Now let me see that again, "...pioneered the quick-service..." How quick is that quick-service that we are talking about?
Once, about two years ago, we have visited this newly re-opened branch of Chowking Imus (Nueno Avenue, Imus, Cavite) to have a taste of their halo-halo and some chicharap for my kids. Of course, there are a lot of customers inside, we found a table near the kitchen and the CR, and near a table where managers write their report for the day which clearly just an arm's reach from our table.
Falling in line at the cashier already was a hassle, and I didn't see any hustle at the part of the counter crews there. They have an order-taker, who barely did anything just to help you not focus your mind at the long line in front of you because by the time you reached the cashier, you already changed your mind so many times on what you want to order unless you really have the specific item in mind before you even entered the store. They have this jar of "fortune cookies" by the cashier's POS, I bought 4pcs of it, one for each of us, just to know how it tasted. And so I ordered one Chowking halo-halo petite, and two boxes of Chicharap. The cashier gave me an ID number for my orders and said that they'll just bring the items to our table because it was for dine-in.
Now here's a question, how long does it take to cook a bunch of Chicharap and to assemble a petite halo-halo? I'm confused. Because I have worked as a service crew at McDonald's before and I have handled cooking at the production area, we have our own stations and in every station there is at least one or two persons handling it especially during rush hours, which by the way around 11am-1pm and 4pm-7pm. We went at Chowking around 4pm. We waited and waited and waited until they delivered the petite halo-halo after 30mins, of course I followed up on the Chicharap and the dine-in crew said that he'll follow-up and so we waited and waited and waited AGAIN! We were almost finished with the halu-halo, we ate slowly just to pass the time, my kids have eaten a lot of fortune cookies already (and I mean a lot! We have a basketful of paper already!) and still no sign of the damned Chicharap! And here's another thing, the table next to us already got their food and they came later that us! I mean, what the hell has happened to our order? And so I approached the kitchen area and looked for the manager, I asked him how long does it take to cook a Chicharap and told him that we have waited for an hour for just two boxes of Chicharap! Of course he told me that they will hustle and deliver them as soon as possible and so again we waited...and waited...and waited... Guess what? We finally got the Chicharap after one and a half hour since we got seated.
Now is that what they call "QUICK SERVICE?!" And the crew who caught my rage of talking and yelling because of their SLOW service didn't even know what to say! Shouldn't the managers be the one to talk to me about this problem? Here's what I think, that they are all a bunch of cowards sending a helpless person to the lion's den, delivering the damned finger food to a very pissed-off lioness! I'm a very patient woman and I stretch my patience as long as I can but that is too much! They shouldn't use that lame excuse that there are a lot of customers, then what the hell is the ID number they gave if they don't know how to handle it? And where are the organizing skills of those managers? Shouldn't they be trained on how to handle their stations and their people during rush hours?
So here's the thing, I thought that there will be any difference with some other branches of Chowking but NO! They all share the same problem, they are all SLOW! We had the same problem with SM Bacoor's branch after about a month or two, same old story, we waited for almost an hour before we got our food. We went to SM Molino's branch after about three or four months, same old story but this time my father was the one who's outraged (you don't want him to be angry...I mean it!) and he called for the manager and the manager didn't want to go out of the safety of the kitchen! Scared to death, right?!
To the Chowking management, please do yourselves and your customers a BIG FAVOR, don't claim that you can deliver quick service like some fast food or self-service restaurants, because you can't handle a fast food setting! Maybe you should re-organize and re-build your stores as a real restaurant then maybe we can forgive you for your slow moving service! The food is great, I admit, but the service is the worst ever!
Here's another blog from another regular customer of Chowking, doesn't seem that he's satisfied at all about the service either! Read on: http://aidzvirus.multiply.com/journal/item/33/Chowking_Masarap._Daming_Hassle._Pfft.
And here's a review from one of the customer of Chowking Imus also, made just a month ago, still no progress about their customer service, huh?!
Now, here's my ratings for CHOWKING (All of the branches mentioned above!):
Legend - 1 is worst, 5 is best
FOOD:
taste - ♥ ♥ ♥
presentation (including variation of menu) - ♥ ♥
STORE:
cleanliness - ♥ ♥
ambiance (including background music) - ♥
CUSTOMER SERVICE:
service crew - ♥ ♥
managers - ♥
VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY:
regular menu - ♥ ♥
budget meals - ♥ ♥ ♥
I rest my case!
