A man went online to rant about his "super horrible" dining experience, but the restaurant involved has since shared with Stomp that there is more to the story.
Stomp contributor Sean visited Han Jia Bak Kut Teh's Hougang RiverCourt outlet for lunch on Sept 9 and later recounted his experience in the Complaint Singapore Facebook group.
He said: "We had been to this place before. Previously their food was nice and tasty and with good service. Today my experience at this place was super horrible."
Sean took issue with the "bad service" from a staff member, who had apparently keyed in an incomplete order and caused "confusion".
He was also surprised that the appearance of his food was "so dark", adding: "I told my son maybe it's just the appearance and it may taste nice after all. We continued to have our lunch and the food was really really terrible. Due to the excess dark sauce put in their sauce, the food tasted bitter."
According to Sean, an employee ignored him when he raised the issue, while another responded, "Then what you want me to do?"
Sean added in his post: "I feel so disappointed in their service and certainly their food standards. It used to be nice but now, I will no longer patronise this shop or even recommend my friends to eat there. From the beginning of ordering till I left the place, everything was just so unpleasant.
"I really hope the boss can look into this matter. Not wanting any refund or what, but the ethics of doing business is not right."
When contacted by Stomp, Han Jia Bak Kut Teh said Sean had been verbally abusive towards its staff.
The restaurant shared: "Upon investigating the matter, we discovered that this customer threatened our staff, vowing to make the issue viral, and engaged in verbal abuse, including derogatory remarks such as telling them to 'go back to Malaysia.'
"We are deeply disheartened by this behavior. We are currently consolidating all evidence, including CCTV footage, and will release it soon."
Han Jia Bak Kut Teh acknowledged that the customer may have been dissatisfied with his experience and its staff could have taken further steps in customer recovery, but said it initially chose not to respond publicly to avoid escalating the situation.
The restaurant added: "However, the customer has continued to post across various platforms and accounts on different days, and now, having not achieved the desired viral outcome, has contacted Stomp. This raises serious questions about the customer's true intentions."
When informed about the restaurant's statement, Sean told Stomp: "Yes, I did scold them after their response. They did no customer recovery at all.
"I even tried calling their boss to find out why the staff attitude is such, but there was no response. I did not shame them and even wrote in hoping the boss will look into the staff's attitude.
"It's fine [if] they want to post anything. Because I know in my heart that I spent money and got attitude from their staff. No apologies and want to go back against me. Find someone who won't get angry after getting such response from the arrogant staff."
Sean's Facebook post is no longer accessible.
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This article was first published in Stomp. Permission required for reproduction.
