Peter Chang China Cafe, Szechuan Restaurant Chain Undergoing Expansion

[Bob Wells]

I wasn't going to write anything about my experience at the Rockville location today, but it seems like maybe I wasn't the only one to notice they weren't firing on all (or even 1/3rd) cylinders.

I called in a few items for takeout (bamboo fish, grandma noodles, house special fish, and smoked tofu with celery). That list of dishes wasn't what I started out ordering, but as it turns out, the online menu bears only passing resemblance to their actual current offerings. I think most of the issue is that some dishes have slightly changed names, but the person I spoke with did not have a deep enough knowledge of the menu to know what I was asking for.

I showed up 20 minutes later to pick up my order only to be met with complete confusion. I was asked 4 separate times what my name was and what I ordered. I was met with incredulity when I explained for the 3rd time that I was not Sean and had not ordered Kung pao shrimp. After several minutes I was able to surmise through hearing bits and pieces of hushed conversation between staff, and one side of a phone conversation, that they had mistakenly given my to go order to "Sean" and had asked him to bring it back. To be totally clear, I asked twice for clarification on what was up (to give them a chance to be honest and up front with me), but both times I was told it was simply "still cooking."

Lo and behold, Sean returned about 15 minutes later. The bag with my food was quickly swept away to the back after the manager said something to a waitress in Chinese. Less than 2 minutes later, my order came out in another bag, but without a receipt for me to double check its contents. So at this point, perhaps irrationally (though I don't think so), I asked if they had simply repackaged the food Sean just returned. (Sean joked that I wasn't supposed to see him bring the food back, and though we laughed, I think he was right.) They said no, that my food was freshly cooked, and it was just a coincidence that it came out shortly after the other order was returned. I remain skeptical, but at that point I wanted to get out and on my way home, paid my check, and headed out.

Jeez -- any place that would give a customer food that another customer brought back needs to be shut down. I hope that didn't happen.

[Ericandblueboy]

Jeez -- any place that would give a customer food that another customer brought back needs to be shut down. I hope that didn't happen.

Hmm....there's a local Chinese joint that I ordered delivery from. I put in the online order form that the food is to be delivered at a certain time. They apparently didn't see that and delivered the food shortly after I placed the order. I refused to accept the early delivery. Since all the food that was delivered later was overcooked, I suspect it was the same food, just reheated. I wouldn't have been too shocked that all they did is a switcheroo.

[DonRocks]

Jeez -- any place that would give a customer food that another customer brought back needs to be shut down. I hope that didn't happen.

I hope it didn't either, but in their minds, it might be like recycling unused bread in a bread basket (which can also be a dubious practice, depending on how it's set up). On the other hand, that's not unlike the peanut bowl at the bar, where everybody sticks their hands in and grabs some (which can be pretty gross if you think about it).

I like the way Corduroy serves their bread to the solo diner - one slice on top, and several more on the bottom, all wrapped in a cloth napkin - you can pull the top slice out without even touching the bottom slices, and if a customer only eats one slice, it would be perfectly hygienic to reuse the bread (I'm not saying they do; I'm saying if they did, there would be absolutely nothing wrong with it - it's really an ingenious system).

[Bob Wells]

Anyone been to Peter Chang Arlington recently? I finally made it thanks to a nearby soccer tournament (a common theme for me, it's how I discovered the rockin' Red Truck bakery in Marshall) and got some takeout.

They don't let you take out the scallion bubble pancakes so I have not had those yet but I really enjoyed the Grandma's Noodles. Nicely chewy and quite toothsome.

[jeffmhunt]

I had been to the Charlottesville restaurant a handful of times, but last night was my first experience at the Rockville location. I split a few dishes with my vegetarian wife, so I can't comment on the meat dishes yet.

The Hot and Numbing Tofu was a little less numbing and a lot more oily than the version we'd had before - still good.

Thanks to the forum, we tried the Cilantro Flounder Fish Rolls - crispy and flavorful, excellent.

Grandma's Noodles were also a bit oily, but had a pleasant spice and good chew.

Since all of the above were basically beige, we asked them to add steamed broccoli to our Mapo Tofu - probably sacrilegious, but it worked better than you might expect - excellent dish that rivaled (but probably didn't quite best) the version I love from Hong Kong Palace.

