New low in bad service

Sunday evening was spent with three male friends who are as crazy about Formula One racing as me. By now we all know the outcome (Renault's Jarno Trulli took top spot at the Monaco track after beginning from pole position.), so I'm not going to write about that for the time being.

Let me instead draw attention to the appalling standards of service provided by the staff of Tivoli bar at Robertson Walk on Mohamed Sultan Road.

At the end of the races, my beer-guzzling English friend was presented his bill and proceeds to check the charges. He was surprised to find that half a pint of beer costs S$10 while a pint of beer costs S$9 (Go figure THAT out!).

So we asked a server whether there was a mistake because there's no way a pint of beer costs less than half a pint. It was only at this point that the server tells us that there's a promotion, where a pint of beer costs only S$9.

We were outraged!

We were also angry on behalf of the two guys who were seated on the table next to us. The entire night, they were drinking only half pints of beer and we counted about eight glasses in all. Can you imagine?!

We promptly asked the server why we were not informed of the promotion when my friend wanted to order half a pint. The staff could have simply said, "Would you prefer to order a pint instead? A half pint costs you $10 but the pint will only cost you $9 as we're currently running a promotion."

It's not a promotion if you don't promote your product by informing current and potential customers about the bargain.

The server didn't have any answer except to say sorry.

At this point, an apology wasn't about to appease us so easily. It was the last straw to a whole night of bad service.

It began at the start of evening when we had to repeatedly ask the staff to first turn on, then increase, the volume of the speakers. Then when we were deciding what to order, the attending staff did not inform us about promotions on drinks, if any. Several times, other customers had to wave repeatedly before they could attract the attention of the staff for service. During the race, staff stepped in between the screen and guests to clear glasses or serve drinks, temporarily blocking the view of the screen.

My friend is considering lodging a complain to the management of Tivoli within these couple of days. At least we discovered the discrepancy as my friend makes it a habit to check his bill before he makes payment.

My advice to everyone else when you next visit any F&B establishment:
- Ask what promotions they have on drinks, even at the risk of making you look cheap.
- Always check your bill before you pay for it. If there are items that look questionable, ask about them.
- Double check that the amount on the bill and on the credit card slip corresponds before you sign the slip.

This may seem too cautionary but you can never trust anyone else to be careful, except yourself.