Sometimes I like to eat a simple burger for my lunch when we are somewhere in a mall or so. It happened already a few times that when I visited such restaurant that the food will be served because it has to be prepared first.
Something like this happens from time to time and in some restaurants like Chow King you will receive a table stand with a number to make it easy for the serving employees to put the right orders on the right table. But If they don’t have that they have to improvise. Check at the picture what they write on the note after they asked my name but probably had problems in how to write
Jan. They simply use ‘foreigner’ and ‘green shirt’. It was an easy job because I got my food in a few minutes….
I probably was the only foreigner in a green shirt that day….
Sometimes I like to eat a simple burger for my lunch when we are somewhere in a mall or so. It happened already a few times that when I visited such restaurant that the food will be served because it has to be prepared first.
Nov 13, 2011 @ 18:23:38
The main thing is good service and I find that most restaurants may not always be able to provide the food you want but generally the staff in the Philippines have very high standards of service.
Nov 14, 2011 @ 20:26:10
agree, but it all depends on your own behaviour. If you are friendly and understanding, you will get the best service in the world.
Nov 13, 2011 @ 18:25:26
In four years I have never had bad service in the Philippines at a restaurant. Have had the odd strange thing in my meal but they have always changed it without fuss (Hair in my rice and a caterpiller in my lettuce).
But one thing is for sure people generally will try to do the best for the customer. Not always easy considering the low salaries these people receive.
Nov 14, 2011 @ 20:30:35
Hi Matt,
I also have had a strange thing in my food once, but without any problem it was changed.
Service in general is perfect.
The employees have to and alweays have to smile. If not, there are 1000 more applicants waiting to take their job… That’s also one of the reasons salaries are very low. There are too many people willing to work for such amount of money. This is a general problem in the Philippines and cannot be solved easily.
Dec 27, 2011 @ 11:01:01
Really. Where are you guys going? ANYTIME I go out to eat, the people are rude as hell to me.
Staring, smiling, laughing, pointing, shouting “hey Joe”, asking if I need a wife(with my wife right next to me!), asking for my facebook, yahoo, and cell phone.
Certainly NOT Western standards. It’s so bad, I barely eat out anymore. If I’m on the run, I’m forced to eat e-coli BBQ sticks, cus those people are at least respectful to me.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 13:00:56
John: I wonder, where you are going that you have such problems? Not saying it couldn’t happen, but my experience (7 weeks in the country, and planning to return) has been much more like the other posters’. Also, it seems like you are talking about bystanders, not about the restaurant employees. Again, I wonder where you are when you have that kind of problem.
By the way, “Hey, Joe,” a problem? I didn’t really like it, but I took it as mostly friendly.
Jan 10, 2012 @ 13:59:22
My experiences are much better and I don’t have problems most of the times. The only thing is that if the cellphone of a Filipino rings, everything has to wait…., even customers… I am affraid it is your attitude towards the Filipinos. Do never forget that you are a GUEST in their country, and everything here goes Filipino Style!! If you have problems with that, you better stay home.
Filipinas often ask me if I am married or have a girlfriend. When I am saying yes, they sometimes ask if I have a brother or son who is single. They have never asked me about facebook or yahoo or cellphone.
And the “hey Joe” thing, Filipino’s think that all white people are Americans, and all Americans are named Joe, because that’s easy to pronounce for them.