Serene
Rated 1.0/5.0 4 months ago
I had emailed Jollibee Singapore about this experience but never received any follow-up, so I guess Google review is the only channel left that gets any attention.
After reading through the reviews for this outlet, I noticed a lovely pattern of complaints about the service—especially involving one particular employee (scroll to see who it is). Based on the number of similar experiences, it’s hard to pretend this is just a one-off as incident. It seems to point to a recurring issue.
Here’s what happened during my visit. Enjoy the read.
Date/Time: 17 June, 7:43PM
My companion and I walked up to the manned ordering counter to place our order. There was no queue, no “cash-only” sign, and nothing indicating customers paying by card were required to use the self-ordering kiosks. Call me old-fashioned, but I was under the impression that a staffed counter existed so customers could… order.
Instead, the staff member in the black shirt (see attached photo) looked directly at us, and apparently decided we weren’t worth serving. We stood there for quite some time while he continued with everything except attending to waiting customers. During this time, we also watched him casually toss paper bags containing customers’ food onto trays. Not exactly the level of care you’d expect.
As if being ignored wasn’t enough, we then heard him mutter words to the effect of, “They trying to cut queue and order here,” apparently because we had the audacity to use the manned counter. An interesting conclusion, considering there was no queue to cut and the counter was, quite literally, open.
Eventually, another staff member in a red shirt came over. His first question was whether we were paying by cash, which only made the situation even more confusing. If customers paying by card are expected to use the kiosks, then perhaps a sign—or better yet, a polite explanation—would be more appropriate than ignoring customers and making comments about them within earshot.
The red-shirt staff member eventually took our order. Although he came across as somewhat impatient, at least he did what the counter is presumably there for.
At the end of the order, we politely requested a thigh and drumstick if available. He replied, “Yes, okay.” The black-shirt staff member then felt the need to add a sarcastic, “No promises.”
For the record, we have absolutely no issue if those chicken parts aren’t available. We understand that availability can’t be guaranteed. The problem wasn’t the message—it was the delivery. There’s a significant difference between “We’ll try our best” and speaking to customers as though a polite request deserves a sarcastic remark.
The most disappointing part of this entire experience wasn’t the wait. It wasn’t even the confusion over the ordering process. It was the sheer lack of basic courtesy displayed by the black-shirt staff member. Ignoring customers, talking about them within earshot, and responding with sarcasm should never be considered acceptable customer service.
After the interaction, the staff also appeared to remove or conceal their name tags, so we had to rely on the attached photos instead. While I can’t say why they did so, the timing certainly raised eyebrows.
Apparently, the biggest mistake I made was assuming a manned counter was there to take orders. Silly me.