Sometimes, things can go very wrong between a customer and the restaurant's management:

And in a more recent case that occurred on April 30, a Singaporean woman documented her experience with a restaurant at Gardens by the Bay (GBTB), which she said ruined her Mother's Day afternoon tea plans.

Booking not received

• On the morning of April 30, the woman made a reservation online with Pollen Singapore.

• She received a booking confirmation for four adults and a baby on April 30, 3pm. The booking also authorised a last-minute cancellation fee of S$100.

• The group drove to GBTB, and subsequently went to a pick-up point for a buggy that was supposed to take them to the restaurant.

• The woman then called the restaurant, but the staff said they could not see her booking. The woman told them about the confirmation email.

• Then the staff sent for the buggy.

Afternoon tea set sold out

• Upon arrival and on the way to being seated, the group was told that their booking was not received, and the afternoon tea set was sold out.

• The staff asked if they booked through the Chope app.

• The woman clarified that they booked through the restaurant's website.

• The staff recommended that they order ala carte instead.

• The woman pointed out that it would be more expensive, and that they came all the way for the afternoon tea set.

• The staff said it was actually cheaper, and the afternoon tea items are "small" (The woman asserted in her Facebook post that it would cost more if it were one dish and a drink, and there would be less variety).

Not a single apology, customer claims

And according to the woman, the kicker was when the staff explained what went wrong in the booking process:

"What happened was the Afternoon Tea slots were fully booked... BUT WE DIDN'T CLOSE THE BOOKING ON THE WEBSITE... so as long as you make an online booking, you will get an email.

The woman also wrote that she sat down grudgingly as she felt bad for dragging her family all the way out.

But her family reassured her and together they made the decision to leave the restaurant without having their tea.

On the whole experience, the customer explained that the "saddening and maddening part of it all" was the fact that there was not a single apology from the staff.

She then ended her post by praising the staff on buggy duty, who tried to make them feel better.

[related_story]

Restaurant apologises on Facebook post

About 17 hours after the post about the poor experience surfaced, the restaurant responded by apologising publicly:

The restaurant's general manager is also reaching out to the customer for service recovery.

Declines invitation to return

Subsequently, the customer did indeed receive an phone call and email from the general manager, promising that he would improve the reservation system and provide better training for the service team.

He then thanked her for the feedback and invites the family back to the restaurant again, where he will be around to ensure a pleasant experience for them.

However, the customer revealed that she will not be taking them up on the offer.

Speaking to Mothership, she explained that she would rather bring her loved ones to dine at an establishment that values their patronage.

In the same vein, she does not feel that "any customer should be made to feel bad or worse off if they encounter a similar situation".

You can read her original post here:

Top image from Pollen Singapore

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