Earlier this month, my television (which has been serving my family and I loyally for the past 5 years or so) finally called it a quit and stopped functioning. It was a terrible blow to me, I must confess, as I am such a vivid fan of televison watching. :) For this reason, I "psycho-ed" my mother to replace a new set for the family quickly and the place where we chose our latest TV set was from Gain City (Boon Keng).
Now, the main reason why we select this outlet was primarily because of its close proximity location to our place, and the fact that we have made purchases from them previously. In fact, the now "rested in peace" TV was bought from them several years back, and we were relatively satisfied with the purchase experience.
Anyway, this time round, I have to say that the service quality was still okay except that the salesperson could be more pro-active and be better equipped with the product knowledge. For instance, when we were asking about where is the place for manufacturing for certain models of TV, the salesperson was unable to provide us with a definite answer off-handedly. He has to check through his file and answer us. I can understand that there may be a lot of product details and it is impossible for him to remember every single thing but I guess it will be good if the salesperson is able to answer those "frequently asked questions" promptly. This will reflect well in their service level and professionalism.
Also, we were standing in the shop for about 10-15 min before 1 salesperson actually approached and attended to us. There was no other customers in the shop at that time and there were 3 salespersons sitting behind the counter. I wondered what they were thinking or assuming then. Well, possibly that the customers are just looking around and not intending to buy anything? I don't know about others but as a customer I would prefer more pro-activeness and friendliness from them. In the end, we did purchased a LCD TV from the shop and arranged for it to be delivered. We also arranged for our retired TV to be traded in to them.
On the day of delivery, we were rather surprised as the deliveryman who came only brought us the new TV but they did not collect the old one from us. There was a slight confusion as all along we thought the collection of old TV will be carried out by the same deliveryman. When we asked him, he said that he was only asked to deliver the TV and nothing else. We would have to call and ask the retail shop about the collection. I was like, why didn't they specify that to us earlier? So I called up the shop and they said they will arrange another deliveryman to pick up the old one. We were waiting for them and now we have to wait for another man to pick up the TV? Moreover, they could give us a definite time as to when the next guy will arrive.
So we waited and waited until it was mid afternoon then the guy came. The original time when the deliveryman delivered the new TV was 12pm, mind you, and we waited for like 4 hours before the other guy turned up! I could have done some other productive things during this period other than pure waiting. :(
Thus, given my experience with them, I would rate the service level provided as only average. I guess that's fair and they could do better if they can improve themselves.
Fish & Co. What can I say? One of the most established local names for seafood restaurant. I have been to this outlet for a number of times, and generally as a whole, they were pleasant experiences. I must admit that the staff there are friendly and pretty customer-oriented.
I remember there was once when my friend and I were really full after sharing the extra big size of seafood platter for two. One of the staff, I remembered she is a Malay who can speak Mandarin, came over and joke/chat with us, and asked us whether the food was good and stuff like that. I know this is probably something that's done in most restaurants that practise good customer service but then it really warmed my heart that the staff really took the initiative and approached customers pro-actively.
Food-wise, I'm not in much position to comment as I'm always choosing either fish n chips or seafood platters. Not an adventurous eater. Hahaha... anyway food always taste good when they piping hot and I'm starving. :)
I visited Din Tai Feng at Paragon two nights ago for a dinner gathering with couple of friends. It was my first visit there despite all the raves about the Chinese restaurant named as one of the best Chinese cuisine restaurant by The New York Times. Anyway, we ordered several dishes like the prawn fried rice, fried rice with chicket cutlet, xiao long bao (original), xiao long bao (with crabmeat), dan dan noodle, handmade noodle with prawn.
Basically, I find that the variety of food items on the menu seemed relatively limited, not to mention higher price tag. Maybe I was expecting something more in terms of food variety options. And it seems that there's many dishes prepared with prawns in them! Haha... Then again, I have to say that the quality and level of cleanliness and customer service is up to standard and the food taste is generally good. The environment is pretty cozy and I suppose it's a good place to have meals with family or friends. Foodwise, I like the xiao long bao and handmade noodle. You can savour the sweetness of the soup inside xiao long bao as you bite into the thin skin of the bao. As for the noodle, it has a QQ texture and is not overly cooked- just nice!
Based on the above, I give the restaurant 4 out of 5 stars.
I find Han's Cafe a pretty good place to have value-for-money good food. Personally, I have visited the Han's Cafe outlet in Far East Plaza 1 month back. One thing good about its location in the shopping centre is that it's located near the public restrooms so I guess it's pretty convenient when the nature calls :)
I like the setting of this outlet; somehow I feel that it looks slightly more classy compared to the heartland outlet at Geylang Bahru and it's definitely much more spacier than the National Library Building branch. The downside of the outlet is that the table can be wiped cleaner. My fave food on the menu will have to be the Chicken Chop in mushroom sauce, Grilled dory fish and Fish n Chips. What's more, when you order the main set, it comes along with a drink, dessert of the day and soup of the day as well as a slice of garlic bread toast. This means you only spend less than $10 bucks and can to enjoy so much food items. There's no service charge and so it is Real Value for MONEY ! :)
As for the level of customer service, I find it generally all right, meaning not particularly excellent or revolting. The thing about Han's Cafe is that when you order your food, you have to approach the cashier at the counter. After placing your order, you will get the drink, bread and desset and have to bring it over to your own seat. The main dish will be served later by the staff and most of the time, it WILL take a while.
A tip for ordering: for some reason, everytime I order food at the cashier, the staff are always middle aged ladies/aunties so I guess in order to set them in a good mood, one has to accommodate to their style of speaking. That is, speak in a mixture of Mandarin and broken English- they will respond better. :) hee..
I give it 4 stars. Good food, low price. What are you waiting for?
