Reserving a restaurant table

To the Manager, Il-Forn, 26/27, North Street, Birgu:

I am writing to express my great disappointment at the way my friends and I were treated when we decided to come over to Il-Forn last Thursday, October 24, 2002.

I phoned at 7 p.m. to reserve a table for four for 9.15. On arrival, the girl who seemed to be in charge told us that all the tables were occupied. Another group of friends had arrived contemporaneously and occupied the last available table.

Had this girl been professional, the obvious thing to do would have been to inform them that the table was reserved and to politely ask them to get up. However, very indifferently, she told us she couldn't do this because they had already sat down. She led us to a large table in the entrance hall which is big enough for 10 or 12 persons (we were a party of four) and told us that it was the only table available.

When we insisted that we thought we had a reservation she rudely said that she couldn't keep a table reserved from 7 to 9.15! But that is not what she had told me on the telephone! If telephone reservations are not accepted, one should say so. Or am I wrong?

We were really disgusted by her attitude and sat down to decide whether we should stay or just leave. As cool as anything she came to the table (the huge table I mean) and brought us the menus, but we said we were not yet sure whether we would be staying. Do you think she seemed worried or did she apologise for what happened? No. Her answer was, "Just take your time to decide but I must leave you to get on with my work.". Unbelievable! Her tone of voice said, "I am too busy to wait for you to decide!"

Since we happen to be airline staff and deal continuously with passengers we are all very conscious of customer service. Generally, in difficult situations or mishaps beyond your control, your attitude towards the customer counts much more than the actual solution you can offer. I am sorry to say that this girl needs someone to teach it to her all from scratch because, judging by what I've seen, she has no idea of how to do her job.

We just got up, left the table and walked out. No one bothered to apologise or to try to dissuade us.

It's a pity, the place is very sweet, but how 'sweet' can it be without service? (Joanne Piccinino, November 18, 2002)

On November 26 I asked Il-Forn for their side of the case, to no avail. On January 7 we sent them a copy of the letter, which was sent to them in the first place by Ms Piccinino and, yet again, asked for their comments, still to no avail. On February 11 we sent them another (third) copy of the letter and asked them for their comments, still to no avail. Indeed their silence is deafening.

In any case, while readers can draw their own conclusions on Il-Forn's customer orientation, they still have the opportunity to give us their side of the case for inclusion in this column.