My partner and I with a group of friends went to Amazing Grace Restaurant in Cranbourne. None of us had been there before and were looking forward to celebrating the birthday of one in our group. We were directed to a table upstairs. We were...surprised that there was no waiter service and we had to order via a phone application from a barcode on the table. I do not have a smart phone. My partner asked a passing waitress for a menu which arrived with instructions from the waitress that staff do not take orders and that anyone wishing to order ‘manually’ had to go down stairs to the counter. I went down stairs, placed my order and was given a receipt by Khuong. I queried why there was a surcharge for a debit card payment (not disclosed on the menu) and that some of the prices on the receipt were higher than on the menu. Khuong told me that the menu was old and it was somehow my fault. I quote what he said to me: “All I can do is give you a refund and you can go somewhere else”. I was shocked that a member of staff would speak to a customer like that and have no regard for his employer. He offered to call the manager, which I accepted. Well, I defiantly jumped out of the pan into the fire! The manageress arrived. I asked if we could step away from the counter. I introduced myself with no response from her. I had to ask for her name and she replied ‘May’. I explained my concerns and was met with the same reaction that I had received from Khuong. She said that the bar code ordering system was to “make it easier for the customers”. Where have I heard that before? Oh yes, banks, telephone companies, petrol stations and even fast food establishments just to name a few. We all know that the real reason is to cut back on staff costs and to simply have the customers do the work and take their money without providing any service. May showed that she had no customer training and clearly put the establishment and the proprietor in a bad light. All she could have said to me was something like: ‘I take your points on board and will definitely pass them on to the proprietor.’ She seemed to think that taking money out of my bank account without my knowledge or consent was acceptable. She also seemed to think that blatantly misrepresenting the menu prices was acceptable too. I wonder what Consumer Affairs would think of this practice. Being a local resident, I want to support local businesses, especially after the covid19 lock down. There were many empty tables and this was a Saturday evening! Well, others can decide for themselves. Summary: Service: 0/10 (There was none) Food: 5/10 (This was the opinion of most in my group) Staff: 0/10 (The two mentioned above–very rude; others looked very unhappy) Toilets: 3/10 (Not clean) Website: 3/10 (Could not find any mention regarding no waiter ordering or smart phone ordering. No mention of a surcharge on the menu)More
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