Slightly off-topic, but I'm wondering if someone can point me toward more vegetarian-friendly Chinese restaurants in the area - in my very limited experience, it seems like other Asian cuisines (at least locally - particularly Vietnamese) have more options in that regard, but hopefully I'm wrong. I found the Vegetarian Dining topic, but it's more generic and a bit of a ghost town.

[sandynva]

one great thing about peter chang--on just about any dish you want, they will substitute tofu for the meat/fish, so you can get a vegetarian version of most things on the menu. my current fave is the hot and numbing flounder (with tofu instead of flounder) the broth is just so tasty! the one bummer is that they charge the menu price for the item regardless of whether you've downgraded to the cheaper tofu, but still, i'm delighted to have that option.

As a vegetarian (no seafood/chicken/meat, but eggs and dairy ok) i think it's interesting that you've found vietnamese places more veg friendly than chinese, as  i've found plenty of things to eat at a & J and joe's, and many things at sichuan jin river, while on the other hand in my limited search i haven't yet found a vietnamese place where i can eat much (so if you know of one please tell me!).

[Josh]

Looks like chef Chang has a training problem. After my experience, I vowed never to go back, and I'm guessing the guys in this story probably won't be either.

The amazing part is that the manager admits these same servers have done this before, and he's warned them! And yet he still hasn't decided whether to fire them.

[hopsing]

That is pretty bad.  I really like their food so will be returning to the scene of the crime.  From my limited China experience, you had to order rice as an extra side and then it came in a small bowl.  During a banquet, it came in a big family bowl.  Chinese restaurants in America usually include the rice as part of the entree.

[Marty L.]

4 hours ago, JoshNE said:

Looks like chef Chang has a training problem. After my experience, I vowed never to go back, and I'm guessing the guys in this story probably won't be either.

The amazing part is that the manager admits these same servers have done this before, and he's warned them! And yet he still hasn't decided whether to fire them.

Woo, boy.  Tone-deafness 101:  "They always do that. I've told them so many times," [Manager Qian] Cheng said.  "And they did it again."  

It gets worse when it comes to the remedy:  "Cheng said he has cut back the servers' hours. They will not work prime weekend shifts in the near future."

And then worse still:  "He gave the diners a $20 gift card for their troubles."

[reedm]

5 hours ago, JoshNE said:

Looks like chef Chang has a training problem. After my experience, I vowed never to go back, and I'm guessing the guys in this story probably won't be either.

The amazing part is that the manager admits these same servers have done this before, and he's warned them! And yet he still hasn't decided whether to fire them.

1000 commenters in the WP so far. Even if 90% are probably trolls, that's a relatively high response rate. 

[DonRocks]

I'd normally ask people to minimize the importance of this, because *so many* people talk smack about others behind their back (you simply would not believe the BS that I hear said about me), but I *can't stand* people who belittle others. These two just happened to get caught, but it happens at a disturbing rate among the general population. There are too many mean people in this world.

[Marty L.]

1 minute ago, DonRocks said:

I'd normally ask people to minimize the importance of this, because *so many* people talk smack about others behind their back (you simply would not believe the BS that I hear said about me), but I *can't stand* people who belittle others. These two just happened to get caught, but it happens at a disturbing rate among the general population. People are mean.

Don:  I agree in general -- every workplace will have inappropriate and thoughtless employees from time to time (well, other than a place run by Jonny Monis and Anne Marler!), and that's hardly a reason to hold it against the establishment, or to make a big deal about it publicly.  The difference here wasn't what the employees did -- I'll bet something like it has happened in almost every restaurant -- but the outrageously inadequate and thoughtless reply by management, in an official statement to the press!

[hoosiereph]

1 hour ago, Marty L. said:

the outrageously inadequate and thoughtless reply by management, in an official statement to the press!

Between this and Josh's story, maybe they're giving up on making Chef Chang's delights and instead making a bid for the Dick's Last Resort clientele?

[Ericandblueboy]

The side of the story not presented: Matt is probably a pain in the ass know it all.  He's lived in China so he knows all about how Chinese restaurants serve rice but somehow he doesn't know that splitting checks is taboo.  So he runs to Tim Carmen to commission a hit piece.  That said, I'd still fire the servers for their stupidity of leaving the comments on the check.  

[reedm]

I'm by no means defending any of the staff's alleged behavior, but take a look at this seemingly related yelp review. 

