As much as possible, I don’t like to speak ill of businesses. It just goes against my professional ethics. I don’t like to talk ill of anyone, period. My battle cry has always been about encouragement and inspiration. However, my website is also about excellence and based from that, everything is a level playing field from here on.

Sometimes I am forced to put my foot down because of circumstances that are beyond my control.  Now that I have calmed down, I think I am fully capable of composing this post in a gentler, professional and more reasonable manner.

Have you guys heard of the fast food chain Chic-Boy? If you’re Filipino or an expat living in the Philippines, I’m sure you have. In fact, I bet you’re a frequent customer of such chains. They are cheap, fast and the menu easily caters to the Filipino palate and appetite.

Fast food restaurants like this are sprouting like mushrooms. Their menu is composed of barbeque meals/chicken/liempo inasal, etc. If you want a quick barbeque meal Filipino-style, these types of chains are the places to go to.

Personally, I don’t find their food inspiring. Believe me, once you’ve tasted one brand, you’ve tasted them all. I seldom eat out unless I’m with friends (and being health conscious people, we don’t do much fast food). But since I was so hungry, I decided to give it a try.

I came upon the Makati, Pasong Tamo Chino Roces Chic-Boy franchise on April 10, 2013 at 5:30pm (more or less) after my meeting. I was so tired and hungry, with Chic-Boy being the closest, it was a no-brainer for me.

From the outside, I could see that most of the male kitchen and dining crew were all having a ball loitering (at the store entrance nonetheless!) with cigarettes in hand. They were loud and horsing around that I felt I was entering a sleazy beer house.

As I stood in line to order, I noticed that a majority of the tables were still waiting to be cleared. The floor was disgusting, the condiment section was a mess, practically everything was just out of control all the while the beer house boys enjoyed their little brouhaha at the front.

As I was done with my order, I scanned for a spot to settle in. I didn’t feel like sitting near the door (though it was the only available clean area to sit on) because of the smoking loud men who felt like they owned the place.

I chose a spot near the cashier. I didn’t sit down unless my table was cleared. So I guess the waiter took the hint that unless he cleared it, I wouldn’t sit down to a messy table.

I guess this waiter (Marky) was having a rough day. He seemed annoyed at everybody since he didn’t talk to the other guys poking/making fun of him. He was also doing a lousy job of cleaning the table (how hard can cleaning the table be, seriously?): he was just throwing the dirty dishes/utensils/cups in his little tub, spreading the grease more instead of actually wiping the table fresh, and he was taking out his annoyance on me?!

I said sternly, “If you don’t like what you’re doing, I’ll be glad to do it”. I think he got my point when I stared back at him.

But after a while, I cooled down. I just hate having to talk to people like that, in general. It’s condescending. So I guess Marky, just a word of advice: next time don’t bring your troubles to work. We all have our days.

When I left the place, I think I stepped on something squishy under the table (could be a piece of chicken skin, I don’t know, I just shook it off while I walked out) — and yes, the floor was that dirty.

Question: Chic-Boy franchises, right? So I take that their staff has undergone customer service training?

I worked once for a restaurant whose business and income evolved around setting up franchises. Their standard operating procedure was to rigorously train their personnel and staff (both on technical skills and customer service) before they were deployed to their respective areas.

I guess, from what I’ve experienced, Chic-Boy is not so serious about their personnel and staff training. It could also be an area to work on by management.

To tell my readers not to support this specific Chic-Boy franchise is totally their decision, but know this: You have lost a customer.