After my trip to the bank, I went to Buddy’s Pancit Lucban restaurant at the Tycoon Center in Ortigas. It’s been such a long time since I ate in this restaurant, remembering it was my lunch spot years ago in Makati.  My hubby misses their food and I, too, wanted to remember why it was my usual place to dine.

The food and service was average as expected from a restaurant of this caliber.  The waiters were courteous enough for customers not to complain.  The service was fast.

What I would like to focus on though is a sign that was stuck to the wall.  It said, “This area is for dining use only. Overstaying customer conducting personal business and using the dining area as an office is strictly prohibited.”

Being a business owner, I understood the reason behind the sign. The restaurant was in the middle of a prime business district so it is expected that meetings can be held in the place, probably after meals have been consumed.  But I don’t agree with the policy. It’s just against the basic rule of customer service.

You just can’t dictate what the customer does in your establishment, not unless it goes against security and health policies.  There is nothing wrong if your customers over stay.  Buddy’s should welcome it, knowing that these customers can decide to order more food like dessert or another glass of iced tea.  I also believe that Filipinos love going into a restaurant (especially if it’s not popular) that has a lot of eating guests.  This invites curious customers to find out why the place is filled up all the time.

In addition, I think placing that sign is just rude.  The feeling you get when you sit down at a table with that sign is to “eat and run”.  Shoo! You’ve had your grub and we have your money, so scram!  How can you enjoy your meal if you couldn’t even relax and felt there was a ticking clock just beside you.

What do you think? Should they remove the sign altogether and change the policy?