It was Thanksgiving monday night and my friends and I decided to have a couple drinks at Go for Tea. Given that it was a long weekend and it might be busy, I called in to reserve a table for 10. A girl picks up, puts me on hold and comes back to deliver the most absurd verdict : “ we charge 6.99 for reservation fees because it’s the long weekend.”

Now I don’t know about you, but this reservation fee concept was entirely new to me, and I declined. We were on our way, completely prepared for a long wait time.

But lo and behold, when we got there, the place was surprisingly empty.  I guess I saved myself the 6.99, but I could only wonder how many people fell victim to this deceptive tactic.

We were seated and ordered our drinks promptly. Unfortunately, a quick order doesn’t follow through with a quick service. This was unusual as all the other times I have been here, the drinks came within a reasonable time. This time, at least half our drinks came 20 minutes later. Given that the venue wasn’t busy, logically speaking, the service should have been quicker.

I noticed the Chrysanthemum tea I ordered was significantly smaller than normal. The cups were downsized but since I can refill with hot water so I let it slide. The sizes of my friends’ dessert orders were probably fit for a little girl’s tea party with her stuffed animals. The crème brule was in a heart shaped bowl no more than 3 ounces. The white chocolate cake did not resemble the menu at all. But that’s understandable; a lot of people don’t look like their profile pictures on facebook.

As soon as I finished my small cup of tea, I asked for hot water refill. I looked into my cup where all the tea is stored in the filter and I see something brown and slimey. I picked it out, and came face to face with a garden snail boiled with my tea. I investigated my friend’s drink (he had the same drink as me) but his was snail free.

I asked the waitress to come take a look at my discovery. She proposed to replace the drink but I had completely lost my appetite by that time. She then radios someone else to come take care of the snail. Word spreads fast (now if only drink orders were equally as speedy) and another waitress comes to see the snail. I show her and instead of an apology she simply said: “ Oh that’s so cute”

She then gave an excuse of how the snail made its way there.  In the end they offered only a 10% discount on the whole bill but I was still charged for the snail infested tea. Not at one point did they ask what they could do for me.

 I am not impressed with how Go for Tea handled the situation. Customers should not be charged when objects of the bug variety are found in the food. A dining venue should take responsibility and apologize instead of giving excuses and treating the situation with a dismissive attitude. They should be attuned to the customers’ needs and give reasons for them to come back especially when they are in the wrong.

At Go for Tea, a regular drink easily amounts to $6.00 minimum. For that price, I expect the drinks to be clean.  I am also paying for a pleasant atmosphere and good customer service. Neither criteria were matched.

I am a reasonable person but this incident has left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Here are some pictures taken from a black berry bold.