Little Hoi An Vietnamese Cafe — Restaurant in Brisbane City

Old male staff tried to force customers to spend more money to meet the minimum Eftpos amount when they didn't have cash, then threatened a surcharge. When customers pointed out that it was actually illegal to do so in accordance with ACCC, he walked off and refused to serve. We will be reporting this business to ACCC.

Update after receiving a response from the owner on 05/06/22 below:

My husband to whom this happened is quite aware of the ACCC regulations surrounding credit, debit and prepaid card surcharges. The surcharge is not the issue. The issue is what your staff member said and how he handled this. The outline of the issue is set out very clearly in the original review above. You are welcome to read this again to garner a better comprehension of the issue.

You statement about not being the practice of your business to force any customers to purchase additional items is clearly something you would not admit to, no business would. This may not be something that you wish other potential customers to be aware of, but this did happen to my husband in your store. If you stand firm in your statement, perhaps you should share that with your staff as they clearly do not share your business practices in this matter.

If the old man who served my husband has difficultly understanding or speaking English and you are using "second language" and "may be misunderstood" as the avoidance method, then it would be beneficial for not only him but also your business that he gets some English lessons if you wish him to be serving customers at the front counter. During this interaction, the old man displayed a clear sound understanding of English and verbally communicated without an issue. There was no misunderstanding of what he said or his behaviour.

This is quite typical of business that receives honest and truthful reviews - the first thing you have done, instead of taking this feedback on board and improving is to not take responsibility and to deflect. You have made an accusation implying that my husband was either irate (angry) or behaved inappropriately. My husband behaved with neither anger nor inappropriateness. He was surprised that the old man conducted himself in the manner he did, when my husband queried him about the minimum EFTPOS payment ($8) and the 25 cents surcharge on a $6 purchase and the fact there was no visible sign. The old man's behaviour then turned argumentative and heightened. He then threw his hands in the air and walked away to avoid answering the questions. He did not walk away to get a manager as per your incorrect assumption. When my husband exited the store the old man was still near the front counter and continued to serve the next customer.

Before you make an accusation like this, you should be looking at the contributing circumstances like your staff's behaviour or having someone at the front counter serving customers when you describe them as having an inability to effectively communicate as English is their second language and may be...

Little Hoi-An is a great little family business that we really love and appreciate. We live in The Gap and Little Hoi-An was recommended to us years ago by a group of elderly friends who loved the food there and thought the beautiful fresh sandwiches were the best in Brisbane!

We often call in for lunch because the menu is extensive and Giana, the owner, is able to adapt it to suit particular dietary needs. It's easy to see why Little Hoi-An is so popular. We invariably receive the very best service and enjoy supporting this local family business that never fails to look after us. Giana bends over backwards to ensure that all her customers enjoy their time at her cafe, and this is just one of the many reasons why Little Hoi-An is so...

If you think you need to drive to Darra for a good Phó or Bahn-mi then you would be right, but you can also drive to The Gap Village and visit Little Hoi An.

Being located in possibly the most unlikely of places in Brisbane for an authentic Vietnamese restaurant makes Little Hoi An even more authentic - you will know what I mean when you get there. With a huge menu and daily specials there is something to fill whatever you a craving, all of it (as far as we have tried) very tasty.

My long-term vegetarian (adult) child rates their vegetarian phó-style soup as the best she has tried.

Seriously, just give Little Hoi An a try. WARNING be conservative with the chillies as they use the HOT, but soooo...