Re: [CH] Worst Salsa...hey, that brings up a pet peeve!!!
Jonathan T. Smillie (jsmillie@protix.com)
Sat, 16 May 1998 13:17:11 -0500
At 04:56 PM 5/15/98 -0400, J&M Daily wrote:
>Does anyone else have a favorite story to share? I'm interested in learning
>how you've dealt with this.
The closest I've come to this is at some Thai restaurants here in Madison
(Sa Bai Thong and SukhoThai, for those of you who want to avoid them).
In the first case, I have requested food at Sa Bai Thong "extra hot" or
"Thai hot", and been confronted with the answer "But it already IS hot."
When I've insisted, the response has been "Do you know what you're
doing?" The food is good, but the minuscule amount of jacking-up of
the heat level they do is not worth the effort. Go across the street to
Bahn Thai instead- they use one star for "hot", two for "very hot", but
if you ask nicely- and persistently- they'll do five.
At SukhoThai, on the other hand, I've been bare-facedly insulted by the
waiters. I have gone there twice. Both times I have requested my food
extra-hot or Thai hot. Both times the request has been greeted by a
snide remark from the waiter (different one each time, neither one a
Thai) to the effect of "OK, it's your stomach lining." Suffice to say that
there will not be a third time.
In case this seems like a case of "the chile-head doth protest too much",
let me just add that there are plenty of places in Madison that WILL
adjust heat levels with a smile (sometimes a sardonic one, but when
you eat the ten-star basil chicken without wiping your nose once, it
becomes genuine...) Ten years in customer service industries have
taught me that the customer, while not always right, must never be
flat-out TOLD that he's wrong. The truism that a satisfied customer
tells two people and a dissatisfied one tells ten is a truth as well.
Cheers,
Jonathan
***************
<bold>Conservative</bold>, <italic>n.</italic> A statesman who is
enamored of existing
evils, as distinguished from the Liberal, who wishes to
replace them with others.
- Ambrose Bierce, <italic>The Devil's Dictionary</italic>