worst. service. ever. (and i mean ever). hong kong express - don't bother.
ethan and i decided to try hong kong express after receiving a flier for the restaurant in our mailbox. there were no coupons, we ordered dinner online, at full-price for carryout. we showed up a couple minutes early, i sent ethan inside to pay, but the food wasn't quite ready. a good sign, i thought, "it'll be fresh!". after waiting several more minutes, i went back inside and said i was there to pickup our order. one of the two women at the counter said something about the fried dumplings not being ready. to which i replied, "i didn't order fried dumplings, i ordered steamed dumplings.". i figured wires got crossed along the way and that she'd just fix it and i'd be on my way. holy cats, was i wrong.
she insisted i had ordered fried and showed me the order slip. it said "fried dumplings". i stated that when i ordered online, i clicked the "steamed dumplings" option. she started to get angry and argued with me a bit. at this point, i was more confused at why she was getting so upset than anything else. i mean, what's the big deal? the order either came in wrong or printed wrong or i could have mistakenly clicked the "fried" option. i couldn't understand why they didn't just fix it. finally, she snapped at me that she'd get me steamed dumplings: then rolled her eyes and stomped away. at this point, even though i was a bit upset. i didn't raise my voice, (points for me - i'll admit, i tend to have a shortish fuse in these situations), instead i calmly said to her (and to the other woman at the counter) that it was not wise to roll one's eyes at and to argue with customers.
at this point, anyone who has any customer service skills at all would have apologized and let it go. she, however, chose to do the exact opposite. she stormed back over to the counter, shoved the ticket in my face and (in a raised voice) said i was accusing her of lying. right here, this is the point where made a very conscious decision to not raise my voice or stoop to her level. not once did i accuse her, or anyone of lying, nor did i accuse the restaurant of making a mistake. i simply figured there was a mistake made by someone along the way and that it'd get taken care of. i took a breath, calmly stated exactly that and hoped we could move forward. she again stomped off into the back of the restaurant, reappearing moments later with container of steamed dumplings. she brought them over to me, paraded them in front of my face, and said in a very snarky tone, "see! steamed!". to which i (again, calmly) replied, "thank you, i see that. that's great." i figured we were done, i could pay and we'd just move forward. had that happened, i would not have written negative reviews on google+, yelp and urbanspoon, but would've just moved along with my evening.
sadly, this is where everything goes really sideways. instead of letting it go, she stomped back over to the other woman and started speaking in her native tongue and gesturing in my direction. granted, this is the point where i should have let it go, but i couldn't. she was being mean, rude and disrespectful and as someone who has worked in a customer-facing role my entire career, i couldn't say nothing. i did, however, again speak to her in a normal speaking voice, saying that it was mean, rude and disrespectful to talk about someone right in front of them, even if (and maybe more so) you're speaking in another language. i also mentioned that given the way i was being treated that i would not come back to their establishment and would likely write a negative review about my experience. instead of making any attempt to pacify the situation, she chose to yell at me (literally yelling at the top of her voice). she yelled at me, screaming that "he" (the manager ? he appeared looked managerish) was agreeing with me that she was being mean. she continued to rant at me, so i decided i'd had enough. i told everyone (within normal speaking voice distance) that i'd had enough abuse and they could keep their food. i walked out the door and drove away.
never, ever in all my 46 years have i been treated with such disdain and disrespect by someone in a customer service role. she gave exactly zero f's about me, the customer. no one who worked at the restaurant seemed at all interested in neutralizing the situation, but rather let this woman rage at me - regardless of the fact that i was their customer. it was my first time - and clearly my last - visit to this establishment.
i was taught that the customer is always right - even if they're not. not at hong kong express. don't waste your time or your money. they don't deserve your business and has lost mine.