reservation needed. bibihira lang ang mga resto na hindi ngrerequired ng reservation. pardon for this, pero nakakatawa lang kasi nakipagtalo pa kayo sa crew, wherein partly may mali ka rin naman, unang una, dapat ngpareserved ka, wag sana matigas ulo natin na ipilit yung gusto natin wherein the rules are clearly stated in the voucher. peace po.

    ReplyDelete
  48. To be fair, restaurant have the right to turn down any customers without reservation. It is clearly stated in your coupon. Its up 2 them if they will accomdate the customers even if there is empty tables.May be the staff can handle better but the customer is alrdy mad as hell. As usual, We all like to complaint about everything. When one starts, everyone jumps in..Typical...

    ReplyDelete
  49. oH DEAr, DI PWEDE SA AKIN TOH
    I sure hope that the sender of this letter did a little more than ranting here on FP
    kung ako to lalabas ang pagiging KABITENYO ko at susugpuin ko ang mga yun.
    I'm a reasonable mhuman being to reasonable scenarios pero pag hindi, ok lang matapon ang manners.

    ReplyDelete
  50. I heard that the groupon company already emailed the restaurant M because if the many complains they are receiving. They already called the attention if the said branch because they are really changing the rules. Like what the letter sender said earlier, it's only the galleria branch who has the problem since the glorietta branch is very accommodating.

    ReplyDelete
  51. I have had super bad service from M - Glorietta 5 branch. Not as a voucher holder, but as a regular restaurant goer. They served our food late and cold. And there were hardly any customers. The thing was the kitchen staff were outside of the kitchen, just sitting around talking. I think they enjoyed their conversation so much, they forgot to cook our food. Then when we looked for the manager, a guy who didn't look like a manager didn't even apologize and appeared clueless on what to do. Anyway, sorry for the long rant. This post just made me relive my bad memories about M chinese resto.

    ReplyDelete
  52. I hope other people won't get to experience this kind of treatment from other restaurants especially to those who'll be using promos. Remember, you paid for it. It's not like you got those things for free. With or without discounts, you still paid for it so don't let these establishments treat you unfairly.

    ReplyDelete
  53. so far, never had an issue with any of the vouchers i've bought from those sites. my personal faves are those from cashcashpinoy, dealgrocer and metrodeal :)

    ReplyDelete
  54. JOLOGS NUNG LETTER SENDER

    ReplyDelete
  55. obvious namang kasalanan ng sender,noh. mahadera siya. alam nyang kakain siya dun, di siya nagpareserve. kaya nga may rules para maiwasan ang mga ganyang altercations. that they were allowed to eat without reservation the previous week does not mean that they would be given the same liberality the following week. nagbabago ang mga circumstances. besides, walang discretionary authority ang mga r&f like the cashier, they just follow what they are told. dapat hinanap nya ang manager agad.

    on the other hand, it was rude of the employees of that dimsum house to treat the customer like that. granted na maldita tong si sender and her family,dapat wag silang mapagpatol. customer is king. also, kung talagang gusto nila iaccommodate yun as part of their customer service, pwede naman talaga pagbigyan or kung hindi kaya, at least have the courtesy to tell them nicely.

    o well, nagflare up na lang siguro. human nature. pag na stress, we could not control our emotions. what can they do nga naman kung yung customer na nga ang mali nagmamaganda pa. tignan mo nga sa letter nya, gusto ni customer na i-honor ng dimsum house yung terms and conditions na favorable sa kanya and yet hindi nya nacomply yung very simple condition of calling for reservation, tapos siya pa magmamaktol.


    ako, i just availed of a voucher last night. actually, di ko dala voucher. nakiusap ako if i can fax it tomorrow. sabi ng manager they need a copy. i begged. i told them that the voucher is about to expire and mahirap for me to return to their store. she was able to understand my predicament, so she made an effort to accommodate me. in the end, i got what i wanted from them and the store earned profit from me and got a happy customer, to boot. the thing is, we talked in the manner that civilized people do. may diplomacy; both of us were cool and talked softly. on my part, i knew at the start that i was not in the right. so, instead of being an ass like the letter sender, i was humble. i did not impose or assert my right as a customer. the manager, on the other hand, i felt that she really wanted to help me and at the same time get a sale for the store. she never said no or that it was not possible. walang negative siyang sinabi; she let me feel that she would do her best. in short, we did not lock horns and neither of us felt agitated kaya nagawan namin ng solution yung supposed problem.

    Kudos to the manager of Honeybee (Bubble tea) cakeshop in wilson, greenhills. ALthough, i must say medyo pricey ang cakes nila. As for the taste, I could not tell yet. later ko pa matitikman. but from what i saw sa mga face ng diners nila, i think it would be worth the price naman.

    ReplyDelete
  56. Sana nireklamo ni letter sender ang establishment at hindi na sya naghintay ng 2pm for some lousy dimsum! Parang pinakita nya na di sila makakain kung hindi dahil sa discounted coupon. Dapat ang ginawa nya, hinampas nya sa mukha ni cashier yung coupon at lumayas sya at kumain sa ibang restaurant!

