I'm not a negative review kind of guy, but when it sucks, it sucks…read more
We usually visit once a month, and have not previously encountered a reason to complain. But today broke us. We walked in for lunch and it was busy, 10+ tables. It took a minute to be seated, no big deal, but we noticed immediately that the man seating us was also the ONLY employee on the floor. We watched as he made drinks, boba, pulled cases of Coke behind the counter, refilled water, and some 10 minutes later, finally made it over to take our order. We were very leery, but another employee suddenly appeared out of the back with the table settings and we were assured it was fine. We order and it takes about 10 more minutes just to get the broth. That starts BOILING before any of the meats, vegetables, or other items are delivered to the table.
By this point we haven't eaten anything other than the complimentary peanuts and cucumbers, and we've been there a half-hour. My son's chicken arrives soon thereafter, and we finally receive the hot pot stuff. And that's the last we saw of the service team until he brought the check nearly 30 minutes later. We tried waving him down for refills, the other employee walked by and asked if we wanted a refill on the broths and then forgot about us. For an all-you-can-eat hot pot place, they sure can save a ton of money by never refilling your items, drinks, or broth. He brought out the check at nearly an hour later and I asked why he hadn't offered me a refill for any of the hot pot items. He apologized and then asked if I would be paying via card. I used the reward dollars we'd saved from previous visits because we don't think we'll be returning.
Literally, absolutely zero inclination to serve us more food or even acknowledge that we were still hungry and hadn't seen him or any other staff after the initial table set. I removed the defaulted 22% tip HE selected on the credit card reader he brought to the table and asked for the manager. He said he'd be back, then disappeared to the kitchen immediately and didn't return for the 10 minutes we decided to wait. Another customer asked us if we'd visited before, and we told them we were monthly visitors, but this would likely be our last time.
Another employee we hadn't seen the entire time we'd been there came to bus the table and we asked her if there were problems. She told us she couldn't talk about it, then hurried off to the back without even finishing our table. Most likely they were at least watching her, and would retaliate if she said anything out of line.
A group walking in heard me complaining as we walked out, stopped me to ask what happened, then followed us back out the door. Can't recommend them anymore. Not sure what happened in the month since we were last there, but it's apparent it's not being managed actively. Short staffed is one issue, being poorly staffed by employees who don't care is a larger problem. Maybe new ownership and management is needed, if it continues like this, the corner will be vacant before too long. Sad, because this was a good place without having to drive to Falls Church. They could've cornered the market here in Ashburn.