I sense a hidden agenda, trolling, or some combination...

[Simul Parikh]

I've had it happen to me in a restaurant in Pittsburgh. Had (-Gay) attached to description/notes on the receipt. Asked for a manager, and got a very begrudging apology, almost thought he thought it was funny.

I don't doubt the waiters at Chang wrote that, don't doubt that the immediate managers didn't really care. This is a business with a very unsavory and undereducated labor force. Had a front desk person or nurse talked about a patient like that and got caught, we would fire them on the spot and beg for the patient's forgiveness. Different worlds. 

The customer did seem like kind of a Richard, though. 

Edit: regardless of him being a jerk (which he may well be) - the "taboo" of splitting checks in America at a Chinese restaurant is not something we should know or care about. That makes no sense. At an Indian restaurant in India, my cousins could be quite condescending and disrespectful to the servers (ugh, so embarrassing). Doesn't mean we do that here. 

[DonRocks]

18 minutes ago, reedm said:

I'm by no means defending any of the staff's alleged behavior, but take a look at this seemingly related yelp review. 

I sense a hidden agenda, trolling, or some combination...

You sense correctly: Take a look at the person's other reviews. 

The evidence was there, so there's no doubt that it happened; the question is: What was this customer like?

10 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

Edit: regardless of him being a jerk (which he may well be) - the "taboo" of splitting checks in America at a Chinese restaurant is not something we should know or care about. That makes no sense. At an Indian restaurant in India, my cousins could be quite condescending and disrespectful to the servers (ugh, so embarrassing). Doesn't mean we do that here. 

Don't think I haven't witnessed finger-snapping, my friend.

In all seriousness, even if the customer *was* a complete tool (which he probably was), can't servers be professional enough to just suck it up and deal with it? I would fire them for this if I were the manager, unless the customer was abusive, and maybe even if the customer *was* abusive; on the other hand, I understand humor as a stress relief, and maybe that's what this was.

[Simul Parikh]

9 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Don't think I haven't witnessed finger-snapping, my friend.

Doesn't mean we "should" do that here

26 minutes ago, reedm said:

I'm by no means defending any of the staff's alleged behavior, but take a look at this seemingly related yelp review. 

I sense a hidden agenda, trolling, or some combination...

Dude really loves KFC and CVS. What a strange troll. 

[alexandria1]

45 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

The side of the story not presented: Matt is probably a pain in the ass know it all.  He's lived in China so he knows all about how Chinese restaurants serve rice but somehow he doesn't know that splitting checks is taboo.  

"Matt" wasn't the diner who had lived in China.

The only comment I've ever gotten on a receipt was "TURIST!!" at a coffee shop in Copenhagen with a heavily non-Danish crowd.

[Josh]

58 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

The side of the story not presented: Matt is probably a pain in the ass know it all.  He's lived in China so he knows all about how Chinese restaurants serve rice but somehow he doesn't know that splitting checks is taboo.  So he runs to Tim Carmen to commission a hit piece.  That said, I'd still fire the servers for their stupidity of leaving the comments on the check.  

Tim *Carman*

Yes, it sounds as though this guy may have not been the meekest customer out there, but for Christ's sake, make fun of your customers in ways that don't leave a paper trail! As Simul said, in my business (and I suspect most others), these employees would have been fired on the spot with no second thought.

[Ericandblueboy]

I've been to Peter Chang in Arlington many times.  Many workers are not Chinese.  English is spoken even by the Chinese staff.  The restaurant is meant to be accessible by those who want authentic Chinese food but don't speak the language.  I've always received good service (which is great for a Chinese restaurant).  However, I'm sure they get their share of plaid wearing a-holes with small dicks [fyi, I don't wear plaid] who want to impress their friends over soemthing trivial.  How did this turn into a Wapo article?  Doesn't Tim have anything better to do?  Maybe he should've followed Philthy V's lead and reported on how good KFC is instead? Did Chang piss in his congee or is Tim trying to get a job with the Enquirer?

[Bob Wells]

11 hours ago, reedm said:

I'm by no means defending any of the staff's alleged behavior, but take a look at this seemingly related yelp review. 

I sense a hidden agenda, trolling, or some combination...

How the hell does Yelp let that fly? They filter out many reasonable reviews.