    ReplyDelete
  57. kumain pa rin kayo kahit na nakipag away na kayo sa cashier? sana hindi na. baka kung ano ano pa ang nilagay nila sa food ninyo.

    ReplyDelete
  58. i would have been 100% on the side of the letter sender had she made a reservation prior to arriving in the restaurant. it is stated in the rules and restaurants or any establishment can refuse to accept a customer without it. had the reservation clause not been included in the fine print, it would be a totally different story.

    ReplyDelete
  59. I regularly buy from these sites although I don't buy a lot when it comes to restaurant coupons - just one or two to try out the place if I haven't been there. I think both parties were at fault. I know that since a lot of call centers opened in the Philippines, that raised our awareness of good customer service. If Pinoy agents can extend that kind of service to American/International clients why can't we get the same service from our local establishments - makes sense di ba? But the sad fact is we can't and no matter how much we rant and rile against an establishment that doesn't mean we'll get good results. If hindi makuha si restaurant sa mabuting usapan, voucher holder should've just left and complained to the site that sold the voucher and the management of the restaurant. Imagine bumalik pa ng 2pm? Vouchers were for dimsum for crying out loud! It's not like the dimsum from the fancy restaurant in a hotel like FPs previous BI. Hindi commensurate yung stress nila that day just so they can use the dimsum vouchers. The restaurant is definitely at fault too (and I wish I knew which resto this was) but letter sender is not without her own shortcomings and from where am looking she failed to exercise common sense. Nagbratinela din so in the end I think she lost more in this case. There are smarter ways to get the results she wanted.

    ReplyDelete
  60. I was supposed to buy this coupon as well for M.K. good thing I didn't! It's a bit ironic na they post these deals online for them to build/rebuild their reputation when it backfires in the end. I guess restaurant crews have the belief that customers who use coupons are somewhat beneath them.

    ReplyDelete
  61. i've tried my vouchers at M in glorietta and galleria. both have unsatisfactory service. i called to reserve at both times and i was told there was no need. got the name of the persons just the same but had no problems when we got there.

    the problem with glorietta was this: there was no customer when my sister and i visited at dinner on a weekday, but our orders came only after about 30 minutes.

    at galleria, i was able to use 2 vouchers same day, for a group of 8, but the staff couldn't understand the clause in the voucher that says it can also be used as a discount coupon. pero ok lang, i just paid for whatever was not accommodated.

    yung branch sa rockwell ok naman. i guess the 2 branches lang ang medyo kinapos sa customer service training.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Grabe naman yang establishment na yan. No consideration. I'm also a fan of online deals and I had 2 experiences na di ako nagpareserve sa resto. First, resto malapit lang talaga cia sa ofc namin at nakikita ko namang never na napuno yun kaya inaccommodate nila ako even I don't have reservation. Second time on diffnt resto, tamang tama na andun na rin kami sa mall and I had my printed vouchers on my bag so go na rin kami and me vacant tables pa rin naman kaya they accommodate us even no reservation.

    ReplyDelete
  63. I can relate! I bought Pho24 (Ayala Triangle) vouchers and the staff suddenly had other requirements such as ID and authorization letter for Gift Certificates! San ka nakarinig non? Haha hassle badtrip talaga. Plus they also had other charges.

    ReplyDelete
  64. Sobra naman yun restaurant! My husband bought a similar voucher but we have yet to use it. After reading this letter, I know na that we will be going to their Glorietta branch instead of the one at Galleria.

    ReplyDelete
  65. TO LETTER SENDER..I TREAT KO NA LANG FAMILY MO NG HINDI SILA NAG-AANTAY NG ILANG ORAS PARA MAKAKAIN LANG NG DIMSUM.
    August 11, 2011 12:47 AM

    GAME MANLIBRE KA KUNG GUSTO MO!

    ReplyDelete
  66. hindi naman ito kung gaano kamahal o mura ang binayaran. nagbayad ang customer so dapat lang maging maayos pakikitungo ng restaurant staff.

    para kay
    Anonymous said...
    sa letter sender,para mo na rin sinabing makakain ka lang sa resto na un kapag my mga promo's or coupons kang dala...pasenxa ka na..super jologs talga kasi ng eksena.di ko feel!
    August 10, 2011 2:38 PM

    sana isipin mo ginagamit lang yung promo na binili nila kesa naman masayang. kung ikaw din naman sigurado ako manghihinayang ka sa mga nabili mong promo kung hindi mo pala magagamit. she's just being practical. sana wag ka manghusga :) kung mangyari yan sayo, magiging jologs ka din kaya? :) be considerate lang. management may problema. be nice to your customers. kung mali man sila, sabihin ng maayos at hindi yung cashier pa yun magtataray.

    ReplyDelete
  67. kung ako un hindi na ako kumain! refund dapat!

