Apart from delicious food, one thing that customers definitely look out for when dining out is good service from staff members of the restaurant.
However, it seems like this Malaysian woman and her Singaporean relatives only got the former when they patronised a well-known eatery in Melaka last week, with the latter being completely nonexistent.
On 8 June, Facebook user SisYana Lashes took to the social media platform to reveal her dining experience at Restoran 35 eatery, a popular food establishment in Melaka.
And I think it’s pretty safe to say that she and her family had a less-than-satisfactory experience there despite the allegedly tasty food.
“Previously I liked to eat here, today I want to bring my family from Singapore to eat here. It’s sad you know, we come here to send money to people but what kind of treatment do they return?” she even wrote in Malay.
Staff Member Made Comments About Customers Being Late
In her post, SisYana recounted how she, her family and their relatives from Singapore reached the eatery at around 2pm on that day.
By that time, most of the dishes were already sold out.
After taking a look at the dishes left in the display area, SisYana apparently asked a staff member if those were the only dishes left, and the staff member replied yes.
SisYana then “immediately ordered everything” and requested for the food to be served, but a comment from a woman in the kitchen soon took SisYana by shock.
The staff in the kitchen told her sarcastically, “Look at what time you came, even if we served elephant [as food], the elephant would also be finished.”
Even though SisYana was initially offended, she chose to not pay attention to the stall owner’s words.
Instead, the group decided to sit down to have their meal.
Staff Continued to Make Comments and Nag
Despite SisYana turning a blind eye to the woman’s initial remarks, she apparently continued to make other comments about SisYana’s family.
“She didn’t stop nagging, as if the problem was caused by my family,” SisYana added.
In her post, Sisyana also included a video that recorded what the lady said.
She apparently commented in Malay, “This is my shop, it’s my problem if I want to sell or not.”
Afterwards, the family found that their bill amounted to a total of RM240 (approximately S$75), and SisYana said that she paid for the food “without asking” any other questions.
However, the nasty comments from the woman didn’t just stop there.
Staff Called Her Poor Because She Ordered an Omelette Dish
Despite SisYana choosing to let the previous snarky comments by the female staff member go, the same staff member proceeded to say something else that was apparently the last straw for SisYana.
“Only eat omelette. If you don’t have money don’t bring your parents out to eat,” she allegedly said.
After accusing SisYana of being too poor to afford anything else, SisYana said that she felt embarrassed and hurt.
From the images and photos that she attached in her Facebook post, there were other dishes that the family ordered as well.
“Even my mother said it’s the first time she’s seen people doing business like this,” SisYana added.
She concluded her post by writing, “It’s a shame for outsiders to see how people in Melaka are doing their business. Even though the outsiders are my relatives from Singapore, I still feel embarrassed.
“Meet the rudest Melaka people at this restaurant!”
Eatery’s Owner Known to be Rude
In her post, SisYana also mentioned that she knew about the eatery owner’s reputation of being rude, but that it was the first time she had witnessed that behaviour for herself.
“Before this, I’d heard about the lady’s behaviour but because I’ve never faced any issues, I was okay. Now that I’ve experienced it myself, I know.”
The Malaysia Gazette later reported that the staff member of Restoran 35 that was involved in the incident is Nor Abdilla Baharom, the daughter of the eatery’s owner.
Nor Abdilla, 39, has apparently apologised for her actions and said that she “failed to control [her] emotions”.
She acknowledged that her actions were wrong and that she spoke in a loud manner to the customers.
However, despite her apology, she also insisted that customers may make mistakes at times too.
She told Utusan Malaysia that she was initially upset that day due to an issue regarding a lemon drink that SisYana’s mother had ordered.
According to her, SisYana’s mother was not satisfied with the drink.
Apart from that, she added that her “nagging” was in relation to a conversation that she was having with her mother, and that it had nothing to do with the customers.
She then expressed her wishes for the incident to be settled, and that other members of the public can choose for themselves whether the eatery’s asam pedas “suits their tastebuds”.
Nor Abdilla also said that customers have the right to choose whether or not they are satisfied with the service provided at the eatery.
Online Reviews Echo Similar Sentiments Regarding Eatery Staff’s Attitude
Based on Google reviews, it seems like SisYana and her family weren’t the only ones who experienced the poor service at the eatery.
“Bad service. Asam pedas was good but totally not recommended. Hello we eat and paid. Its not like we take your food for free ok? Seriously out,” one reviewer wrote.
In the comments section of SisYana’s Facebook post, many commenters disapproved of the staff member’s behaviour and even asked for the stall to be boycotted.
Featured Image: Facebook (SisYana Lashes)