I was going to have a date night with my wife this evening. But, because she is not feeling well and we've both have had long days of work editing books; child wrangling through dental and doctors appointments, we decided to order some take-out. Mind you--I have not ordered take-out from Chang's since my last review. Truly, I have not written as often on yelp as I would like to recently.
I'm giving Chang's another try this evening--something I said I would not do in my last review. But again the overpowering love I have for Beef on a Stick gave in and Lee's on Sunset and 117th (the best in the city in my opinion) is simply to far for me to drive at 9:30 PM with a sick wife huddling up in bed.
So far, so good. I got my order in and it seems we'll be fine. However, I experienced the same person I did last time (at least I believe I did--the owner, I could be wrong). She was very curt, rude may be too harsh a statement. But definitely not in a mood to argue with someone on the phone. Again, I had to repeat myself numerous times because either I was misunderstood or the noise level in the restaurant was impeding her ability to hear me properly. A symptom of taking calls from customers at the hostess station in the front-of-house--instead of having a dedicated person taking calls in a back office in a relatively more quiet setting. Or possible having someone who speaks English / Spanish clearly in the middle of Miami. Especially being across the street from FIU, as they are placed and right next door to a Cuban restaurant.
The owner, I'm taking an educated guess that this was the owner, as I was told previously the owner takes these calls. The owner, corrected me again when I accidentally said Teriyaki Beef on a stick. She said they do not have Teriyaki. I quickly replied, I'm sorry, I mean Steak on a stick, remember she had previously corrected me to steak on a stick. She again stated that they do not have teriyaki. I repeated again. Steak on a Stick. She then said she doesn't have steak on a stick. I thought "...oh well, they ran out," but I decided to say beef on a stick and again repeated it, but said: "beef stick." She said "Oh yeah, steak on a stick we have." I followed up to make sure she got the right order. "How many sticks are in that order?" She said there were 6. So I knew that was correct and was a bit more comforted I was getting the right order. I asked for two of those orders for a total of 12. I asked for Pan Fried Dumplings. She answered very curtly---"WE ONLY HAVE PORK!" I then answered in kind "THAT IS GREAT!" she then said "WHAT ELSE!"
I maintained the same tone. "DO YOU HAVE FRIED WONTONS! I LOVE FRIED WONTON!" She asked with meat or cream cheese. I thought I didn't ask for rangoon, I asked for wontons but figured, I'll try the cream cheese versions. I didn't want to question it or screw up this new rapport I was building with her. At this point I was wondering if perhaps she may just be hard-of-hearing and felt pity so continued with "CREAM CHEESE IS GREAT! I'LL HAVE THOSE!" I then stated, that's it.
I didn't want to order honey garlic chicken (like I usually do) because it's a huge serving--I remember the amount last time--and my wife is not really going to eat with me as she does not feel too well.
I told her "THAT'S IT! I'M GOOD WITH THAT!" she repeated loudly my address and info after I repeated it a few times because she asked me to repeat it. I thanked her, she thanked me back. my total was a whopping $38 and change I'll receive this order in a few minutes (I started writing this post around 9:45).
I don't know if I gave her a chuckle for matching her tone and level or curtness--perhaps she's been the Chinese Food Nazi all of this time and questions or issues are met with apathy and a "No soup for you" attitude. So being direct and specific helped. Or if she really is just partially deaf and shouldn't be on the phone in the first place--let alone having a language barrier in place--what can you do.
Their food is good. I'll say that. Whenever I sat in their restaurant late evenings with friends, after work, or a long evening of Warhammer at SAG on bird road, the service was solid and the food was plentiful and flavorful. I read a few of the reviews (specifically where one woman seemed to get food poisoning). But I've never had issues with the food--it's the process to obtain the food via delivery and their customer service issues, the language barrier, and their general rude, if not curt, behavior.
Hopefully I will be able to repost that they vindicated themselves a bit.
Let's see what happens.
But this should be a clear statement to any restaurant of any ethnicity. Hire people to answer your calls who speak the language of the country and region to which you serve. Make sure they know the menu as well as anyone who delivers your food. The entire experience is an extension of the quality of food you wish to serve. read more