New Motto For Taiwanese Restaurants

[ThreadKiller]

I get really excited when I receive good service here, which suggests that it isn't the norm.

I'm not spending too much time in high-end places, but service should be with a smile wherever you go. MilkTeaJack and I got extremely friendly service at a TGI Friday's last Sunday. The bartender and waiter were incredibly happy and helpful. It might be something they put in the water, but it might also be that they were making a conscious effort to make up for the cook's lack of ability at this particular branch. I generally like Friday's, but the meal in question was under par, despite the company.

Service here needs some polishing.

[ThreadKiller]

... is it really harmless to vent in such a way? Do I EVER think when my father does something silly, "English men are such idiots?" Of course I wouldn't. And to be honest whatever I do in my daily life I NEVER stop and think, "this is happening because I am in England." I dunno really what my point it, and of course, I am not trying to stifle discussion, really trying to prise open the mindset of the overseas adventurer.

I personally don't think it's racist to say traffic or service or anything else in a country sucks, and change doesn't come if everybody just accepts the mediocrity around them. Lili never called any race idiotic. I think discussion about whether complaints about a country are racist or not would make for great discussion, but this isn't the thread for them. I'm going to assume that the present topic is about service in restaurants and will try to mod it accordingly from now on. If you think service here rocks, tell us. If it sucks, have a little harmless rant while still loving the country.

[jimipresley]

I'm going to assume that the present topic is about service in restaurants and will try to mod it accordingly from now on. If you think service here rocks, tell us. If it sucks, have a little harmless rant while still loving the country.

Oh, just leave it. Jury by peers.

[maoman]

Yeah, I'm with jp. As long as no one is being disagreeable, let them disagree!

[Bunks]

Yeah, I'm with jp. As long as no one is being disagreeable, let them disagree!

If I disagree with your agreement about being disagreeable then do I end up in a vortex of my own making?

I must admit I notice when I get good and bad service. I don't tend to cluster things together though. I usually assume the waitress is being nice because she is one of the only people to really get how super hot looking I am.

I had nice service in a pub called The Banker by the Thames the other day. If you are ever in the area do pop in. The vegetarian platter was a sheer treat. http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=4&itemid=14&task=View The waitress however asked my American friend if he was Canadian. How aggressive of her.

[Samcash]

You are all going about it all wrong. Accepting there is no tipping for good service and letting it go as passe, not good. Drop some coin for good service, and ask a discount for poor service.
When encountering a "poor service" establishment, make it a point to go back and have some fun. Like, a one for ten. Have a bite or two and send it back. Tell em it tastes like soap. Bet you can't get them to take it back ten times. And then make it a point to got to that place every week.
Or the good old puke on the table routine. Works well if you can do it at will. Practice at home so you can pull it off realistic.

We all know the service here is shit. Bitching about it to me may get you some agreements and nods, but that's about it.
By all means, don't bitch about it at the establishment with poor service. First they may think foreigners are just picky pricks, and two, they might do something about it and change.

Bottom line is you are in there place with your money. If your money means so little to you, keep paying for shit service.

If you can not change it, have fun with it. If you can't figure out how to have fun with it, give up and go away.

[jimipresley]

If you can't figure out how to have fun with it, give up and go away.

But I don't want to have fun with it, nor go away. I simply want my beer before my f***ing dessert! How hard is that?

[Samcash]

If you can't figure out how to have fun with it, give up and go away.

But I don't want to have fun with it, nor go away. I simply want my beer before my f***ing dessert! How hard is that?

What? You haven't figured that one out yet? Get up and get your own dam beer, F***ing lazy bast**d. No, Really. Get your own beer a couple times and see what happens.

[cfimages]

As others have said they do, we generally keep returning to places that have given us good experiences in the past. If they don't, we don't go back. Our "don't go back" list is fairly small at the moment - the Turkish place (the name of which I forgot) that charges for water and takes forever to prepare food, Frankie's Pies who screwed up my order more times than they got it right, and On Tap where the service was so slow one night, we ended up canceling a dish and refusing to pay the service charge.

I don't care about people taking drink orders first or not - I usually just grab whatever I want out of the fridge myself anyway when I walk in. I think I've only once eaten at a 5-star place here, as I really don't see the point in paying a fortune for food when there's so much great sub-$200 options available elsewhere that generally taste better.

For me, Taiwanese restaurants are generally quite good, service-wise. Foreign restaurants are the ones where I've been disappointed.

[jimipresley]

I like the way you have elevated that to include sweeping racist statements about a whole island of people though. Nice touch.

This is Lili posting under jimiplresley's username

I was informed to check the thread.
jimipresley is serving me dinner at this very moment. He considers to make sure that I am well watered (ie scotch on ice) and well-fed. Tis more than I can say about many restaurants here in Taiwan.
As most know, considering where I was raised, to call me racist is really quite ignorance on your part of my character.
To say that I make sweeping generalities is quite true. Taiwanese service sucks.