[DaveO]

15 hours ago, reedm said:

1000 commenters in the WP so far. Even if 90% are probably trolls, that's a relatively high response rate. 

1600 comments as of earlier today.  A lot.  A real lot.  A very large population has read that article.  How many?  10 people for every commentator?  More - less.  This article got a lot of visibility.  Of those readers some are going to decide to never go to Peter Chang's.  Some.  

21 hours ago, JoshNE said:

Looks like chef Chang has a training problem. After my experience, I vowed never to go back, and I'm guessing the guys in this story probably won't be either.

The amazing part is that the manager admits these same servers have done this before, and he's warned them! And yet he still hasn't decided whether to fire them.

How often does this occur in the workplace and life?  I was thinking back.  I recall my partner and I labeling a real estate client as having a "stupid f*cking concept" and then giving that descriptor to several others.  It was before the internet, social media, selfies etc.  We never put it on paper.  I've heard comments like that from the heads of major organizations and among their senior staff, and I've heard it repeatedly in from staff on the Hill.  Labeling like this goes on everywhere.

I've seen something like this in our small businesses.  The staff writes stuff about an existing or potential customer.  Its ugly.  If the customers or potential customers ever saw this it would be deadly.

It is a "training problem"  then you have to monitor it to keep it from rearing its ugly head.  

14 hours ago, Marty L. said:

Don:  I agree in general -- every workplace will have inappropriate and thoughtless employees from time to time (well, other than a place run by Jonny Monis and Anne Marler!), and that's hardly a reason to hold it against the establishment, or to make a big deal about it publicly.  The difference here wasn't what the employees did -- I'll bet something like it has happened in almost every restaurant -- but the outrageously inadequate and thoughtless reply by management, in an official statement to the press!

Jeesh.  Management missed on this;  its been going on for a while, the servers didn't get fired, management didn't repudiate it in words and ACTIONS, the staffers remain.  Bad move.  It will reoccur.

Matt let Tim Carmen know about it and put it on yelp, which will be seen by fewer people (one review among many)   I think good move by Matt.  Some other customer(s) isn't/aren't going to see some stupid comment on a stupid bill by a stupid staffer(s).   If management can't control this at least publicity will somewhat damper these kinds of stupid offensive actions.

All the stuff about how rice is served and about splitting checks is ancillary in my estimation.  Some servers engage in stupid actions, haven't stopped it, management has been aware of it and has done nothing, allowing it to continue, and its insulting juvenile behavior.  

Catch it and end it.  Good lesson.  

[ktmoomau]

It sounds like everyone involved in the incident were assholes deserving of what they all got.  But it wouldn't stop me from going there.  I think someone should make a Peter Chang random restaurant order comment generator that sorted through your facebook feed and came up with something zingy and inappropriate that would be hilarious.     

[Simul Parikh]

Maybe...

1) That's how they blow off steam when customers act a fool, instead of hocking a loogie into the mapo tofu, or...

2) It's the tip of the iceberg, and what you think may have been a loogie in that mapo may be actually something used for hilarity in "There's Something About Mary". 

 

[reedm]

7 hours ago, Bob Wells said:

How the hell does Yelp let that fly? They filter out many reasonable reviews.

Despite finding some utility in Yelp, particularly for trips to places I'm not familiar with, I've lost confidence in their review system. Their "software driven" system hides legitimate reviews, but keeps many that are obviously phony.

Thank goodness for this resource!

[Pat]

Four employees, including the chef's daughter, have been fired as a result of the incident.

[NolaCaine]

I'm wondering if I should interrupt this thread with an actual food review?

Ok, since you asked.  While not wearing plaid, my husband and I were off to an early dinner on Saturday night.  Please note that we arrived to the Arlington location at about 5:10. We were seated immediately and, since it opened at 5, was mostly empty.  That is a very important note because about 10 minutes later, 3 different tables of 9 were seated; two had reservations, that last one seemed like a surprise to staff.  10 minutes after that, 5:30, it was SRO and people were drinking while waiting for a table. 

We were seated by a very pleasant lady and we did not tell her that we had both been to China.  We started with drinks because now they can serve beer and wine; which was great b/c we were off to an auction.

The stand out was, by far, the special appetizer cucumber and garlic.  Couple that with bang-bang shrimp and we were off to a great start.  However, our main dish, seafood in hotpot was good but not amazing. I did over-eat if that is any indication of just how "good" it was. I really liked the white fish fillets in the dish because they best soaked up the flavor. 