I do eat at Megabites too and I find that besides the main attraction there- Western food, the other food stalls such as the one selling soupy food is good. I love the fried fish mee hoon there. The soup base may be a bit bland but I guess with all the oily and salty stuff that we eat outside, it's good to try something that's healthier. :) And also, the fried fish is done just nicely; the meat is tender and not hard like the ones served opposite at the other stall at the Food Court. There's tofu, tomato and veggie given in the fish soup as well. You can order it in the form of just pure fish soup ($3.00) or add rice or other noodle along with it at 50cents. Besides the fried fish, you can opt for the non-fried fish meat, they'll cooked on the spot for you. I have yet to try the non-fried version but comments from my friends have been that the fried one is better.
So there you have it, go on and give this stall a try if you happen to be there!
1=SGD 0.0587
Now, the main reason why we select this outlet was primarily because of its close proximity location to our place, and the fact that we have made purchases from them previously. In fact, the now "rested in peace" TV was bought from them several years back, and we were relatively satisfied with the purchase experience.
Anyway, this time round, I have to say that the service quality was still okay except that the salesperson could be more pro-active and be better equipped with the product knowledge. For instance, when we were asking about where is the place for manufacturing for certain models of TV, the salesperson was unable to provide us with a definite answer off-handedly. He has to check through his file and answer us. I can understand that there may be a lot of product details and it is impossible for him to remember every single thing but I guess it will be good if the salesperson is able to answer those "frequently asked questions" promptly. This will reflect well in their service level and professionalism.
Also, we were standing in the shop for about 10-15 min before 1 salesperson actually approached and attended to us. There was no other customers in the shop at that time and there were 3 salespersons sitting behind the counter. I wondered what they were thinking or assuming then. Well, possibly that the customers are just looking around and not intending to buy anything? I don't know about others but as a customer I would prefer more pro-activeness and friendliness from them. In the end, we did purchased a LCD TV from the shop and arranged for it to be delivered. We also arranged for our retired TV to be traded in to them.
On the day of delivery, we were rather surprised as the deliveryman who came only brought us the new TV but they did not collect the old one from us. There was a slight confusion as all along we thought the collection of old TV will be carried out by the same deliveryman. When we asked him, he said that he was only asked to deliver the TV and nothing else. We would have to call and ask the retail shop about the collection. I was like, why didn't they specify that to us earlier? So I called up the shop and they said they will arrange another deliveryman to pick up the old one. We were waiting for them and now we have to wait for another man to pick up the TV? Moreover, they could give us a definite time as to when the next guy will arrive.
So we waited and waited until it was mid afternoon then the guy came. The original time when the deliveryman delivered the new TV was 12pm, mind you, and we waited for like 4 hours before the other guy turned up! I could have done some other productive things during this period other than pure waiting. :(
Thus, given my experience with them, I would rate the service level provided as only average. I guess that's fair and they could do better if they can improve themselves.
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I remember there was once when my friend and I were really full after sharing the extra big size of seafood platter for two. One of the staff, I remembered she is a Malay who can speak Mandarin, came over and joke/chat with us, and asked us whether the food was good and stuff like that. I know this is probably something that's done in most restaurants that practise good customer service but then it really warmed my heart that the staff really took the initiative and approached customers pro-actively.
Food-wise, I'm not in much position to comment as I'm always choosing either fish n chips or seafood platters. Not an adventurous eater. Hahaha... anyway food always taste good when they piping hot and I'm starving. :)
Overall, I give it 4 out of 5 stars.
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Basically, I find that the variety of food items on the menu seemed relatively limited, not to mention higher price tag. Maybe I was expecting something more in terms of food variety options. And it seems that there's many dishes prepared with prawns in them! Haha... Then again, I have to say that the quality and level of cleanliness and customer service is up to standard and the food taste is generally good. The environment is pretty cozy and I suppose it's a good place to have meals with family or friends. Foodwise, I like the xiao long bao and handmade noodle. You can savour the sweetness of the soup inside xiao long bao as you bite into the thin skin of the bao. As for the noodle, it has a QQ texture and is not overly cooked- just nice!
Based on the above, I give the restaurant 4 out of 5 stars.
Login to add your comment. Or, Register for an account now. It's free!I agree that Din Tai Fung is quite limited wor... Glad to hear that the service at this outlet is good :)
25 Jan 2008 at 8:26 am
Limited? They got quite a lot of dishes alr leh. Hmm....
25 Jan 2008 at 9:31 am
I like the setting of this outlet; somehow I feel that it looks slightly more classy compared to the heartland outlet at Geylang Bahru and it's definitely much more spacier than the National Library Building branch. The downside of the outlet is that the table can be wiped cleaner. My fave food on the menu will have to be the Chicken Chop in mushroom sauce, Grilled dory fish and Fish n Chips. What's more, when you order the main set, it comes along with a drink, dessert of the day and soup of the day as well as a slice of garlic bread toast. This means you only spend less than $10 bucks and can to enjoy so much food items. There's no service charge and so it is Real Value for MONEY ! :)
As for the level of customer service, I find it generally all right, meaning not particularly excellent or revolting. The thing about Han's Cafe is that when you order your food, you have to approach the cashier at the counter. After placing your order, you will get the drink, bread and desset and have to bring it over to your own seat. The main dish will be served later by the staff and most of the time, it WILL take a while.
A tip for ordering: for some reason, everytime I order food at the cashier, the staff are always middle aged ladies/aunties so I guess in order to set them in a good mood, one has to accommodate to their style of speaking. That is, speak in a mixture of Mandarin and broken English- they will respond better. :) hee..
I give it 4 stars. Good food, low price. What are you waiting for?
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So there you have it, go on and give this stall a try if you happen to be there!
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