I was thoroughly disgusted with the customer service at India Gate in downtown St. John's this past Friday, August 9th, 2013. I am not referring to any of the waiters, waitresses or cleaning staff. I am speaking specifically about the owner, Mr. David Sood. Mr. Sood was rude, disrespectful and obnoxious.
This past Friday, I and five of my colleagues from work organized a farewell meal for an employee. We had been to India Gate multiple times throughout the year to celebrate achievements in our workplace. Of our party of six, four of us were eating from the buffet, the fifth ordered extra naan bread and an ice cream. Meanwhile, the sixth did not order anything because she wasn't feeling well.
Halfway through our meal, we were approached by the owner of India Gate, Mr. Sood. He told us that we should not have brought the two people that were not buying lunch, as this occupied seats for paying customers. Meanwhile, I looked around the restaurant and noticed several empty tables (seven in total). One of my colleagues apologized and said she was ill and unable to eat, while my other colleague said she did in fact order food as she pointed to the ice cream she was eating. The owner then responded "Well, ordering an ice cream is not enough profit to pay my bills."
Shortly after, we approached the front desk to pay our bills. While paying, one of my colleagues very politely and discretely made a complaint about the service. She spoke calmly with Mr. Sood's wife as she went to pay and requested that India Gate please notify customers in advance that they must pay a certain amount of money in order to eat in their restaurant. Overhearing the conversation, Mr. Sood came over and insisted that my colleague speak to him about her complaints rather than to his wife. My colleague was uninterested in speaking with Mr. Sood after he had treated her in such a rude and unprofessional manner. At his insistence, my colleague eventually did speak with Mr. Sood and, provoked by his overbearing rudeness and disrespectful tone, they began to argue with one another. Raising his voice, Mr. Sood demanded first that my colleague and then that our entire party leave his restaurant. As we were walking out of the restaurant, the owner chased us into the porch, approached my colleague who had made the complaint and said "You little bitch, don't come back again."
We cannot get over how unprofessional and vulgar Mr. Sood acted this past Friday. It is extremely unwise for Mr. Sood to treat us and the other up and coming professionals of this city in such a manner. Regardless, he does not have the right to speak to any of his customers like this. We will not be eating in India Gate again and we have used our extensive social media networks to let our peers know how we were treated while eating in this restaurant.
-Justin King read more