another bad experience
Unfortunately, today I had another crap experience in the lounge.
Downsides
*Forgot my drink
*Forgot my companion's main course; after many nervous glances by us, the manager did check on us (kudos to him), but then disappeared for another 15 minutes without any follow-up. We left at the 25 minute mark when the dish was coming out.
*Tuna salad looked "like something we'd get on the plane in business class", direct quote from my traveling companion. Not a compliment.
*Zillions of staff milling around as seems to be par for Plaza Premium staff in this lounge. They are lovely, but absolutely clueless and they're just standing around the kitchen door like chickens with their heads cutoff.
*My drink still came out incorrectly even after I had to follow-up. I gave up.
*I wasn't the only one having problems; a table behind me got both their starter and drink screwed up too.
*There is a new menu....very disappointing. I await others to revert with a similar vibe. Major downgrade IMO.
*Staff used the "new menu" excuse as for why the food was delayed. I got a laugh out of this, because of course Plaza Premium used "we didn't create the menu" excuse during their earlier mishaps when it was the Peninsula-designed menu. And the fact they were making excuses just speaks to a lack of professionalism. They were also making excuses to the table behind me when the drink was screwed up.
Upside(?)
*Empty, as usual. Perhaps 6-8 table tops of diners max.
My traveling companion asked repeatedly "what's the problem with the First Class lounge?"
Anyway, I was a big proponent of the idea "changing to Plaza Premium won't matter". And of course we don't know the big variable, which is $$ paid per person and the terms. But I have to say I'm eating crow. I've visited enough after the handover to say unequivocally that standards are simply lower under Plaza Premium than they were under Peninsula. Sometimes the place is fine, but in ~50% of my visits something goes wrong or is disappointing.
What did we do to rectify the situation? Went to the Pier J! Where my companion is far happier. I guess Plaza Premium doesn't care too much because presumably they're getting paid here too. But it's really a poor reflection on both CX and PP that the F dining room still isn't sorted out.