Customer service at Chinese restaurants

[Chinaman]

Originally posted by Erik
I think you missed the point of what I was saying. If I was a resident of china, I would be acting and mimicing the way everyone else does in china. I would probably even dress

please, don't do that. you don't have to do that. just act natural. with some mutual respect and tolerance, i'm sure a westerner can get along just fine with the chinese in china or anywhere. you'll be more like chinese just by staying longer in china. but if you really love chinese culture and you really like to act in chinese ways, then there's no problem with that either. point is just don't do it because the chinese want you to do it.

....similar to them. If that means giving poor customer service, I'd probably act in the same manner as my co-workers. Doesn't matter where I go in the world, I would try to adapt to that countries standards. Do you understand?

if you feel certain chinese restaurants have poor services, just don't go back again. there's no need to accuse them of not trying to assimilate to american culture. i mean these business would do just fine without having to adapt to western standard of customer service, as most of their customers are chinese. if these restaurants receive mostly chinese customers who have nothing to complain, naturally they won't take the complaints of a few westerners too serioiusly.

you go to a retaurant to eat. so be more judgemental on the food and prices, instead of on the petty services. don't agree? well this would be a cultural conflict here.

but if you want cheap, authentic chinese food, i suggest you put up with some sub-par customer services. many times there're trade-offs in things. there's no free lunch.

 

[Chinaman]

Originally posted by jeisan
chinaman, i have very few complaints about chinese restraunts myself. in fact the best service ive ever had was in one. ok say the wait staff at the chinese restraunt doest smile or whatever thats no big deal but the problem, as i can see from the other posts, like dreamtimes and doudesukas, is what if the food is rotten or the person ordered mongolian beef but got chicken chow mein instead, and while this is pointed out the waiter/manager they still dont want to do anything about it or take responsiblitly. here you say:
so am i to infer from your statement that a chinese customer wouldnt complain about rotten food and they would just happily munch away not expecting anything to be done? that chinese people would eat what they didnt want or order, and not say its the wrong food?

don't be silly. if food is rotten, everyone including the chinese would complain. did we hear any poster saying that "chinese restaurants in general serve rotten food"??? no.

...all small towns arent redneck. you arent one to be talking about others making generalizations. do you even know what the term redneck means?

yeah, not ALL small towns are redneck. but i'm sure you got my point, which was 'small towns with almost no chinese population.'

 

[doudesuka]

I never said that they had to be accepted by " real americans".
So, you believe they can continue to be aloof and need not mix among the community? Look, I am not thinking they should be forced to mainstream themselves into any community. America is a free country. But, like you say,. they have a total different thinking system and are probably better off not to be westernized. So I agree!

I would like to make a comment about your using " white natives and " rednecks" usage.

Why do you feel necessary to bring these two terms into this discussion? Do you feel like your too much better as an
" authentic" chinaman than the average " white native, black native, chinese american, japanese american or so on?

I understand that chinese people are very smart in business and I am not using their lacking for friendly service as the main arguement. I was just talking about overall service that I have had at chinese restaurants as I mentioned other resturants too.

You made a lot of good points as you have been in those areas from what it seems from your posts.
It's a good thing that a chinese kids being raised by chinese parents in the U.S. are such good students. You can tell the difference from the ones lacking in chinese work ethic and educational strides.
If I am wrong about this, please let me know. I would be happy to correct my wrong perceptions. I am always open to adjusting my existing opinions.

 

[jeisan]

Originally posted by Chinaman
don't be silly. if food is rotten, everyone including the chinese would complain.

ok well thats what we were talking about. not that western people complain more, or anything like that which youve dragged into this thread. just the simple fact that sometimes things need to be fixed in some chinese restraunts. and that when said things are pointed out they arent taken care of in a proper manner. were not attacking anyone let alone the whole chinese community. dont be so defensive. most of us eat chinese food alot and thats why theres so many experiences with it. relax man.

did we hear any poster saying that "chinese restaurants in general serve rotten food"??? no.

we heard posts that said:

doudesuka: "My husband went to a neighborhood restaurant and was treated rudely by the waitress. She got his order wrong and when he tried to correct her, she told him he had to accept that."

Dream Time: "this happened on my 11th birthday,
so my father took me to a small restaurant in Chinatown to eat something for lunch. and I ordered some fried chicken wings,it tasted little bit weird but I didn't really notice it, my father tried and it found it was rottened, so he told the service girl to call the owner to come out, and they had a big argument,shouting loud,
caught the attention of all people in the restaurant. the owner,about 40 to 50 years old,was very rude. I was crying,hey you know I was just 11 years old. they argued for quite long"

thats what my point was before, not that all chinese food is rotten. actually both of the people in these 2 instances were asian not white. so i dont understand what your statement that western people complain more has to do with anything, and your king of england remark. i also dont see why you feel the need to draw racial lines in here. all people, be they chinese, western, indian, black, when they go out to eat, expect to have good food that isnt rotten and they expect to get the food they ordered. and if either of these things arent met then they should be changed right away. the restraunt shouldnt take offense to their customers and be rude about it.

yeah, not ALL small towns are redneck. but i'm sure you got my point, which was 'small towns with almost no chinese population.'

redneck does not mean small town with almost no chinese population. dont use words when you dont know their meaning especially when they could be considered derogitory to some people. not me personally, but others might take it that way...

