Writing a letter of complaint (byMs Lam--> for both my sec ones and twos)

You had dinner with your family at a restaurant recently. It was an expensive restaurant that had been highly recommended by a food review magazine. However, it turned out to be a terrible experience. The behaviour of the restaurant stuff and the food were not up to expectations. Eventually, you and your family left the restaurant without finishing your food.

Write a letter of complaint to the manager of the restaurant describing in detail the incident that had taken place. You must include what happened to you and each of your family members during the visit to the restaurant.

You should provide suggestions on how the restaurant can improve on their service and how you feel you should be compensated for your bad experience there.

Alexander Tan
Block 111
Pasir Ris street 11
#04-88
Singapore 510111

20th September 2006

Mr Wong Hock Meng
Manager
Palace Restaurant
31 Orchard Road
Singapore 676089

Dear Mr Wong,

Complaint about food and behaviour of restaurant staff

On 10th September 2006, my family and I had dinner at Palace Restaurant to celebrate my grandmother’s eightieth birthday. We had decided to patronize this restaurant after reading rave reports about it by a food review magazine. However, it turned out to be a terrible experience for all of us. In the rest of my letter, I will outline in detail what had happened on that day.

That evening, my family arrived promptly at the restaurant at seven. Although we had called the restaurant two days ago to reserve a table for six, the receptionist had forgotten to make the necessary arrangements for us. As a result, we had to join the queue and waited for nearly twenty minutes before we were shown to our seats.

At the restaurant, my parents browsed through the menu but could not make up their minds on what to order. The waitress who was waiting to take down the orders looked visibly irritated. When my parents asked her for recommendations, she was clearly unwilling to do so, adding that she could not do so as she did not know about the preferences of my family.

When our food was finally served, we were all looking forward to tucking into piping hot food. However, upon sinking our teeth into the chili crab, we realized to our disappointment that it was only lukewarm. Also, the steamed fish that was served to us was somewhat stale. At this juncture, my grandmother waved to a waiter who happened to be standing close by and told him about the poor quality of food. Instead of being apologetic, we were shocked when the waiter told my grandmother off, saying that he was only a waiter, not a chef. Vexed by the chain of events we had experienced there, my family decided to leave the restaurant.

Indeed, I am of the view that it is timely that the waiters and waitresses of the restaurant be given proper training on how to serve their customers appropriately. There is also a need to conduct checks on the quality of food that is being served to the customers. On my part, I would appreciate it if my family be granted a refund for the bills that we have footed.

Thank you for looking into this matter and for your prompt action to rectify this problem.

Yours sincerely,
Alexander