We split the pot and only ate about half of it.  I am sure you could split that three ways with three appetizers.

It was enjoyable and I was a tad disappointed that my receipt didn't say:  "Love the LBD" or "bald is sexy" in the notes section.

 

 

 

 

 

[Ericandblueboy]

Mo' news about small pecker's rice serving knowledge

In short, in China, rice may be served in individual bowls or communal bowls.  The title of the story is  "Did a wiseacre’s mansplaining about rice get four Peter Chang employees fired? "  I think it was the media publicity that got 4 people fired.  Carman wrote a hit piece that forced Chang's hand.

[MsDiPesto]

Petite plaid pedant pressures Peter's

 

 

[reedm]

The cuisine, country, food, and everything else associated with the incident are irrelevant. Can you imagine eating at a restaurant in any country and declaring "this is the way they do it in the United States". 

That said, the employees were wrong, but I don't think they deserved to be fired. I like Carman's writing, but this entire episode was a bit ridiculous. 

[Simul Parikh]

Why? Should we allow waiters and waitresses - front of house staff - to insult patrons? They are the "front of the house". I'm just wondering why it's okay, even if the customers are assholes. Which, in this case, seems true. The way it happened wasn't ideal, but if it is true that they insulted the patrons, the manager minimizing it and giving just a $20 gift card, why shouldn't they be fired? An architecture firm, a medical clinic, a real estate company - most would fire lower level companies that insult clients. Curious why you don't think they deserved being fired? Maybe I'm missing something - are you saying they deserve a warning ("don't call customers jerks to their face on the receipts or you may get fired"). Are you saying it's because it's a lower end place the customers should expect to be treated like that? If this happened at Pineapple and Pearls, would it be more bad or less bad?

Customers first ... I think. I may be wrong. Not totally sure about this. But gut tells me that I'd fire a nurse in a heartbeat for this. Maybe I'm mean.

[Ericandblueboy]

You have no idea how the real world operates.  There are assholes everywhere, as doctors, as lawyers, as restaurant managers, as restaurant clients.  A jackass shows up and abuses your staff, one of your staff makes the mistake of saying too loudly his/her perception of the jackass, the jackass overhears and complains.  You're going to fire the staff on the spot?  Do you even have the authority?  The best you can do is probably tell H.R.

In real life, I would weigh the contribution to the company of the staff vs. the damage to the business.  If Carman hadn't wrote his article, there'd be no bad publicity.  I keep the staff if he/she is otherwise good and I don't want the jackass' business anyway.  But because Carman wrote the article, I have to do damage control, by firing everyone associated with the incident, including the manager.  Jackass wins.  

Jackass winning is an outcome I'd avoid at all cost.  You just have to identify who is the jackass.

[DonRocks]

When in doubt,
be kind, and
travel the
gentle route.

[Josh]

This response is ill-advised, and I should have been in bed a while ago...

But to suppose that Simul has no idea how the "real world" works is ridiculous. No, I suspect he knows quite a bit about how people behave at their lowest and most vulnerable. 

Given what we know regarding this situation, the patrons were annoying, to be sure. Abusive? No, I don't think so. An environment where staff feel free to openly mock patrons *in writing* and have done so (and apparently been warned against it) previously is not a healthy one. That they were caught is their own fault, and not Carman's.

[Simul Parikh]

6 hours ago, Ericandblueboy said:

You have no idea how the real world operates.  There are assholes everywhere, as doctors, as lawyers, as restaurant managers, as restaurant clients.  A jackass shows up and abuses your staff, one of your staff makes the mistake of saying too loudly his/her perception of the jackass, the jackass overhears and complains.  You're going to fire the staff on the spot?  Do you even have the authority?  The best you can do is probably tell H.R.

In real life, I would weigh the contribution to the company of the staff vs. the damage to the business.  If Carman hadn't wrote his article, there'd be no bad publicity.  I keep the staff if he/she is otherwise good and I don't want the jackass' business anyway.  But because Carman wrote the article, I have to do damage control, by firing everyone associated with the incident, including the manager.  Jackass wins.  

Jackass winning is an outcome I'd avoid at all cost.  You just have to identify who is the jackass.

