'Publicly posting a complaint does not help us improve and does more harm than good'
While the holiday season comes with all the fun and cheerful feeling, it also has its fair share of stresses with heavy traffic, large crowds, and for the food and restaurant industry, the challenge of managing bulks of orders and dinner reservations on top of their daily service prior to the special days to keep operations smooth. Sadly, that wasn’t met by many homegrown food brands and, as a result, many customers went on to social media to vent their disappointments over what was served on their table and what was not.
A series of unfortunate events
On Dec. 22, 2021, a Tiktok user shared her dismay upon not getting what she requested from Ninyo Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge. The customer details why she would never spend money again on the restaurant in her post and shares the history of her booking, which includes a pre-selected menu that wasn’t prepared.
“What’s the point of having a reservation? Iyon yung pinakahinihintay nami,” she said. “I’m really upset and I really want for this night to be extra special.”
Another rant on social media involves Cochi by Marvin Agustin, a brand serving cochinillo creation by the actor-turned-chef. In another Tiktok post, the expectation met reality when promised roasted pork with crispy skin wasn’t delivered, describing it as a “terrible experience,” “overhyped,” “total waste of money,” and worst, “Christmas ruined.”
Late holiday food deliveries courtesy of Illo’s Party Trayswere reported by a Facebook user. In a lengthy post, the customer wrote that “it was okay na ma-delay 'yung food order. understandable. Iniisip namen baka traffic or super-duper busy kitchen since it's Christmas Eve. But you know the worst part was? When I've tried to call them they would answer then drop the call.”
A chance to redeem
The past two years have been challenging for food entrepreneurs due to the pandemic, and as Metro Manila ease its pandemic status, many food brands braved the holiday season in trying to recuperate their business losses that started during the onset of COVID-19 in the country, resulting to system jams, kitchen troubles, and delayed deliveries, in which they have all addressed and clarified.
A chance to fix things is a recurring theme among the brands’ statements.
“We are aware of the high expectations of our guests and we do our best to live up to them. Our team works hard to get it perfect every single time. But the truth is that we are imperfect people, and like everybody else, we also make mistakes,” Ninyo Fusion Cuisine and Wine Lounge said. “We humbly ask for your consideration in giving our small business like ours a chance to fix a problem before publicly announcing it. Publicly posting a complaint does not help us improve and does more harm than good.”
Likewise, Marvin also addressed the issue concerning his brand. After detailing what had happened, he said that those aren’t valid excuses to not deliver what is expected and he assured that they have reached out to some of the people to who they have caused terrible inconvenience. “I promise you, we will do better,” he ended.
Chef N Rovillos and his team in Illo’s Party Trays did the same saying, “We hope that despite what happened, you will give us another chance to redeem ourselves from this experience, so that we can help other people more and their families by extension... We acknowledge our inadequacies, and we commit to improving our services.”
Banner photo by lasse bergqvist from Unsplash