Coffee Club (Marina Square)

Never eaten at this outlet before, but I admire the tranquil setting amidst the water features. I guess it would be a nice respite from the heat and crowds at Marina Square and SICEC. So we decided to give it a try, and were surprised at the (lack of) customer service.

This afternoon at around 3pm, we dropped by to try out the GSS and afternoon tea promotions, The outlet was very quiet and half-empty with two floor staff hanging around. What, no manager or supervisor?

1. There was no one at the host station. This was surprising, as there was a male wait staff standing idly at the service station, who made no move to welcome us, or acknowledge us. So we made our way into the outlet, intending to seat ourselves.

2. Halfway in, we were met by a female service staff who waved us to a table for two. Without a word. No welcome. Interesting service culture so far.

3. We sat at the table, which was almost clean but not set. No menu, no water. After waiting for some time, we made eye contact with the male staff, but again, no motion at all.

4. We noticed that by this time, the female wait staff had proceeded to the counter and was keying in an order. She glanced up once or twice, noticed us twiddling our thumbs, and went back to her task. Wow, really not interested to serve!

5. An order was prepared by the kitchen, and the female staff rang a bell to signal the male staff to serve the order. He walked past us, not once but twice, to complete this task. Still no menu or water. He returned to his sentry post at the service station, across from us, facing us. He must really not see us.

6. Finally, the female staff completed her task at the counter and delivered an order to the dining area. While doing so, she walked past our table and noticed that we were still waiting for menus (10 minutes had passed). She called out to her very inert male colleague to send us some menus. Finally, we'll get our menus! we thought to ourselves.

7. However, as she walked past to serve the table, we turned and noticed that the male staff had not moved! Still standing sentry duty at the service station. Really Coffee Club, if you want us to help ourselves to menus, then please place them somewhere accessible, and don't charge service charge!

8. Seeing this, the female staff then walked towards him at the service station. We assumed she would deliver the menus to us personally. We were shocked that they then started a discussion on why he had not sent us the menus in the first place. Really? Really?!

At that point of time, we decided that Coffee Club had a very real problem with customer service, and we decided to leave. As we exited the outlet, the female staff almost caught up with us, and we thought that she would at least apologise for the poor service. Instead, she just shrugged her shoulders and turned back into the outlet. Again, not a word.

I wonder why Coffee Club would staff an outlet at a potentially high-traffic and touristy location with just two young staff?