I am writing to complain about my horrible experiences yesterday (27 Nov) with Chongqing Grilled Fish Restaurant in Bugis.

I invited a few friends from Suzhou, China to come along. When I ringed the restaurant at 1pm to make a table reservation for 4 dining at 7:3opm, a waitress with the Malaysian Chinese accent answered my call.

She lacks basic telephone etiquette, and kept asking me “Huh? What ah ah ah ah?” and I had to repeat to her several times that “my surname is Ma” before she finally got it right.

This is only the beginning of the nightmare. When we reached the restaurant at 1 Liang Seah Street #01-05/06 at about 7:20pm, I informed a waiter that I’m Mr Ma who has already booked a table for 4 dining at 7:30pm.

But the waiter wearing spectacles and with the local Chinese accent simply asked us to stand outside and wait, as all tables were occupied. This has left us puzzled: Since reservation has already been made, how come they didn’t save the table for us? What, then, is a reservation for?

His explanation in Mandarin was unsatisfactory: “Because many customers book tables, but in the end never turn up.”

How could he ill-treat customers this way just because of some other customer’s “no-show”? If the restaurant does not entertain reservations but operates on a first-come, first-served basis when it comes to seating, they could at least inform customers earlier. Does this restaurant value integrity at all?

Just then, a waitress tapped my left arm and said rudely in Mandarin, “Let me pass through!” Is it so difficult for her to say “Excuse me”?

I had been a very loyal customer who patronized this restaurant quite a few times with my friends this year. Besides, I made phone reservations each time prior to my visit but didn’t encounter any issue.

We were only seated at about 7:45pm, in the non-air-conditioned area outside the restaurant. It was ridiculous, indeed extremely embarrassing to stand outside and wait for a good 20 minutes with my guests for the seats I’ve already booked. There was no apology in any form from the restaurant. This has been my last time patronizing this restaurant and I shall boycott this restaurant from now on.

“中国风重庆烤鱼”：预订的席位也可以不翼而飞

写这篇文章是为了投诉我昨天在“中国风·重庆烤鱼（武吉士分店）”的糟糕经历。

我请了苏州的朋友一起去吃重庆烤鱼。下午1点我致电餐厅预订傍晚7点半的4个席位时，一位操着马来西亚华人口音的服务生接了电话。

她连最基本的电话礼仪都不懂，一直问我”什么？什么啊、啊、啊的？“ 结果我向她重复了N次，她才听明白：我姓马。

这只是噩梦的开始。

我们于傍晚7：20分左右来到了位于1 Liang Seah Street #01-05/06的这家餐馆后，我立即通知一位男服务生：我是马先生，预定了7点半的4个席位。

但这位戴眼镜、操着新加坡本地华语口音的男服务生竟然让我们都站在外面等，因为没有空的桌子了。这让我们百思不得其解：不是已经预订了席位了吗？为什么他们没有给我们留桌子？那么，预约又是来干什么的？

他用华语作出的解释难以让人满意：”因为很多人订了位，结果都没来。”

岂有此理！仅仅因为某些顾客预订了席位到最后又不出现就用这么卑鄙的手段来惩罚其他顾客？如果这家餐厅不接受预订席位而是采取“先到先得”策略，那至少应该通知顾客一声吧。我很怀疑，这家餐馆把“诚信”二字放在眼里了吗？

就在这时，另一女服务生拍了拍我的左臂，粗鲁地用华语告诉我：“让我过去！” 难道说一句“Excuse me!”（不好意思，请让我过去）会死啊？

我曾是这家餐馆的忠实顾客，今年还和朋友们光顾过好几次，而且每次都是打电话预订了席位的，之前从未出现任何问题。

到了7:45分左右，我们几位才被安排在餐馆外面没有空调的区域就座。为了已经预订好的桌子，陪着朋友一起站着等上20分钟，实在是太荒唐、太难为情了。而且，餐馆方面没有通过任何形式向我们道歉。这是我最后一次光顾这家餐馆了，从今天起我将坚决抵制这家餐馆。