Surprisingly bad customer service

On Sunday the 17th of December I visited the Woolworths Cafe at the Design Quarter in Fourways Johannesburg. I had not been in a long time but previous experiences were great so I met my daughter and her friend for a brunch.

I got there before them and got a table for 3 outside, I noticed that there were not as many staff as there had been and the outside eating area had decreased. Nevertheless, these were not a deterrent as I am a fan of all things Woolies and expect high standards from them consistently. I ave not been disappointed. Until this incident that is

I was quite hungry so ordered a full breakfast. My daughter and her friend then arrived and placed their orders. My food arrived more than 30 minutes later without any apology for the delay or an explanation thereof. What a disappointment. The mushrooms were oily. The pork sausage rubbery and the bacon looked like it had been cooked much earlier than when I placed my order. I took one bite and decided that I could have put together a better breakfast if I had done it at home. My toast then arrived - without any butter - and these were the thickest slices of toast I had ever seen. The butter arrived at the end of my meal, Again without any apology or explanation why. I had not eaten more than a bite and it was painful to have to pay for a below sub standard breakfast which the Wimpy would have delivered better and cheaper

A different waitress then brought the other two orders. However, we had to tell her that it was for our table as she went to the wrong table asking if the food was their order.

My daughters friend ordered the chicken burger. He said it was good. I paid - without a tip - as this was the worst most *********** service I had ever received at a Woolies cafe. Ever On Sunday evening my daughters friend started feeling nauseous but did not think anything of it

On Monday the 18th my daughter called me to say that her friend had to be rushed to the doctor with terrible stomach cramps and vomiting. He was diagnosed with food poisoning and the doctor enquired as to whether he had eaten chicken the day before. Ofcourse he had. At a Woolies cafe. The doctor advised that the chicken was contaminated He was terribly ill for most of this week and had to cough up a fortune in doctors bills and medicine.

How do I know for sure that it was the chicken at the woolies cafe? Well simple enough. He had only eaten that meal for the entire Sunday as he did not feel very well for most of that day

This is not the first time that someone has got sick from contaminated food at woolies. This is unacceptable and does not fall in line with the woolies brand. Good quality. Good service. This particular cafe failed on both counts.

Sufficeth to say I will not be eating there again. I hope this is taken seriously and that whoever manages the store is doing it properly.

By the way the staff look miserable. Miserable people providing a service do not for a happy ending make