Chatime DFO Homebush — Restaurant in Sydney

My overseas parents were visiting, so before we left the DFO I thought it would be nice to introduce them to Chatime as I love it so much. I have never ordered from the Homebush Chatime before though, and I won't be again. I ordered myself a Taro MT and my father a Hazelnut MT as I have had both before many times, and knew he would enjoy the flavour of the Hazelnut MT.

We ordered on the kiosk and then proceeded to wait about 10 minutes whilst everyone else was getting served, including lots of people after us. We thought this was odd, and were wanting to leave so I went up to ask if they would be coming soon. It took awhile to actually get the attention of one of the staff, and in the meantime I noticed two drinks off to the side, clearly ours. I was eventually able to get the attention and receive my drinks, with no apology that they had clearly been sitting there awhile.

We sat down to enjoy our MTs, mine was very nice as usual, but my father quickly commented that his was yuck. He doesn't usually turn down food or drink, so I knew it must be bad. I tried his milk tea myself, and it was pretty gross, tasted like straight water with a splash of milk, and a tiny hint of tea flavour, but albeit undrinkable. Far from the usual tasting Hazelnut MT.

I went back to the counter, feeling pretty awkward while the staff continued to pass out drinks and pretend I wasn't there. When a staff member did eventually acknowledge me, I said that while the Taro MT was great, this Hazelnut MT basically tasted like water. I said we didn't want it and passed the almost full large MT back. All they said was "you don't want it?" in a huff, there was no apology, no acknowledgement, no offer to remake it, and they turned away and continued with making drinks before I could say anything more.

As someone who also works in retail/hospo, and someone that usually raves about Chatime, I felt the whole experience was pretty appalling, with minimal customer service shown by staff here. My father had paid for us, so not only is he left out of pocket for his drink, but he was left with a bad taste in his mouth in more...

Today at Chatime, we ordered three drinks. Two of them were chosen by the kids, and they specifically added some of their favorite toppings. When we picked up the order, my younger daughter noticed that her drink was missing watermelon jelly. She immediately informed the staff, but the employee, without carefully checking, claimed that she hadn’t ordered it because their printed receipt was incomplete. They even asked if she wanted to pay extra to add it! Feeling frustrated, my daughter reluctantly said, “Forget it.” Seeing her so disappointed really upset me. Fortunately, I had the electronic receipt. We went back to the store, and after presenting the proof, another employee carefully checked the still-sealed drink and finally agreed to add the missing topping. Due to the staff’s negligence and irresponsible handling, my child was emotionally hurt, and I am extremely angry! It was a small issue, but the experience was terrible. I will never visit this store again!

In Australia, where reputation is paramount, it's the first time I've encountered such a situation where, due to the irresponsibility and impatience of adults, a primary school student is forced to provide evidence that a product they bought for 95 cents actually exists. All this just to prove that they're not lying over 95 cents! This is utterly absurd! I never actively write negative reviews, but this time it's just...

Bad drink and bad customer service. Are you becoming a scam Chatime?

Yesterday I ordered brown sugar. The young girl making the drinks, instead of saying sorry we ran out of brown sugar powder and we cannot make the drink now, she literally filled the cup with ice and little part milk,and almost no brown sugar powder, then sealed the cup and we paid $7 for drinking merely coloured iced water. The worst drink we ever had. When I said I want my money back she said we closed the cashier and we cannot give you...