Pfft... Customer Service?

So as advertised all over the nation, 27th June 2012 was the day Subway is having their Buy 1 Free 1 promotion. Since my friends and I were heading out for our karaoke session, we decided to have Subway in Gurney Plaza for lunch because of the promotion.

Unfortunately, we stumbled upon the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE EVER. So we queued for about 15 minutes, then a Chinese girl asked us "what bread?! what bread?!". Since I was never a fan of bread, I told her I would like wrap and my friend choose Hearty Italian for her bread. Then we moved on to choosing our toppings and sauce etc.

When we were at the cashier, my friend handed over a RM50 note to the Bangladeshi/Nepalese worker and he told us "Buy 1 Free 1 cannot get wrap". Well, we were stunned for a moment since the Chinese girl did not inform us when we were choosing our bread. So, my friend said "But she did not tell us when we ordered". Then, the Chinese girl came to us and said "You didn't say you want buy 1 free 1. You must say buy 1 free 1 when you order". With the face as black as charcoal, she was not only rude but also disrespectful! Being influenced by reading law for a year, I said "well, there is a foreseeability that everyone is queuing for the promotion" only to be given the answer, "NO! NO! NO!". 

Crowd at 12.30pm

Well, I am pretty amazed that the Chinese girl thinks extremely highly of the sales of the Subway sandwiches she is selling. One 6-inch sandwich cost approximately RM11.50 which is about the same amount of money that could buy me 3 plates of Char Koay Teow, 4 plates of Wan Tan Mee or Koay Teow Thing or Laksa. So, honestly will the crowd in Penang, old and young queue up to outside the store just to buy a RM11.50 sandwich? F**K NO! With the various food outlets and hawker centre, this Subway store in Gurney Plaza is amongst those that are "hitting mosquito" most of the time. AND STILL I AM TOLD IT IS NOT FORESEEABLE THAT PEOPLE ARE HERE FOR BUY 1 FREE 1 PROMO?! It is just like saying it is not foreseeable that a robber trespasses a property to steal. She must highly doubt my intelligence or thinks I am a 3-year-old kid.

Just get ready for a rude treatment and always remember to shout out that you want free stuff even though the promotion stated "simply walk in to any store and WE WILL GIVE YOU...". Yet, this Subway stuff defended herself by saying it was on the onus of the customers to inform her that we want the promotion. 

Then, my friend asked "So am I entitled to a free sandwich?" and he replied rudely "Yes, you need to go and queue". By that time, there is about 30-40 people in the queue up to outside the store. Feeling that this is rather ridiculous, we had to ask if we are suppose to queue from the very beginning. Luckily, there was a little common sense left in him and he ask us to go the front and select the bread. 

So, my friend selected another sandwich and the cashier only asked for RM11.50 after placing the wrap and a sandwich on our tray. Doesn't that just bring us back to the very beginning? Not only that, HE DID NOT RETURN THE RM50 NOTE that my friend had given him in the beginning and yet, he is asking us for money when he had taken RM50 from us?! THIS IS RIDICULOUS! 

MAKE ANY 6-INCH SUB A WRAP AT NO EXTRA CHARGE?!
I wonder if that means I can change the sandwich into a wrap?

So, having studied abroad for 9 months now, I can clearly see the difference in customer service abroad and back home. While in London, Tesco had failed to deliver my grocery order once and claimed that the driver had called me when I did not receive any such calls. Tesco UK not only apologised but also offered the next delivery free of charge. Similarly, when Vodafone forget to include my monthly student discount, they would apologise promptly and include the account. 

Although there is part negligence on my friends and I as we did not take note that it was free Subway sandwich, but this does not entitle us to such rude treatment by such unskilled staff.

Will I ever have another Subway? Maybe but DEFINITELY NOT IN GURNEY PLAZA'S SUBWAY!

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Hokkien Mee @ One Corner Cafe

A bowl of Hokkien Mee @ RM 4.00

Hokkien Mee or known to most non-Penangites as Penang Prawn Mee consists of a mixture of yellow noodles and rice noodles (known to many as bee hoon); garnished with beansprouts, thin slices of meat, prawns and hard boiled egg served in a fragrant prawn broth. Some stalls may include other toppings like pork ribs, small intestines, prawn mantis and fish balls for an extra charge.

For many, the key to a good bowl of Hokkien Mee lies within the broth itself. One of the best Hokkien Mee I’ve found in Penang is in One Corner Cafe. The soup is extremely rich with the taste of prawns and spices. Besides, the garnishing is relatively generous with a big chuck of prawns and meat. The deep fried lard which is given upon request gives this bowl of Hokkien Mee an additional aroma and adds taste to the soup. However for RM4 a bowl, it can be considered as quite pricy amongst other hawker food in Penang.

The stall opens in the morning from about 7.30am and is usually sold out by 10.30am.

Clockwise from back; Fried spring onion, Deep fried lard, chilli paste

TAKE NOTE: This is probably the most pompous Hokkien Mee seller in Penang! Be ready for a rude treatment and at least 45 minutes to an hour wait before your bowl of noodles is served. Escape the queue by going really early when the stall opens.

From experience; I ordered at about 8.30am and the seller rudely told me (in Hokkien) “ji tiam cheng, ji tiam cheng ka uu” which meant the waiting time is one hour. After about 30 minutes of waiting, politely I asked if it was about to be my turn and the seller took a small clock and pointed to it while saying (in Hokkien) “lu eh tiam sia ah boi kau” meaning it’s not your time yet.

On another experience; to escape the long wait, I went with several friends at 7.30am so that I would be the first few customers. To my disappointment, upon calling out for the seller to order, I was told “Bo koh! Bo koh! 8.30 ka uu!” which meant that they would only start selling at 8.30am.

In conclusion, this Hokkien Mee is one of the best in town but this had probably boosted the ego of the seller. Be ready for a rude treatment.

One Corner Cafe is located in Jalan Bawasah, behind Penang Plaza. There are several off street parking along the road which operates on meter.

One Corner Cafe is noted by the green arrow

Food rating: 9/10
Service rating: 5/10
Overall rating: 7/10

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