RUFFLED RAFFLES

Last Christmas my sister treated me for lunch at the Spectrum Restaurant of the Raffles Makati.

Its website describes it as “at the heart of a prestigious development – a striking 30-floor masterpiece, home to three sophisticated addresses in one tower: Raffles Makati, with 32 suites; Raffles Residences, with 237 one to four bedroom residences for private ownership; and Fairmont Makati, a hotel with 280 deluxe rooms.” While its grand opening is set for February 2013, the hotels and residences have been in operation since November 2012.

Raffles is new in the Philippines but it has been around for quite a while. The official site of Raffles states: “For 125 years Raffles has gone out of our way to give you the warmest welcome, the richest experiences and the fondest of memories. And today the legend continues all around the world. From the classic colonial splendor of Raffles Singapore (where it all began) to Dubai, Seychelles, Cambodia, Paris, Beijing, Hainan, Makati and Makkah, the Raffles name is synonymous with luxury, glamour and extraordinary adventure.”

I arrived ahead of my sister. Entering the lobby I was greeted warmly by a man (I do not know the designation of people in the hospitality industry) who at once entrusted me to a young lady. She volunteered to give me a tour of the ground floor. The ground floor, though, was not as expansive as other hotels (Sofitel comes to mind). She proudly brought me to the Long Bar. It’s called Long Bar, she tells me, because it is the longest bar in the Metro Manila area. So far so good.

But when I was finally brought to the restaurant, the unpleasant experience began.

I gave the name of my sister and the number of the table she reserved. The young lady at the reception couldn’t find her name. I brought out my cellphone and had my sister talk to her. After the conversation the young lady continued her search. She finally found the reservation in another sheet of paper. I was guided inside by another young lady. To my disappointment, a couple was already seated on the table my sister had reserved. The young lady was apologetic. She told me that they had taken breakfast there and hadn’t left yet. I sat in an adjacent table and waited for them to leave. When they had vacated the table, a busboy came and prepared the table. I took possession of the table as soon as the busboy left. When my sister arrived, she was dismayed to see that the table was not the table she reserved.

I told her that we might have to turn a blind eye since the establishment only opened a month ago. Being with the service industry for some time, she told me that no business can ever offer its client any excuse for poor service. And she was right. Raffles should not have opened its restaurant if its employees are not ready to give superior service to its guests. After all Spectrum is not a carinderia. I would expect value for our money. Frankly speaking its buffet is more expensive than that of Spiral of Sofitel and yet it doesn’t come close to what Spiral offers. Spiral offers the widest choice of dishes spread out in 21 dining ateliers!

I am not saying that the food served was inferior. They tasted good. But the service turned out to be the fly in ointment. What should have been a wholly pleasant dining experience was marred by inferior service. The reservation was not found quickly enough. And this in spite of the fact that the reservation was paid. Moreover, the table was given to us was not the table she reserved.

Unfortunately, the poor service reflected badly on Raffles. Those who serve the guests are the frontliners of the business. They are the face of the business. Something was amiss either in their training or in the process governing the operation of the restaurant, starting with reservations and ending with the departure of guests. Either way it did not speak well of Raffles.

We find this way of judging also in everyday life. Do we not make an inference about the parents on the basis of their children?

It is true that children might turn out badly in spite of the best efforts of their parents. Yet without the positive influence of parental upbringing, it is almost certain that children will turn out badly. That is why the Church acknowledges that parents are “the first educators of their children.” The adjective “first” is not merely first in time but first in responsibility.

Such a responsibility no parent will ever consider a burden. Instead, they will see it as a great privilege so much so that at the end of their lives, parents will consider successfully raising their children as the first of their lifetime achievements.

[The photograph is a piece of honeycomb on a chocolate cup served at Spectrum at Raffles.]