Really? That's an interesting approach, not one I would utilize - weighing the contribution of the employee over the perceived "asshole"-iness of the custome. We have abusive patients that the staff get frustrated with. But, if they wrote in an invoice "loud mouth ass cancer patient", they have to go. Part of it is the record, too. I'm okay with waiters, nurses, whoever blowing off steam verbally in a private situation (after the shift, at a local watering hole maybe). But don't do something that remains on record. There was a DC area anesthesiologist who was recorded saying the most horrible things about patients after she put them under. I don't care if the anesthesiologist won a Nobel Prize, and the patient was an ISIL supporter AND a Nickelback fan. That anesthesiologist had to go, regardless of the "value" of their services compared to the despicability of the patient.

About knowing nothing about the real world and what not ... I'm already having a good morning, so I'll let it slide  but you have a great day, ericandnblueboy!

[Ericandblueboy]

Of course you have no problem if someone was blowing off steam verbally in private.  Otherwise you'd have to fire everyone. 

In this case, my problem is that 4 people were canned, only 2 of which which directly culpable.  The others were merely exercising discretion of weighing the cost vs. benefit of the situation.  As a business owner, I would always weigh cost vs. benefit.  And the analysis only tipped in favor firing all 4 as a result of the article.  That is what actually happened.  

And firing his own daughter is a pure publicity stunt.  She'll be back in the business in some other capacity in no time.  

[Simul Parikh]

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same situation? Did you read that the manager said that this happened before? "He said that the servers had previously been warned about leaving offensive comments in the system. "They always do that. I've told them so many times," Cheng said. "And they did it again." He's weighing whether someone needs to be fired over the incident."

2 people were directly culpable. Their manager said they have been doing this constantly, and now they are finally getting their hours cut (after a story in a newspaper with a large following). The owner now has to deal with this report, and the resulting firestorm. He has a few choices: 1) Fire nobody, and just apologize 2) Fire the servers, while keeping the manager in place, and thereby standing by inept management 3) Fire the servers and the managers, apologize and keep the daughter around 4) Be so absolutely disgusted by the incident, fire all 4 of them, hire a consultant to prevent this from happening again. Everyone certainly can have their opinion on the way this situation should have been handled. You think 1 (or maybe even 1 without the apology). I think 4. 

Anyway, simple decency prevents me from keeping an employee that writes down insulting things about a customer, directly hands it to that customer, who has been warned about it in the past. Seems continually strange to defend the employees for continuing an action that can be quite damaging to a company's overall perception. I guess we have different management styles. And that's okay! Agree to disagree!

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

Of course you have no problem if someone was blowing off steam verbally in private.  

32 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same situation?

Before this turns into a Battle of the Egos (actually, it already has), Eric is saying it's every bit as bad to talk about someone behind their back and that it happens all the time, in all professions. He's right.

Simul is saying that it's indefensible that customers find out that they're being made fun of, and not to take strong action about it. He's right.

Surgeons make fun of their patients all the time when they're under anesthesia. If the patients aren't cognizant, there's no problem; if they're aware of what's going on, everybody gets fired. Eric is saying that the act is equally reprehensible in both cases; Simul is speaking only of people getting called out for doing it.

Eric seems to be saying, "Don't ever do this, in any situation." Simul seems to be saying, "If you do it, you'd better not get caught."

[Ericandblueboy]

1 hour ago, Simul Parikh said:

I'm not sure if we are talking about the same situation? Did you read that the manager said that this happened before? "He said that the servers had previously been warned about leaving offensive comments in the system. "They always do that. I've told them so many times," Cheng said. "And they did it again." He's weighing whether someone needs to be fired over the incident."

2 people were directly culpable. Their manager said they have been doing this constantly, and now they are finally getting their hours cut (after a story in a newspaper with a large following). The owner now has to deal with this report, and the resulting firestorm. He has a few choices: 1) Fire nobody, and just apologize 2) Fire the servers, while keeping the manager in place, and thereby standing by inept management 3) Fire the servers and the managers, apologize and keep the daughter around 4) Be so absolutely disgusted by the incident, fire all 4 of them, hire a consultant to prevent this from happening again. Everyone certainly can have their opinion on the way this situation should have been handled. You think 1 (or maybe even 1 without the apology). I think 4. 

