If you live in the UK (especially London) or South Africa (where Nandos originates) then you really should already have heard of Nandos. If not, it is a place to get wonderfully simple yet delicious spicy chicken. They do those both things very well: spicy; and chicken. We love to go to Nandos, have a loyalty card, and tend to go every so often.
However, I was saddened by my experience at Nandos Wandsworth tonight.
First of all, the air con wasn't working. It was of course the hottest day of 2012, but it was stuffy and sweaty and clearly wasn't a good start. But we decided, never mind, we'll have lots of the (unlimited) sodas and frozen yoghurt!
However, when we went to fill our glasses, we immediately saw that the soda machine had no carbonation. It was entirely flat and very sweet. They needed to change something, so I went up to the counter with our cokes and showed them that they were bubble-free. I wasn't just going to be a complainer, but more a neighbourly 'did you know that?' sort of thing. They curtly said that they would go look, gave me new glasses and said to try again in a couple of minutes.
So we went up again, and still no bubbles. The ice machine also was blocked or something and also not working. So I asked a passing waitress whether they had looked at it, and she said that it had been checked and was working fine. I assured her that it wasn't fine, and she said she would go check.
By the time that we had received - and finished - our food (without drinks) I had had enough. So I went up to the counter to complain. The person serving there was clearly the manager/supervisor, so I was pleased that I was probably speaking to the right person. I was however, very wrong. Her greeting was saying 'table number' whilst staring into space. I said that actually, I wasn't ordering something, but was here to complain about the soda. She immediately launched into a big spiel about it working and being absolutely fine. I showed her the soda, with no bubbles. She said that it was fizzing coming out of the machine (I should have said that that was froth due to pressure of pushing liquid through pipes but I didn't). It got to a point where she was all but telling me to 'F-off' so I concluded by that it was a poor product experience, and a poor customer experience, and they probably should call out the Coca-Cola machine guy. She never at one point just said sorry.
By the time we left, their frozen yoghurt machine also was out of order. So no soda, ice or ice cream on a hot day. With absolutely zero warning or apologies.
What ever happened to the customer is always right? It feels as though in London, the general attitude is that customers are wrong. And especially tonight at Nandos at Southside. read more