Yoogane @ Westgate (Review)

Can't even hire good staff.   Don't hire airy-headed teenagers who can't even focus on the customer.

 
Bad customer interaction: 

1) Westgate Sat afternoon.  I see a big chicken/rooster (person inside) posing for photos with a few people on the ground floor. The name tag on the chicken said "Yoogane". I read it aloud "yoo ga ne".

One young Singaporean guy about 17~18 years years old appeared & gave me a round hard card with a small-printed chicken picture & a Facebook URL that told me nothing of what it is about.

"Want to take photos?"  (with the chicken) he asked.

"What's this about?" I asked.

"Today is our first day.  We have one at Bugis and now here. Korean chicken.". he said,  eyes already shifting away to search for other people.

"Oh. Like that Korean chicken..." I wanted to say 4 Fingers.

"But it's not fried." he said, turning to reply and turning to look elsewhere.

"Where is it?" I asked.

"Upstairs. 3rd floor. You want to take photos?"

I shook my head.  And his attention was already gone.  I emphasize there were only a few people around. So his impersonal & distracted attitude was minus points.

This is really bad for a shop/restaurant that has just opened on its first day.  Is taking photo with that chicken that important compared to directing the customer to the restaurant (which should be the target of their event)? 

First of all, that round hard card is useless.  The company & staff should provide the necessary information straightaway. 1) What is it.  2) Location of restaurant. Where is it near to? Or how to get there.


2) When bro & I went to the 3rd floor, the restaurant was nowhere in sight until we walked towards the left & bro saw the balloon decorations for their opening.

Seeing the standee of featured food, bro said "Unappetizing".

I noticed no one was at the menu stand to greet customers. One young waitress with pony tail about 17~19 years old, approached but turned & hung back looking behind at nothing, even though we were standing in front at the menu stand.

Looking at the menu, I considered trying their fried rice. "It is done by a Korean chef?". I asked.

"Yes, but we cook it." she replied just as I was stepping in.

I stopped, perplexed by what she meant. And asked again if it was cooked by a Korean chef in the kitchen.

"We cook it for you." she said.  "All of our staff are trained to cook for the customer. We cook it in front of you. Only for these... (she pointed at some items in the menu) are cooked in the kitchen.".

When she said they are all trained to cook for customers, I looked at the staff behind her.  All young, airy-headed girls like herself.   Very doubtful they can cook anything, and I would be very wary about letting them cook my food, let alone outside of the kitchen where there is no proper equipment except for a "stove" set in the table.

How hot can it get by "cooking" at the table?  Is the food going to be properly & thoroughly cooked? I don't want Pepper & Lunch type of "cooking".

The food should be cooked by real cooks, with a certain level of maturity and experience. Not by a waitress and certainly not by airy-headed staff who aren't even professional towards the customer.

Even while I was talking to her, it was obvious her attention was elsewhere.  Very distracted, very impersonal.  Same as that guy downstairs on the ground floor. Her dead-fish eyes and behavior tell me she is only here for the money. She don't care for the customer. And in fact, she don't care about the company or the food they are selling. She is not interested.  (From her voice, she is Singaporean).

She invited me to try the "new experience" of eating their cooking. I said, "Maybe some other time." and walked away.

I was reminded of the Yahoo article I read last night. "Why are fresh diploma grads still losing out?".... "due to lack of interpersonal skills".

Although I don't agree that employers hire based on interpersonal skills, it would seem that it's true young Singaporeans lack interpersonal skills in this Yoogane case.

Oddly, that yahoo article is gone.  Yahoo must have taken it down for some government-enforced reason.

I don't know why Korean restaurants are so poorly managed.  Bibigo@Raffles City & Kimchi @Suntec.