Dickson Dumpling House — Restaurant in District of Canberra Central

I ordered take-away from the Dickson Dumpling House on 31st October at around 9:30pm. The order consisted of the following: 3x Shanghai Pork Dumplings - $9.80 each 3x Fried Chicken Dumplings - $10.80 each 1x Szechuan Chicken - $13.80 1x Large Fried Rice - $5.80

The total comes to $81.40, but they also offer a 10% off take-away which would then make the total come to $73.26. When I arrived at the restaurant, the lady in charge charged me $74 and I confirmed with her if that was inclusive of the discount and she said yes and so I left.

When I got home, I did the totals and I found that I had been overcharged, but since they had already closed for the night, I decided to return the following day on 1st November. Fortunately, it was the same lady working again. I approached her and informed her about what had happened and she made no effort in trying to make it seem like a mistake at all. Instead, she got overly defensive and said that the owners tell all the restaurant employees to round to the nearest dollar and that they had been doing this for 7 years.

I was infuriated by this response as I have been living in Downer for the last 2 years and have ordered take-away from here multiple times and I always thought that I was being overcharged, but never made the effort of checking the totals until this time. Previously, I ordered take away once and added 2 coconut drinks when I arrived and the lady said that the discount does not apply to beverages, but no where is it stated that that is the case. It simply states that is 10% of take-away which should include all components of my order.

I explained to her that just because the owners have been doing something illegal for 7 years and that just because no one has raised an issue before doesn't make it legal for them to charge me extra. On EFTPOS, I should be charged exactly the amount of the transaction to the nearest 0.01 cent, but even if I had paid with cash, it would've still rounded down to $73.25. At this point, she offered to give me a refund, which I initially declined as it was not about the money, but rather the illegal practice. When she insisted, I took the $0.80 and left the premises.

They also fail to provide receipts of items ordered as this could potentially hamper their practice and only provide EFTPOS receipts, which the lady kept on my return on 1st November.

I really hope that this illegal practice can be stopped with the intervention from its...

The waiter service really lets this restaurant down. They need to properly train waiters before they allow them to work the tables.......We decided to eat at the Dickson Dumpling House as it was my wife's 85 year old fathers last night in town. Booked an early table for dinner and arrived on time. Our order was taken for entrees, mains and drinks. The waitress couldn't understand what Fanta or Sunkist Orange drink was. We ended up with some sort of cocktail and nothing at all like the soft drink that we ordered. Next came the fried rice, way before we had been served any entrees. When we advised that we would like to eat the entrees before the mains, we got a bit of attitude from the waiter as we asked for the rice to be served with our mains, once the entree's had been eaten. When we ordered the meal, we also asked for spoons and forks instead of the chop sticks, some chilli oil and some soy sauce. None of these came and we had to ask again, three times before we were given these basics. Each time, it seemed to be too much for the waitress to attend to these requests. When the waiter came to clear the empty entree plates, he stacked so many together that he dropped the bowl of sweet n sour dipping sauce back on the table. This splashed all over the table and over the shirt front of our father in law. Now sitting there covered in red sauce. The table was also covered in sauce, all over the tea pot, table and utensils. We had to ask for additional serviettes to wipe the old fellas shirt clean and also clear the table. No hint of a cloth from the waiter to assist. Just a laugh and a weak.... "Sorry bout that". Not impressed. The mains were then served. The tables around us were aware of the debacle that had happened. We've eaten there on numerous occasions and the food is always very nice. Tonight was no exception, the food was nice but the service is atrocious. Tonight also, the restaurant would have been half full, so the staff were by no means under pressure to perform. It took three waiters to clear a neighbouring table and they didn't even wipe it down with a rag, before setting the new places....

Food is not bad (4 stars), but customer service is bad. I smiled and ordered takeaway fried rice, ended each request with a "please", but her reply was just shocking - she raised her voice, repeated my order in an impatient tone, and rolled her eyes (down to 3 stars). To make things worse, card payment is only allowed if the bill is 30dollars or more, pretty much doing illegal stuff fearlessly. Hence down to 2 stars.

P.S. People are better off going to CBD dumpling house, same recipe, better service.

P.S. (May 2019) I have decided to add this after reading the reply given to my first comment. The staff definitely did say $30, my other friends went there on different occasions and double-confirmed that they were only allowed to use card if the bill is over 30, unless you have changed it to 20 after reading my first comment. Also, when you replied with the intention to be open about feedback, but dismissed and brushed off the fact that I mentioned "the staff rolled her eyes" while explaining to me that she speaks loudly due to a busy noisy environment in the first comment, is pretty much showing me that you're acting defensive whilst belittling me. Can you explain to me why she rolled her eyes? That doesn't sound like good and professional customer service to me. Anyway, you admitted that you do a surcharge for bills below 20 dollars so it's still illegal, so don't bother replying me, and please don't be so full of yourself, get a reality check thanks.

New update (May 2019): down to one-star because the owner lies for the sake of arguing without being on solid ground. Also, after your comment, I went back to your store but your cashiers frowned and asked me and my friends to go to the ATM nearby when I told them I didn't have cash with me. Can't believe you can lie shamelessly. I'm sure your reply to my comment is not for me to read but to "play an act" for...