    ReplyDelete
  68. Next time dont expect quality service at discounted price ok. If you have enough money why settle for less?? Try to contact first the service provider before going there to know the mechanics of the said promo. Theres always polite way of sating things. Reklamo ng reklamo. We already encountered that tons of times kung sinonpa naka voucher sila pa mareklamo thab the normal paying customer.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Miss Letter Sender, why did you allow yourselves to be humiliated like that? Especially since you were with your mom. It was a very unnecessary stress for a dimsum! The first time you were declined, you could have just called the attention of the manager, noted down his name and the name of the crew, and walked away without forgetting to file a complaint before the resto's head office and the DTI. You were dealing with a bunch of people with no culture. What made you think they were going to have any a few hours later?

    -iamGM

    ReplyDelete
  70. wow, binastos ka na at lahat, bumalik ka pa din ng 2pm para kumain? yaiks, baka may 'hinalo' na sa dimsum niyo.

    also, sana you went to another branch nalang.... all that stress for discounted dimsum?

    ReplyDelete
  71. this is such an interestng topic but mine kasi got all busted when i purchased 2 GJ voucher using referral points. Then pagpunta ko sa GJ Galle shucks wala daw sa list yung voucher code!!! kakahiya..up to now wala pa din sagot ang coupon site!

    ReplyDelete
  72. Bastusan naman, but sometimes the establishments do that eh. They tend to powertrip.

    We also had a coupon to this hotel's/serviced apartments' house restaurant in the Pasig area. It said in the coupon's terms that we had to make a reservation 1-2 days before dining. But we tried our luck and made a reservation on the day itself.

    The person who answered the phone said that they usually don't take reservations unless it was made 2-3 days in advance, but because they didn't have as much people coming in, they would allow it this time.

    When we got there, wala namang katao-tao. Siguro there were 3-4 other tables occupied. Yun na 'yon.

    Having experience in working in restaurants, it's not the most polite thing to say "We usually don't accept..." If you have a free table, just accept the reservation and don't say anything else. If you don't have a table or don't want to serve the extra diners, then tell the customer you have no table available and would they care to reserve some other day... Kasi parang we should be grateful pa na we get to be entertained eh.

    ReplyDelete
  73. for once I wouldn't side with the sender. it was pretty clear to call in for reservations first. i guess we also need to understand that the reason these vouchers are cheap, is because there's a catch to it. and unless you're smart enough to get it i don't suggest you waste you and your family's time for some freakin' dimsum. not only is the sender jologs, pathetic attention seeker pa. it's so easy to file a complaint through the website or the resto and ge this ironed out, then again, jologs nga pala talaga yung sender.

    ReplyDelete
  74. ive used my several vouchers in the past and never had any problem...make sure lang that you read the details of the deal..i mean, how difficult is it to call in advance and make a reservation di ba? hilig talaga kasi ng ibang kababayan natin sa shortcut e... these establishments need to set and follow rules to ensure efficient operation...kaya aside from the reservation they also require IDs and the printed vouchers for identidy checking and reference nga naman....

    konti disiplina lang sana ang kinailangan para walang hassle...sorry lettersender pero wala ka talaga sa lugar

    ReplyDelete
  75. Next time dont expect quality service at discounted price ok. August 11, 2011 6:53 PM

    Really now? If you think that's right and fair di baka ganyang tao ka din. Pera pera lang!!

    I availed of a Mr. Jones voucher and was really happy with the food and service..

    ReplyDelete
  76. I agree that the letter sender should have made prior reservations as it was listed on the terms and conditions. I also frequent online websites and a fan of good deals. I always thought as long as i follow the terms and conditions, i will be fine. I was wrong. I bought vouchers from Cashcashpinoy (read my experience on http://chineseadobo.blogspot.com) and their merchant changed the terms of the voucher in the middle of the redemption period. This seriously questions the accountability of these websites. If you read the general terms and conditions, these websites pushes all the liability to just the customer and merchant. They totally wash their hands of any liability as they are supposedly just the marketplace. So write your favorite websites and ask them if they are guaranteeing the terms and conditions and what remedies are available to you.

    ReplyDelete
  77. hhehehhehe!! natawa talaga ako sa effort ng letter sender na awayin at balikan talaga at 2PM... super jologs talaga na pagpilitan ang sarili. once ganun na treatment sayo, pwede niyo naman diretso sa DTI kesa awayin in public. :) in the first place may nakalagay naman to make reservations 1 day before you avail the coupon.. sa glorietta nalang kayo since better service nila sa group deals.. okay?

    ReplyDelete
  78. August 11, 2011 7:19 PM 0 super agree!! kalerky siya... bumalik talaga!

    ReplyDelete
  79. dapat kasi you have to make tawag talaga before you go to the resto para di kayo maagrabyado. it doesn't mean na nakalusot ka the first time, makakalusot ka pa rin the next. may kasalanan din ung cutomer, nasa terms and conditions din naman yata ung "tumawag for reservation", right?

    ReplyDelete