Hello everybody!
I am deeply sorry but my experience today is not a positive one. Believe me when I tell u that I sincerely wish to write a gratifying customer experience! But honestly nothing of the sort happened to me lately, – and I am not playing the difficult to please- so guys I count on you to share with me your exceptional service stories…
Today I am going to tell you about my last Saturday adventure, my friends and I went to our usual and favorite seafood restaurant, located in the old Byblos bay I am sure you know it, it’s one of the oldest restaurants featuring on its walls celebrities pictures from the seventies and eighties.
We ordered the usual appetizers and of course a great selection of seafood yummiii… while we were happily eating our appetizers, talking, drinking our wine… a young rising celebrity came in, followed by a TV camera crew, she sat exactly on the table next to us, and without even bothering to inform us of their intended plan, the crew started filming her with the camera facing us, so in other words we will practically be showing in the background like all the time!!!
So we called on the waiter:” Sir, we highly prefer not to be in the background, we just want to have a quiet private time, and after all, showing on a reality TV program was not what we had in mind. So can you please try to arrange for another set up like, we don’t know, maybe move them to another table, or simply ask them to point the camera in a different direction?”
The waiter:” oh but I can’t move (or talk to) Miss Celebrity, she is a star! But what I can do is to offer you a different table and you can move, problem solved!”
We were puzzled by his reaction, and felt we were the poor commoners that had to, either endure the VIP or move away!! we respectfully answered “sir, we don’t want to move, we were here first, we are happily seated, we are already eating and it’s our table.”
The waiter:” I am sorry, in that case, I cannot do anything!”
We immediately asked for the bill, he insisted again to move us to a different table; we kindly declined and informed him we are full – although we had just started with the appetizers. To our great shock the bill came including the seafood that was never delivered!!!! They didn’t even care to remove it from the bill as a good will gesture!!!
So today you are appointed as judges in the case of the Commoner versus the VIP Star.
Please be fair in your judgment bearing in mind the right for privacy, the right for the customer whatever his status is to be treated as a VIP ….
What do you think?
Jojo i think they should have felt threatened by you, because having you in the background will distract people from focusing on them and the will be looking at you instead!!! 🙂
It’s a shame how people are treated once a Star or VIP is around, as if they were not humans and unsignificant. Stars forget that without the “common” people, they are nothing!
That’s by far my favourite blog Jojo!
Stars forget they were commoners once! the key difference is, when still commoners, they thrived to become stars so they grabbed on to any slight opportunity that may allow them to get noticed, such as being in the background / frame of some celebrity’s cam, shooting a dinner session at a seafood restaurant in Byblos town! a dream coming true!
what can i say?!… you missed your chance baby! 😉
I’m happy you liked it! exactly, and she needs to understand one thing she need us more then we need her… after all we will are the ones buying her record, purchasing tickets for her concert … but i know one thing i will not be doing all that for Ms. Celebrity!
you are absolutely right, i am from the restaurant for the way they treated loyal customers… and from Ms. celebrity because she does not get it that without us she is absolutely nothing!
I think you and your friends should have made stupid faces to the camera, this way “Miss Celebrity” would have been obliged to change tables…hehe
wahahaha!!!!!!! didn’t thought of that at the time! good one!!!
I even think you should have made live comments on the treatment you had in the restaurant, followed by comments on Miss Celebrity and her way of intruding!!!!
after second though i think we should have done this! i agree with you
Did you speak with the film director or the restaurant’s manager? Did you pay the complete amount on the bill? you shouldn’t have! Plus, the film makers should have paid you for appearing in the background!:))
hi Jess, actually we asked the waiter to speak with them and we saw him do, but of course they refused and i also believe the waiter was not that convincing… yup unfortunately we did pay all the bill :-((
hahhaha of course he will pay!!!
Hey jojo 🙂 liked all ur blogs they all seem that “it could happen to u!!” unfortunately in Leb when a celeb/politician is around we all vanish! What u r dng is great. Keep on highlighting such attitudes! Kisses
hey u,
Thx a million for reading them all, 100 % with politician it’s worse i know since they believe they are threatened all the time… 😉 i wonder why????
Let me get this straight :
So you didnt want to pay for food you ordered coz you wanted people to change their table (that is not yours) cause you didnt want to change your table, even though they had a valid reason of shooting a reality TV program !!
Seems like your the VIP my dear:)
The funniest part of you logic is that you found it sooooo wrong that you wrote a blog about it!!
I think you and your friends have a serious case of Ego.
Hi Joe, thx for reading! and thx for the comment… but if you allow me i would like to clarify few stuffs:
1- i never said i didn’t want to pay for the food! but i was expecting a professional customer service gesture from the restaurant, after all it was because of them i was unable to finish my lunch.
And regarding my ego and the ego of my friends, nothing in this kind. Just wanted to eat in peace not having a camera facing us all the time, it was really annoying. and after all i was there before them so the least they can do is to ask us before starting filming! it is only about communication.
thx for the free diagnosis “serious case of ego” i will tell my friends i think we need a group therapy 😉
Again thank you for reading hope you will find my others posts more logic
My date and I were at a table in a popular New York bistro. Our waiter asked us if we would care to have another table not so close to the dance floor? We were hapy with this one, thank you. He said his regular customer wanted his (our) table. We turned toward the “Velvet Rope” and saw an agitated Nicky Hilton. We were happy with our table, thank you, and that was the end of it. I wonder how that would play today.
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