 

[kirei_na_me]

redneck does not mean small town with almost no chinese population. dont use words when you dont know their meaning especially when they could be considered derogitory to some people. not me personally, but others might take it that way...

Exactly. Thank you for saying what I wanted to say, jeisan. I live in a town of 900, but I would hardly consider it a redneck town. I have never seen a town quite like this one, actually. A small, southern town who has welcomed Japanese, Egyptian, and Chinese into their community with open arms. Before moving here, I lived in a larger city, and the people there shunned and threatened the Egyptians living there after 9/11. So, I would hardly use the term "redneck" to describe small towns. You really need to be careful when using terms such as that...

 

[doudesuka]

I think "red neck" is being used as a new racial term for whites now. I have seen it used to describe U.S. servicemen. These people are hypocrits when using them because they are sensitive when they are called " Chink" or something.

 

[kirei_na_me]

Yep. It's no different.

 

[Elizabeth]

Originally posted by doudesuka
I think "red neck" is being used as a new racial term for whites now. I have seen it used to describe U.S. servicemen. These people are hypocrits when using them because they are sensitive when they are called " Chink" or something.

Hasn't it always been just for whites? I actually hear it more for conservatives generally, now, not just white working poor --although probably still mostly in the South. I don't know, I've never lived anywhere under 40,000.

 

[doudesuka]

I shouldn't have used " Chink" exclusively but since I have read posts on other forums about the war. I have observed asians using the word " rednecks" to describe whites or small town America.
I have never used " chink" to insult a person or persons. So, I don't appreciate "redneck" being used to describe small town America or whites in small towns. Thank You! Peace!

 

[doudesuka]

Elizabeth, Yes, I believe your right! Anyone who expresses patriotic or conservative convictions are called " rednecks" now.
I guess that's why they call the U.S. soldiers rednecks now.
It burns me up. :boxing: I don't know about you!

 

[Chinaman]

Originally posted by jeisan
ok well thats what we were talking about. not that western people complain more, or anything like that which youve dragged into this thread. just the simple fact that sometimes things need to be fixed in some chinese restraunts. and that when said things are pointed out they arent taken care of in a proper manner. were not attacking anyone let alone the whole chinese community. dont be so defensive. most of us eat chinese food alot and thats why theres so many experiences with it. relax man.



we heard posts that said:

doudesuka: "My husband went to a neighborhood restaurant and was treated rudely by the waitress. She got his order wrong and when he tried to correct her, she told him he had to accept that."

Dream Time: "this happened on my 11th birthday,
so my father took me to a small restaurant in Chinatown to eat something for lunch. and I ordered some fried chicken wings,it tasted little bit weird but I didn't really notice it, my father tried and it found it was rottened, so he told the service girl to call the owner to come out, and they had a big argument,shouting loud,
caught the attention of all people in the restaurant. the owner,about 40 to 50 years old,was very rude. I was crying,hey you know I was just 11 years old. they argued for quite long"

thats what my point was before, not that all chinese food is rotten. actually both of the people in these 2 instances were asian not white. so i dont understand what your statement that western people complain more has to do with anything, and your king of england remark. i also dont see why you feel the need to draw racial lines in here. all people, be they chinese, western, indian, black, when they go out to eat, expect to have good food that isnt rotten and they expect to get the food they ordered. and if either of these things arent met then they should be changed right away. the restraunt shouldnt take offense to their customers and be rude about it.


redneck does not mean small town with almost no chinese population. dont use words when you dont know their meaning especially when they could be considered derogitory to some people. not me personally, but others might take it that way...

this thread started with a complaint that chinese restaurants in general provide bad customer services. the incidents with ordering rotten food and fighting with the restaurant owner are at best isolated incidences. one cannot use these couple of incidences to make the claim that chinese restaurants in general provide bad services.

however, for things like waiters not smiling, not checking up on the customers to ask "how's everything?" or not responding to customer calls quickly, are just cultural differences between the chinese and westerners. chinese customers just don't care about these things.

redneck town is my way of metaphor for towns with almost no chinese population. no need to play with word games. you knew my point very well. the word 'redneck' is not a derogatory word. have you heard of the PC game called 'redneck rampage'? let's stick to the topic.

i know there are certain westerners who go to chinese restaurants acting like they're the king of england. these people make big complaints out of nothing. their mentality is this. they themselves already have prejudice against the chinese and their culture, yet they like to eat chinese food once in a while. they walk into these chinese restaurants acting as if they own the place. i've seen these arrogant asses myself.

 

[kirei_na_me]

Ummm...redneck can indeed be taken as derogatory. I think you need some background on the term "redneck" and when and how it's used. After you've lived in the southern US and have lived around actual "rednecks", you can comment on whether it's derogatory or not.