Thank you have a good day.

[thelostswede]

It all comes back to the one and the same thing here, staff is disposable.
As long as that is the case, nothing will change in Taiwan.
When the staff is disposable they don't get any training.
Lack of training is generally the reason why they perform their job so poorly, alongside with piss poor pay.
Do a bad job and you're let go, as there are enough other untrained people that will do the same underpaid job.

I have to say that I think it has improved slightly in the five years and something I've been here.
That said, I'm generally not impressed by the service in most places here, be it a restaurant or a shop or whatever.
But then again, would you do a great job if you were paid NT$25-30k a month? I have a feeling the answer would be no. And this would be good pay for people in the "restaurant business" in Taiwan.
It's easy to bitch and moan, I do it myself quite often, but sometimes you have to sit down and look at the reason behind why things are the way they are.
There are way too many stingy business owners here and I would guess this is also part of the reason why there's such a massive turnover of eating places here.
Sadly, a fair few good places have also gone down the toilet and closed shop for whatever reason and I miss several restaurant I used to frequent as often as I could afford.

That said, as mentioned, when you complain and you're being meet with a rude attitude and it's as if you've offended them, when in fact either the food and/or service was terrible, than I flip.
That's just not acceptable and it has happened more than once to me, or you're meet by ignorance as if they don't give a crap about you.
One of the many places I don't go back to Wendel's due to the piss poor attitude of their staff and their utterly silly rules alongside the general braindeadness of the "manager".
Then there are places with excellent service, although I have to say that most of them seem to be owned and operated by a foreigner who actually cares enough about the staff to teach them their job.
I also don't see the point of paying for poor service/food and we don't tend to go back to places where we've had a bad experience, as those establishments simply don't deserve any more of my money.
In as much as I don't believe the customer is always right, it's a concept that no-one seems to even have heard about here and it might be something that they could do with practicing here a bit.

[Kal El]

I'm with Maoman on this. I have a select few places I like and enjoy. Sometimes I verr off and go with other people where they want to go, and about 50% of the time I'm disappointed by the food, the service, something else or all of the above.
However, mostly I'm content with the service I get.

As for getting drinks first, this is why I'm surprised people who live here long term don't learn even a smidgen of Chinese sometimes. All it takes is to tell the waiter you want your drink before the food arrives. So, I've never had this problem.

The most common problem I experience is that meals come out at different times, rather than together. But again, going with Maoman's advice, the places I go to generally don't have this problem either. Hence I keep going there.

Mod Note: Also in agreement with Maoman and Jimipresley. I originally want to snip off a part of this thread, but decided to let it stay as is. It is a discussion thread, and as long as it doesn't get nasty or veer too much OT, it's ok.

Feed back note: Went to an awesome restaurant on Saturday. How do I get the address and pictures added to our listings? Just start a thread in Bars & Restaurants?

[touduke]

I can't believe the way folks complain about restaurant services. I think Taiwan has a lot to offer when it comes to service in general and I go to eat in places where service is ok or even excellent.

If you live in Taiwan you should be able to understand that people do think a little different from home - different culture, different interpretation of what is important and how things are done etc. pp..

When I read stuff like

Taiwanese service sucks

I can just shake my head. Taiwan is a sweet&sweating service paradise man.
Sorry for the rant.
What about getting involved with Taiwanese people, learn their language and about their customs, get used to life here and how things are done and try to enjoy yourselves while you are here on the rock.

[HeadhonchoII]

Taiwan have good service in restaurants? Come again?

There is good service in gas stations though, will that be water or napkins?

[touduke]

I have come up with a new motto for Taiwanese restaurants and guide book/travel brochures to employ.
I think it adequately reflects the nature, intent, and values that underpin the culinary establishment of Taiwan.

"And not a single fuck was given."

hhII - IMverHO the above quote is wrong and mean in nature and hopefully Lili is just having a bad hair day.

The last couple of days I have been to a excellent Hakka restaurant (sandman knows the place) excellent service & food.
A Thai food place one block away greets me with my favorite drink - food is served right up.
Italian pizza is served fresh from the oven faster then in every Italian ristorante. (come to Taichung - I show you the place)
I can watch the noodle shop laoban of my choice work for my delicious beef noodles opposite "my" 7/11. All this (except the Hakka place in walking distance from my home )

I could complain about seeing rats (4-5 times in 15 years)
I could complain about "serving order" like mentioned in this thread - like when my dish is served and my wife has to wait 10 more minutes for hers - a nuisance which you can avoid by ordering lots of dishes for all - the Taiwanese way.
I could complain about "crowded places" when I chose to go and eat at 1PM when all the office folks are hungry.