Anyway, simple decency prevents me from keeping an employee that writes down insulting things about a customer, directly hands it to that customer, who has been warned about it in the past. Seems continually strange to defend the employees for continuing an action that can be quite damaging to a company's overall perception. I guess we have different management styles. And that's okay! Agree to disagree!

I'm not saying the restaurant was being run in the most perfect manner.  But I've been there many times and I've always had courteous and timely service.  So they were doing something right. 

As for Chang's options - he could've done 1 or maybe 2 without the published article.  Once the article came out, he had no choice but to do 3, but he did 4 for P.R. purposes.  Privately he's probably cursing the tiny pecker and Wapo.  As for firing the servers, I said in my first post I'd fire them for their stupidity (letting the insult reach the customer in writing with no possibility of denial is incredibly careless).  I just hate the fact that 4 people were fired to appease a jackass (and lots of nasty Wapo commenters), all because Carman decides to pick up this story.

My point is that media attention changed the outcome in this case.

As for saying you have no idea how the real world works - I take that back and I hereby issue a half-hearted apology.

[sheldman]

Like Eric, when I think about this situation I focus most on how and why it got in to the Post. I love much of what Carman writes. But what must have happened is (1) the know-it-all customer got more bent out of shape than was reasonably necessary, and (2) he (or friend) pitched the story to the Post, (3) which wrote up the story as clickbait, which constitutes way too much of the Post these days.

I hope that if I were in this customer's situation, I would take it as indication that at least I ought to consider whether I was being a dick, and ponder that for a while - not run to the newspapers to try to end the job of the person who called me a dick. If I took the latter course, it would pretty much prove that the person was right in the first place!

Nonetheless, the chef/owner was in a no-win situation that was not of his own making. And I hope that Carman learns something.

[Simul Parikh]

55 minutes ago, Ericandblueboy said:

As for saying you have no idea how the real world works - I take that back and I hereby issue a half-hearted apology.

Half-heartedly accepted!

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, Ericandblueboy said:

As for saying you have no idea how the real world works - I take that back and I hereby issue a half-hearted apology.

9 minutes ago, Simul Parikh said:

Half-heartedly accepted!

[Now kiss each other and make up! *No tonguing*!] 

[jasonc]

I'm sort of torn here. I truly believe those a-holes needed to be taken down a notch. And it really bothers me that those a-holes now get the pleasure of knowing the servers were fired - and I do think these are the type of a-holes that get pleasure out of others' pain. 

But they did get caught red-handed.

[DonRocks]

53 minutes ago, jasonc said:

I'm sort of torn here. I truly believe those a-holes needed to be taken down a notch. And it really bothers me that those a-holes now get the pleasure of knowing the servers were fired - and I do think these are the type of a-holes that get pleasure out of others' pain. 

But they did get caught red-handed.

Can you explain something to me? Other than one perhaps incorrect comment about "this is the way they serve rice in China," what did the customers do wrong? I don't see that as grounds for even labeling the customers bad people - it might have been a presumptuous statement to make, but I don't see anything *completely* terrible about it.

One time, Member #1 and I were in a "French" restaurant (and I put that in quotes because it wasn't French-staffed; just French-themed). We asked a perfectly polite question about why a dish was served a certain way - we were just curious; there wasn't any problem - and got a surprisingly condescending lecture from our server, a young American girl in her 20's, and her tutorial ended with, "And this is how they do it in France!" Karen turned to me and said, in 100-mph French, "What do you think, D? Have you ever seen this in France?" I replied in kind, and we had a very short, rapid-fire discussion about the issue in French, then turned back to our slack-jawed server, and said, "Thanks! We didn't know."

Yes, it was mildly dickish, but she was shockingly arrogant, and the entire incident amused us highly - I think it might have even amused her because she did a 180 in attitude around us afterwards, and was perfectly friendly - we even left her a good tip.

Then there was the time that magdalena was at some huge, American, corporate place way out in Virginia - somewhere like a TGIF's or a Bennigans, or one of those types of places - and some hungover server came by and asked how they liked everything. Magdalena (Member #1's mom, who just turned 80), is a 5'0", 100-pound, extremely polite and proper French lady, and chose to practice her severely limited English by clearing her throat, and struggling to slowly say, "Zees food ees for zee peegs." She didn't really know what she was saying, which makes it all the more hilarious.