I believe this thread getting off topic was because of the terms you chose to use in your posts. If you go around referring to small towns as redneck towns and accusing western people acting as English royalty, you should expect some kind of reaction...and maybe that is indeed what you're looking for...

And maybe those "English kings" aren't the only arrogant ones? Prejudice lies within every nationality and culture. Not just Western ones.

 

[doudesuka]

I am sorry to say Chinaman. It takes an arrogant *** to know one. You don't know how to use redneck . Tell me what you call a small black town with no whites? Or an all hispanic town with no whites? You are the one that brought race into this discussion. You have a chip on your shoulder and it showed the first time you got defensive about our observations.
I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and respect you but you seem awfully smug yourself walking into this discussion like your Mao and accusing us westerners of being prejudice. Now let's get on topic.

 

[doudesuka]

My father-in-law(japanese) goes into japanese restaurants and acts like he is the PM of Japan. So you have no credibility with that statement.

 

[doudesuka]

okaasan told him not to go into the snack bar that she works at because of his habit of ordering around. it's kind of funny.

 

[Chinaman]

Originally posted by doudesuka
I am sorry to say Chinaman. It takes an arrogant *** to know one. You don't know how to use redneck . Tell me what you call a small black town with no whites? Or an all hispanic town with no whites? You are the one that brought race into this discussion. You have a chip on your shoulder and it showed the first time you got defensive about our observations.
I was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt and respect you but you seem awfully smug yourself walking into this discussion like your Mao and accusing us westerners of being prejudice. Now let's get on topic.

stick to the topic. i have no need to argue over the usage of 'redneck' and 'king of england.'

 

[jeisan]

Originally posted by Chinaman
this thread started with a complaint that chinese restaurants in general provide bad customer services. the incidents with ordering rotten food and fighting with the restaurant owner are at best isolated incidences. one cannot use these couple of incidences to make the claim that chinese restaurants in general provide bad services.

this thread actualy started with a small complaint that some chinese restraunts had bad service and a curiousity of why that was.no one maide that claim everyone was just talking about the bad service they've received in any restaraunt not just chinese.

however, for things like waiters not smiling, not checking up on the customers to ask "how's everything?" or not responding to customer calls quickly, are just cultural differences between the chinese and westerners. chinese customers just don't care about these things.

we all understood this the first time you dont need to repeat it with every post you make.

redneck town is my way of metaphor for towns with almost no chinese population. no need to play with word games. you knew my point very well. the word 'redneck' is not a derogatory word. have you heard of the PC game called 'redneck rampage'? let's stick to the topic.

thats like my saying "chink town is my way of a metaphor for towns with a high chinese population." im not playing games here, just simply stating that you should check the word before you misconstrue its usage.

i know there are certain westerners who go to chinese restaurants acting like they're the king of england. these people make big complaints out of nothing. their mentality is this. they themselves already have prejudice against the chinese and their culture, yet they like to eat chinese food once in a while. they walk into these chinese restaurants acting as if they own the place. i've seen these arrogant asses myself.

the incidents with westerners walking around like kings and making big complaints out of nothing are at best isolated incidences. one cannot use these couple of incidences to make the claim that western people in general walk around like kings when in chinese restaunts.

 

[doudesuka]

My favorite chinese food is ma po doufu. Chinaman please correct me if I am wrong with the pronunciation. Also, I like
egg drop soup and wanton soup. szehuan dishes are my favorite. Do you know Chen Kenichi? He was on Iron Chef. He has cookbooks out and a line of frozen foods in Japan.

 

[Dream Time]

Originally posted by doudesuka
My favorite chinese food is ma po doufu. Chinaman please correct me if I am wrong with the pronunciation. Also, I like
egg drop soup and wanton soup. szehuan dishes are my favorite. Do you know Chen Kenichi? He was on Iron Chef. He has cookbooks out and a line of frozen foods in Japan.

that guy Chinaman is from Taiwan,in Taiwan they mainly speak Mandarin, 'ma po doufu' and 'wanton' are Cantonese.

 

[doudesuka]

Oh! Thanks.

 

[Dream Time]

I love Chinese food!!

well my taste is very Asian~

 

[doudesuka]

yeah, I like Thai food a lot too and some indonesian.

 

[TyPe-ZeRo]

I dont know if its because im asian or anything, but every chinese restaurant my family or I visit, we get superb service, they even do it with a smile... and this is no fib either...
Although i hope that gets fixed because i believe its not right

 

[doudesuka]

I guess you have to be lucky. I hope there are more friendly service restaurants out there. It does make a difference.
Maybe they are suspicious of white folks for some reaon, I don't know. They should be happy to have the service from all races not just asian. I am sure there are some that do or more than enough that are superb. I just have been unlucky, I guess.

Chinaman seems to have the feeling that service is not important. I also want to know why they compete so much against other chinese restuarants if they get most of their money from places in China like Chinaman stated before.
How many times can you reinvent your business if you have a bad reputation for service. I am sure you need some money from the public. Anyone understand this? I know they get a lot of breaks from the U.S. government somehow. I don't know it works.