The rising phoenix from Kepong. Indeed, this is a restaurant in Kepong to be watched, as it has the potential for growth, given that it has the right product and emphasis on customer service.
That is, provided that they do not neglect these two important areas in the food business. They are at least till now living up to their slogan, 'Your satisfaction is our achievement' (taken from their website).
I can see that, in probably a few years from now, a number of Tang Jia (唐 家) Roast outlets will be springing up in different parts of the Klang Valley.
The story all began here at in Kepong Baru, where their flagship restaurant which started in 2018. Its history dates back to 1975, when elder Tong Yu Sheng and his wife became well known for their roast duck at Pudu Wet Market.
Now, the brainchild of their son, Ron Tong, 42, a graduate of Business Management from a university in the United States, Tang Jia Roast has plans to license their restaurant business. This is so that more people get to enjoy what the family are famous for -- their roast duck, BBQ pork and roast chicken.
How It All Began
It all began when a staff was rather rude to my daughter. I had asked my daughter to enter the restaurant first to wait for me, while I re-parked my car so as not to get in the way of another vehicle beside me.
While waiting for the food, my daughter quietly complained to me that a waitress had asked her rather rudely, "What do you want?"
She felt offended. It was as though she was not welcomed.
Because of many years writing food reviews and what I saw as poor customer service in a number of restaurants, I decided to call the waitress over to give her a piece of my mind.
I merely wanted her to understand that we do not want the Hong Kong culture where low class peddlers and restaurant owners behave rather crudely towards their customers.
In fact, the reason why I am doing food review here in Kepong is to support the MP of Kepong, YB Lim's efforts to help revive the restaurants and other businesses after the Covid-19 pandemic.
At the same time, I wanted my girl to learn how to maintain a gentle yet firm posture and respond to such rudeness: "I am a customer. I am here with my father to have dinner. He is re-parking his car. Anything wrong?"
Good Customer Relations
Shortly after, her supervisor came over to apologise on her behalf.
I had no problem, and willing to continue on with our friendship. After all, it was not my intention to play them down, but to see improvement in the quality of service in the restaurant business.
Now, what impressed me the most was when I received a phone call the next morning. The customer relations person from the company operating Tang Jia, one Ms Joyce Wong introduced herself, and asked whether she could hear my complaint.
To be precise, it was not even a `complaint.' It was just a word of advice which I thought was useful for the waitress to improve herself. What we need in Malaysia badly is good customer service, especially in the restaurant business.
"Customers are king!" she quoted her boss, as saying. By this, she was showing me her sincerity in making sure that customers are treated well by her staff. Most importantly, this is the underlying philosophy behind the business.
I was truly impressed, and I immediately responded: "I am not a king, neither is my girl a princess, but I think your boss and you have the right attitude that will carry your restaurant business to a higher level."
She then explained to me about her staff. "We understand her, and we are always ready to coach her," she said. "This is just her mannerism, which will take time to change."
Deeply Impressed
Joyce then explained to me that her job is to obtain feedback so that she could continue to train the staff and upgrade the quality of service here at Tang Jia Roast. I was deeply impressed.
"Please let her know that we do not keep this to heart. All we want is for her to learn the soft skills and I believe her future is bright if she is willing to learn," I responded, asking Joyce to convey my message to her staff.
And here I am, promoting their food because it is not just the food, but their good customer relations.
In all my years as a food writer, there is hardly any restaurant that employs a customer relations person just to ensure that there is customer satisfaction. Most captains would double up as customer relations officers. And they would hardly call up their customers.
For this, I give Tang Jia a high rating of 9 out of 10. I wish more restaurants would give some attention to good customer relations. It is not just the food, but a whole experience.
When I told an old friend of mine, he immediately added, "....not only customer experience... (but) feel good factor." This has become the title of this article.
Read the food review here. Or, just click on the image below to be teleported to their restaurant in Kepong Baru.
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