Joan W.
Google
Public Humiliation and False Accusations – Extremely Disappointed
I’ve visited Dolar Shop in Lansdowne several times, but after my experience last night, I will not be returning.
Upon arrival, I was served by a waitress named Elaine. Knowing from past visits that the food from the kid’s menu tends to take more than half an hour to arrive, I decided to order a few small items first — three buns, three sesame balls, and one portion of fries — for my young daughter. To my shock, Elaine immediately glared at me and raised her voice, declaring that the kid’s menu was “strictly for children” and that “adults are not allowed to eat any of it.”
Her tone and words were extremely harsh, accusatory, and humiliating. This was before I had even placed our main order from the regular menu, yet she chose to assume I was trying to take advantage of a child’s meal for my entire family. I was stunned and embarrassed by her behavior — it was unnecessary, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional. This was not just a “bad experience.” It was public humiliation and a false accusation.
After ordering two full meal sets from the regular menu, I quietly mentioned the situation to another server and asked her to speak with Elaine. She told me that Elaine was actually the manager and then discouraged me from making any further complaint. If that’s true, it’s even more concerning that a manager would behave in such a way — and if it’s not, then it’s equally troubling that staff would misrepresent the situation to silence a customer.
Throughout the rest of the dinner, our table was noticeably avoided. Servers who regularly refilled soup and tea for other tables walked past us repeatedly without acknowledgment. When I later confronted Elaine directly about her earlier comments, she brushed it off, saying her “tone might not have come out right,” but never apologized for the inappropriate assumption she made. She then told me I could “speak to the manager” — even though I had been told she was the manager herself. Unsurprisingly, no manager ever came to our table for the remainder of the two and a half hours we were there.
By the end of the meal, we felt completely ignored and disrespected. When I paid, I asked the receptionist if she was aware of the issue — she smiled politely and said yes, but offered no apology or acknowledgment.
This entire experience was deeply upsetting. No customer deserves to be treated with such hostility or disregard. The staff’s behavior was unprofessional, their assumptions were offensive, and the lack of accountability from management was unacceptable.
It’s disappointing that a restaurant with such good food allows its customer service to be defined by arrogance and poor treatment. Hospitality should be about respect — something that was sorely missing during our visit.
All in all, it was humiliating, disrespectful, and completely unnecessary. I’ve never felt so unwelcome in a restaurant. Truly disappointing experience and a complete failure in hospitality.
This experience goes beyondpoor service — it was being unfairly judged and dismissed, in front of my child and elderly parents.
I sincerely hope management takes this seriously, addresses the staff involved, and ensures no other family has to endure such an upsetting and disrespectful experience.
