After nearly 3 hours of rather exhausting shopping at Big Bazaar at R-mall in Mulund, Mumbai, we were quite hungry and tired. We had had a few snacks before starting and had digested it all during our walk inside the mall. So we wanted to sit somewhere and grab a bite, we made our way to the top floor of R-Mall through the escalators. There, a big restaurant with glass walls welcomed us. This was PIZZA HUT, the famous pizza eatery.
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PIZZA HUT is an international chain of restaurants specializing in pizzas. It was first started in 1958 in Kansas, USA by two college students from Wichita, Kansas, Frank and Dan Carney.
Over the decades, the chain franchise grew and now has around 7, 200 units in the U.S. and 3, 000 units in 86 other countries.
In 1997, the first Indian Pizza hut opened in New Delhi and now has spread around all major cities and towns in India.
Source: Pizza Hut website
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So, with my girlfriend a pizza freak (and a freak for all other baked products including pastries, burgers, etc. you name it), there was a fat chance that this inviting joint could be ignored easily. It was already 4.00 and the place was still quite bustling, mainly with tired shoppers with their big “Big Bazaar” bags. Without too much of consultation, she sailed in through the door, while I trotted behind carrying the packages with me. We were given what seemed like the only vacant seat, which was at one corner of the restaurant. Great, that was nice, with a view of all the shoppers walking in the lobby (it was another mater that the shoppers too could view what we had ordered!)
As we made our way though the maze of tables and reached the allocated spot, the person who had pointed out the seat to us, followed us with the menu cards in hand. They were placed before us even before we could make ourselves comfortable. By the time, we could find place for our packages and open the menu card, a teenage boy was already standing next to us. Being more familiar with desi khana it takes me some time to decipher the exact meaning of some of the items. Hence the boy’s query as to whether we were ready with our order had to be firmly met with a “please let us read the menu card”.
Since we had mainly come in for pizzas, we skipped the other products like soups, appetizers, salads and pastas and settled for a single Cheese pizza and a Chicken supreme pizza, both in “Personal Pan”(which means meant for one person). There was something called as “Stuffed Crust Pizzas” which was their special item. But somehow the price did not look appetizing. Mercifully, my girlfriend being familiar with the cuisine, we could arrive at a fairly quick decision (mainly hers!) as to what is to be ordered. While I nervously glanced at the right hand side, I mentally calculated that this was a good day as the prices looked quite reasonable. As I looked around for the boy who had asked us earlier, he was nowhere to be seen. There was no water on the table. I spotted Pepsi paper glasses on all tables except ours. I though to myself “ I think they do not serve water here, they must be serving Pepsi instead. Is it on the house or do I have to order it?” I thought, lets wait and see if they give it on their own.
After a wait of around 2 minutes, I finally spotted the boy and signaled to him to take our order, which he did promptly and left the table with a forced smile. That was the last I have seen of him!!!
When you have your girlfriend with you, you generally get engrossed in talking about everything under the sun. So while we had placed our order at around 4.10 p.m., I did not realize the time was 4.30 and there was still no sign of our food. Looking around, there was no sign of the chap who had taken my order. I summoned another fellow who was serving the customers at the neighbouring table and asked him what had happened to our order. He looked a bit confused and then went to his superior. The superior came back to us and re-confirmed our order (this was after waiting nearly 20 minutes). Five minutes later, our pizzas arrived.
Since I am no connoisseur of pizzas, I found the fare fairly sumptuous. My girlfriend isn’t too fussy either – she likes pizzas any which way.
There was no sign of water though. Since my girlfriend is a staunch anti-cola campaigner, ordering for pepsi was no-no. Once again looking around, I found that the neighbouring table had a few tall glasses (not the Pepsi paper glass) with mmmm…water. Thirsty as I was, I angrily called the person serving there and asked him to give us the liquid. And guess what, we were served right in “Pepsi paper glasses”. Which means everyone had been served water in the Pepsi glasses as soon as they arrived. Nobody was ordering Pepsi like I was thinking.
So while my girlfriend was enjoying her meal, I was smarting at the rather shabby treatment meted out to us. I had a good mind to make a complaint when my softie girlfriend restrained me saying that if I did, the poor guy could lose his job. Ok Ok, I wont do it. But then I am not going to tip him, I said. That was settled then.
At the exit, there is a big bell (something you would find in a temple). If you are happy with the service, you are supposed to acknowledge it by ringing the bell on your way out. A few guests, (more for the novelty of the concept, I’m sure) did ring the bell. And they were greeted by a unanimous “Thank You” by the staff.
Fat chance that I would ring the bell. Our meal done, I asked for the bill which arrived quickly. I shelled out the 250 bucks and we left our table. The staff looked (maybe my imagination) a bit guilty at our plight. But did not say anything. On the way out, to my shock and disbelief, my girlfriend rang the damn bell. As I looked at her, I was expecting the same resounding“Thank you”, but no…. there was none!!!
Maybe this might have been an exceptional case, but I certainly wasn’t prepared for such shabby service levels at such a reputed joint. Why, even your local Udipi joint treats you much better!!!
So, how much would I rate it?
Ok, Food was good, prices were reasonable, the ambience could have been better (the loud music makes it appear like a disco, you cant carry on a conversation without having to repeat yourself repeatedly) and the service was poor!
Overall, our entire experience was rather pathetic and we came away with a bad taste in the mouth.