Rhapsody's Restaurant

[admin]

[Originally posted by Roula Lostrom - Director Rhapsodys Cafe and WIne Bar, on 9th July 2010, 11:36]

Dear Dear Zambia readers,

thank you for bringing your complaints forward.

It is always good to hear from our clients of any bad experiences you might have had, but unfortunately people do not wish to come forward and present their complaints in person, but wish to rather voice their complaints in a public manner. This is sometimes not constructive but rather destructive. We strive ourselves in offering Lusaka a fine dining experience and make great efforts to keep standards high at all times, and take every effort to resolve any issues. We certainly wish to hear of such complaints regarding racial discrimination or incorrect billing- because we pride ourselves to be a venue where our guests are treated with the greatest of respect in spite of colour, creed or religion!

I would like to comment on a few things for customers general understanding of our industry.

Firstly regarding employing waitrons at Rhapsoyds- we have an intense training program to bring them up to the standards that we require- before they even start taking orders. We do not have a pool of experienced workers to employ from, as the industry standards are generally very low. So we take on youngsters who have virtually no knowledge, and train them to a level that is acceptable. We have daily training constantly- regarding service. This is a priority in our business.

Further, let me inform you that we DO NOT CHARGE SERVICE CHARGE! The law in Zambia clearly states that hotels and lodges should charge service charge but restaurants are not obliged to charge service charge. We clearly state so on the bottom of our bills. Our waitrons are paid a good basic wage but they earn tips for the extra effort that they make on service. It is your discretion if you offer a gratuity or not. We believe that a good waitron will earn more if his service standard is high, that way he will be motivated to make every effort to give his guest the best service. This is an internationally accepted norm in the restaurant industry.

We currently employ over 40 waitrons - and if there is ever an incident of racial discrimination please please bring it to our attention. There is no other way of stamping out this issue if it is not brought to our attention. The same applies to incorrect billing. If a guest feels that he has been billed unfairly in any way and the manager has not addressed this issue correctly please bring your complaints forward.

We at Rhapsody's believe that our customer is our king - and we instill that motto in our staff every day. As in every industry there will be members of staff who do not behave appropriately, help us give you a better service by coming forward with your complaints.

Please feel free to contact me on : 0977675000 or 0966754475 or roula@rhapsodys.co.zm

We also have our data base forms available where you could write your comments, complaints and constructive criticism - i would encourage you to do so.

My sincerest apologies to those of you who have had such bad experiences in our restaurant.

Regards

Roula Lostrom - Director Rhapsodys Cafe and WIne Bar