Happy New Year, everyone~ Today the salon is still open as usual, but no one else came. For the next two weeks the salon will still be running as normal, and toward the end of January I may be heading back to Shanghai. The New Island Salon may then draw to a close, and next semester it should move somewhere else.
When I came this morning, I was told that the non-smoking area was not open because it was a holiday and there were few people; there was no service, no lights, and no heating. Still, I insisted on sitting down inside. Luckily there was power and internet, so reading books and playing games alone in a dark, chilly corner was actually rather pleasant. After a while a waiter brought over a glass of water, but there was no menu, so he hurried off again. After more than an hour, a waiter finally brought a menu, and I gratefully and tearfully ordered a pot of coffee plus the complimentary breakfast congee. The coffee was served after a long while; after some more time they mistakenly brought it again, but the congee was forgotten. Luckily, when I arrived early, since New Island had not yet opened, I had already had breakfast at the Yoshinoya next door. At noon, at twelve o’clock, a merciful waiter brought the menu again, and I, grateful to tears, calmly told her that the congee had not been served, so there was no need to order lunch.
The staff were evidently too pessimistic about business conditions. The number of people who came today did not seem much less than usual. By one or two o’clock the outside seats were already full of customers. At last two customers were allowed into the non-smoking area, and then several more tables arrived. The lights in the non-smoking area were switched on too, and everything returned to normal.
I’ve been at New Island for nearly a year now, and aside from the first two months, it has been almost a case of running into some service problem every time. To list them roughly in order from most frequent to least frequent: bringing the wrong thing; calling for a waiter and getting no response for a long time; after entering and taking a seat, no one coming to greet you for ages; new waiters knowing nothing when asked; dishes arriving extremely slowly with no proactive explanation; taking more than half an hour just to pay the bill; clearing away food that hasn’t been finished; overcharging at checkout; on freezing winter mornings, not opening the elevator and leaving a bunch of customers stranded at the door for more than half an hour…
All in all, I’ve completely lost heart when it comes to New Island’s service. I’m not planning to renew my membership card. Next semester I may look for a new base near campus. Recommendations are welcome.
Latest comments
- benjaminbai
2010-01-04 13:55:19 Anonymous 219.234.81.66
I’m free on the 16th, so I’ll come then!
I’m planning to study Western philosophy on the 9th, so forget it
Translated from the Chinese original with AI assistance. The original text is authoritative.
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