Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Brick-bats and Bouquets

Okay... the bouquet first, to (wait for it...) the wonderful customer service at the Ceylon Continental. Mums had gone there for a workshop and at lunch had been quite sad that all desserts had been made with eggs. After picking a few pieces of fruit off the top of a mousse she had noticed the chef hovering around and in her charming way requested that they please consider just one egg-free option for the next few days of the workshop.

No sooner had she returned to her seat than a marvelous concoction topped with whipped cream and a cherry was placed before her, compliments of the chef and certified egg-free. Mums was happily munching on the toothsome morsel when a dish of kiri-peni was whipped in front of her as well! Much laughter at this turning of tables from the rest of the crowd, who are usually used to flaunting their wide range of dessert choices in front of Mums... :)

Now Mums goes for these big do's at hotels (wedding/workshop/conferance) fairly often... and usually asks the chef/steward if there are any egg free desserts. The usual answer is a shrug and a polite "sorry madam". Was really pleased with the chef for being so nice to her and not forgetting to provide egg-free goodies for the rest of the workshop... loads of brownie points, dude, and well done Ceylon Continental!

The brick on the otherhand is thrown at a certain "superbrand" men's clothing boutique which for ethical and possible legal reasons shall remain un-named. Since Darling and the Brothers needed suits, there they went to choose fabric and give their measurements... I tagged along too. The first fishy thing they did was up the price the moment they realised it was for a wedding... the 6K tailoring charge became 10K. Then they said that only italian made fabric was available in the colour we wanted... fabric initially quoted at 4K per suit length became 4K per yard... and 3 1/2 yards needed for a suit.

After deciding to go ahead with it the three guys were hanging around the measurement counter for ages, occasionally chatting with the salesguy. I waited and waited and waited. Mearly an hour later, no measurements had been taken. The sales dude, who had been servile to the extreme while the manager was about, started dishing out some serious attitude when politely asked when they planned to take the measurements. I was irritated, the boys were irritated and finally we just walked out... it just wasn't worth the fuss and feathers. The irony of the "superbrand" books placed prominantly about the store did not escape me. So much for fancy titles!

2 comments:

pissu perera said...

customer service really sucks in SL doesn't it? now if they were given a commission for every deal they brought in, then they'll be nice to you.

Jack Point said...

I was told never say "wedding" at any time. Even hotels charge more.

When booking it is apparently best to say it is for a party or for something non-commital. Too late in your case I guess, but perhaps others can bear the advice in mind.