[DaveO]

I find all the comments criticizing the customers bewildering.  Who among these critics sat at the table and knew exactly what was said in what tone, and who among the critics was sitting at the table and heard the response from the waitstaff to the question about splitting checks.   

I ask that based on years of getting feedback from both graduates of the bar school (in my sig) and employers.  Grads might complain about employers.  Employers might complain about grads.  (Its not as if we get endless calls from a grad extolling an employer...or vice versa.).   And then we get calls about a problem wherein we here both sides of a story.     Getting the story from two sides is remarkably revealing.  Invariably it clarifies perspectives better than hearing the story from only one side.   We've learned this after endless endless such experiences over many years.  Its shaped our response.  

The endless comments taken over dozens of years, and the better understanding of situations based on hearing two (or more sides) of a story provide far better clarity as to what occurred.  Its quite revealing and remarkable in difference from any one side.

The difference between all those stories and the story of the conversations between customers and staff at Peter Chang's restaurant is the bill.  That is very different and very hard evidence.  The staff basically did something stupid; something they shouldn't be doing in the first place.  That area for custom comments is to give the back of the house or any other relevant staffers directions on any special elements of the order.  

Its clearly not for adding insulting comments.  Whether seen by customers or not.  Its not for that use.  Period!!!!!  That the waitstaff didn't erase those stupid comments (this time, I presume) was their mistake and it ends up being the cause of their penalty, being fired.   But there is more to the story.  The manager on duty acknowledged this had been going on for some time (I presume with other customers not having received insulting comments)  (but who knows if it has been going on for some time)  The manager on duty (MOD) hadn't been able to stop the practice.  That manager wasn't managing.  Period.   The GM, the chef's daughter hadn't acted on it either, and she admittedly had little or no experience.  Hey she is in a preferable position.  She can work at a different Peter Chang restaurant, get needed experience, and then get a preferred position later.  She is fortunate.

The two owners recognized how wrong the action was and how potentially damaging the situation was.  They took actions.  Severe actions.  But good for them.  Some potential customers who might not have chosen the Arlington restaurant might now go.  They are saving some future business and saving some other jobs.  And everyone learned something.    Frankly in light of the situation that had been admittedly recurring and hadn't been stopped; it will now be presumably stopped.  

For all of that I appreciate the story in the press.  That is a function of the press.  It informs the rest of us.  Its potentially powerful.  Never forget it.  And now best of luck to the fired waitstaff, former manager and former GM.  Hopefully they all learned something.

[jasonc]

Did you see that a-hole's yelp reviews? He's a jerk!  A JERK! I know the type of people who write and say things like this - fucking know-it-all privileged a-holes. This is not an isolated incident or misunderstanding. These guys are JERKS!

[DonRocks]

3 minutes ago, jasonc said:

Did you see that a-hole's yelp reviews? He's a jerk!  A JERK! I know the type of people who write and say things like this - fucking know-it-all privileged a-holes. This is not an isolated incident or misunderstanding. These guys are JERKS!

Ah, there's the missing piece for me. No, I hadn't seen the Yelp reviews.

[Josh]

6 minutes ago, DonRocks said:

Ah, there's the missing piece for me. No, I hadn't seen the Yelp reviews.

I think the yelper is just a troll unrelated to the story.  The "review" was written the day the Carman article came out and mentions only details that were in the article.  This person has also posted 1-star reviews for other restaurants that are just copy/pasted news reports about health code violations, and bad reviews about places outside of CA that seem to have either been in news stories for bad behavior or drawn the ire of other yelpers.

Clearly I have a presentation to write for this weekend and am in dire need of better ways to procrastinate.

[hopsing]

Since this story "broke", I have been totally fascinated by it.  As with many opiners, the customers were jerks but the servers definitely deserved the ax.  However, I wonder about several things:

1. Was the rice bowl question and the split check the only things that irritated the servers?  We only heard from "Matt", so it is possible that the customers said other offending things that chapped the servers (although it still doesn't justify keeping them the payroll).
2. Were the servers both Chinese?  If so, why didn't they write the comments in Chinese?  If the POS couldn't handle Chinese characters, why didn't the servers use Pinyin?
3. Were there cultural differences at play?  In America, the server behavior would call for immediate firing no matter what.  How about in China?  Would the manager have heard both sides of the story (including the servers' version that we weren't privy to) and decided there were mitigating circumstances?