09/22/09

Horrible Customer Service Experience

by Slyoung

This is a letter I wrote to Star of Siam

To whom it may concern,

I used to be a fairly frequent corporate customer of Star of Siam. Unfortunately due to a horrible customer service experience this past week, I am writing to let you know that you have lost a customer as well as my recommendation to more than 15 other colleagues who are responsible for multiple catering orders a week for our company.

In the past I have ordered anywhere from $300 to over $1000 of Thai food from your restaurant. Once even via CEO Deliveries for an order for our entire office, I placed an order for over $4000. You have lost a valuable customer.

This past Thursday I had an order scheduled to be delivered at 10:45am. At 10:45 the food was not here and I was not notified of any delays. After numerous calls and complaints, the food finally arrived more than 30 minutes late. This is completely unacceptable. More than 25 people were waiting for lunch that had a designated time. Their lunch time was cut short because the food was extremely late.

When I spoke on the phone with management, every excuse was given from traffic to the hassle of having to go through security to waiting for the elevator. Being that this was not the first time we have ordered from your restaurant before, those reasons fell on deaf ears and the travel time should have been taken into account. At the very least, I should have received a call notifying me that my lunch order would be delayed. There was no proactive measure taken from the restaurant.

Once the food arrived, I spoke on the phone with a manager about a form of compensation for the inconvenience and complete unprofessionalism I experienced. Her suggestion was an order for free spring rolls on our next order. I found this to be insulting. There would not be a next order considering the circumstances. And the best way to compensate would be to discount part of the order for that day. She suggested taking $20 off of a $400 order. Again I found this to be an insult and said that wasn’t good enough. Eventually the manager agreed to take %10 off the total bill. Realizing that she had to intention of righting this wrong, I agreed to that knowing that they had lost an customer and an email would be sent firm wide letting everyone know of this horrible experience.

I understand that orders are mixed up at times or traffic delays a set delivery time. I’ve worked in customer service before and I know that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong at some point. What is important in these moments is how a company fixes those wrongs; how they compensate for the inconvenience. Taking a small step in that direction builds a better relationship with your customer. People are forgiving when a wrong is made right.

Star of Siam did not do this. What I experienced were excuses after excuses, unprofessional tones, and insulting suggestions on how to fix a problem that the restaurant caused. I hope this was an exception to the way you deal with customer service and that that manager was not a reflection on your company’s leadership skills. I write this so that you are aware of how a situation was handled and would hope that you find a better way to deal with this should it occur to someone else. Perhaps calling a customer if you know you will not be able to make a delivery time. Perhaps airing on the side of delivering a little early rather than 30 minutes later. Or perhaps being a little generous in compensating customers when a mistake has been made.

Thank You.

• Pros: Fairly Good Thai Food
• Cons: Horrible Customer Service

04/19/08

RUDE STAFF

by mmc123

My boyfriend and I have been eating at Star of Siam for about 2 years now, almost on a weekly basis. The owner knew us and would say hello when he saw us. It was our favorite place for thai. Until yesterday. We were there for almost an hour, finishing the carafe of wine we bought, getting ready to go (my boyfriend was in the bathroom) and a staff member came to me and asked us to leave because we were taking too long and they needed the table because it was busy. Are you serious?!! Ask a customer to leave? Especially two loyal customers who regularly stop by and tip extremely well??!! I don't think we will ever go back. Too bad.

11/24/07

Average Thai food

by psnchckn

Went here for lunch on a Saturday. I got a noodle dish and my girlfriend got steamed veggies with tofu and rice. Her steamed vegetables were drenched in butter, of all things, and my noodles were average at best. The fish cakes appetizer was good, but nothing exciting. Service was very fast. Overall an average Thai place, probably won't go again and wouldn't recommend it.

• Pros: Fast service, quick seating, OK prices
• Cons: Average food, at best

10/30/07

Best Thai Food for Miles

by ejr6573

I love this place! The food is great and so is the service. The spring rolls were addictive. In fact, so was all of the food. There were a coupld of things I said I would never try, but did. For instance, the spring rolls, I don't normally go for them, but they were excellent. You can dress up or just decide to go in as you're awalking by. It doesn't matter.

• Pros: Food, service
• Cons: Parking

12/23/06

Eeewww!

by k2frank

I have never ever had SWEET Pad Thai until my lunch here. I asked for spicy Pad Thai, and it resembled overcooked noodles in a bowl of grease. All the great crunchy vegetables had either been cooked or left out of the dish, and the "spicy" part came from some sliced jalapenos and red peppers (?) that were also overcooked. My friend's Pad Kee Mao was pretty much the same thing...overcooked in a puddle of grease. The only flavor we really had was from the generic red chili sauce they gave us in abundance. Unfortunately we had ordered out, so we couldn't send it back. We both threw out more than half of our lunch. If I wanted grease for lunch, I'd have gone out for a burger instead.

• Pros: none
• Cons: puddles of grease, poor flavor

04/15/06

Some of the best Thai I've had

by babasyzygy

Star of Siam has a nice, modern feel to it. Their tables are arranged, set into recesses in a platform so that you can sit cross-legged, or straigt up, western-style.

The food was excellent. Their Tom Kha Gai was fantastic, and lacked mushrooms (for which I do not have a liking) but had not strained out the lemongrass.

My Pad Thai was delivious - I didn't care as much for my dining companion's beef and broccoli, but it was fairly gingery (which taste like soap to me).

Altogether, I'd gladly go here again the next time I am in Chicago.

01/23/06

Thai Food with a Mexican cook equals DISASTER

by culinartartist

I have eated Thai food all over the world and cook it at home very regularly. I KNOW WHAT THAI food looks & tastes like. This was TRULY AWFUL THAI! Spring rolls raw with scrambled eggs covered with a molasses sauce. Pad Thai with no egg,no Nam Pla and no cilantro, no green onion. Tom Ka Gai with tomato broth. Curried fish that had no discernable fish, but only large spicy blob. I joked with waiter that the chef couldn't be THAI he said he's not , I said OK that explains this mess.

• Pros: fast seating, cheap, well lit
• Cons: food poor, not Thai tasting

11/02/05

Of All Thai restaurants . . THE BEST

by shecat88

This restaurant is gorgeous inside. It has the coolest decor fit for business dinner, date, or quick lunch. It smells amazing. The staff . . super friendly, and the owner is so sweet and he actually went out of his way for me and my companion. You never meet restaurant personnell this dedicated any more. The most amazing part . . The food!!! Best, hands down. I have travelled the world and this tom yum soup is the greatest I ever had. The spring rolls are swet and tangy. On top of it the prices are amazing. 2 people: appetizer, lunch entrees, drinks, sharing soup ( huge portion) with tip . . 30.00 and we brought our leftovers home. GO TO THIS PLACE!!!

• Pros: Best Thai food ever, Ambiance, tom yum soup
• Cons: none

09/17/04

The best thai restaurant in Chicago

by r11

The food at Star of Siam is exceptional!! I have been to this restaurant several times over the years and the food is consistently outstanding. The prices are extremely low despite the beautiful atmosphere and attentive service. I highly recommend Star of Siam if you are looking for a great thai food at an affordable price and do not want to sacrifice ambience.

• Pros: price, menu selection, convenient location

09/16/04

*

by jaelyn

Star of Siam is my favorite Thai restaurant. Chicken staty, CRs are especially good apps, and for entrees nothing beats the Panang Chicken and Basil Chicken. The panang is gpeanut-oily, dark and thick, but if you're not counting calories you shouldn't miss it!

• Pros: cheap valet parking, fabulous food