Blue Whale Asian Eatery — Restaurant in Port Macquarie

It's really heart breaking when staff need training in manner and skills in de-escalation and accountability. I tried to book a dinner reservation online for 6:30 PM and was declined. So I started looking for another location. I suddenly got a call from the restaurant. A female over the phone said there was a cancellation and they can seat us at the outdoor section. I asked to make sure there was covering and heating as it was pouring. The girl confirmed the booking was at 6:30. So with my boy and toddler I set off reaching at 6:30 sharp. I was told by a man at the front dismissing me telling me my reservation was at 7 they have no seating for me while we were taking shelter from the rain. No apologies, no sorry for the mishap. It was absolutely barbaric. I then said I understand that mistakes can happen but I said the way you just spoke to me and handled the situation was poor and terrible customer service. I would have gladly waited till 7 if the person handled the situation in a respectful and articulated manner. Even after I said you handled this poorly he started arguing with me by saying "I don't want to argue with you" ? ? ? The irony in that statement. Here was standing outside his door with my kids and family embarrassed, wet and poorly treated. The video attached shows us retreating back. I can't believe they treated us that way after they called us to make a booking.

Update: Just read multiple 1 star reviews of this place, and it seems anecdotally this type of treatment has happened on multiple occasions. And I am certain now that the rude person everyone is talking about is the same person. And in every occasion he responds to everyone's reviews with even more misdirected arguments. No acknowledgement or accountability of error. Unfortunate, all this guys needs is a lesson in customer service...

The food was great for a vegan diet, and the ambiance was amazing, making us wonder why we hadn’t visited before. However, our experience was ruined by the rude and judgmental behavior of the front staff, especially Sam. When I asked about the sauces in a dish, he was dismissive, and later, when my friend inquired about another dish, he rudely accused her of invading a customer’s privacy & miniature liquor corner. He also told her—behind my back—that I "don’t trust the food," which was completely unprofessional. When we addressed our concerns with the girl at the front desk, she was initially rude and dismissive, only listening after we confronted everything she calm down & listened to what we said but she didn’t say Sorry for all this. On the other side Sam kept coming from behind & walked away without helping her in this matter. Sam needs some realtime training and not judging people with their appearance & food preferences. Such behavior made an otherwise great experience disappointing, and I hope management takes this...

Resting on laurels? Some good food but did disappoint overall. San Choy Bow was good. The fish was pretty close to overdone but still ok. The duck was a colossal fail. The menu says half a duck. We asked for it whole because you always get less and miss out on a lot of the leg, thigh and wing meat. We received a breast and a nondescript segment that could have come from under the leg or the wing. It was barely a quarter duck and no leg, thigh or wing. It was also dry and the toughest, and worst, duck I've ever had. We had to give it back and forego the dish. Either they are testing on their laurels or simply did not care. Maybe this was accidental or they have a habit of overpromising on quantity and of making it palatable by slicing the duck finely and covering it in sauce, to hide its toughness and dryness. I'd say they need to lift their game. (I note they turned away significant numbers of customers, so maybe every don't need the custom. Or they could expand, get more staff and improve the...