Guo's Noodle House — Restaurant in Sydney

Indifference in Service is Poisoning the Restaurant Industry – A Review of “Dong Jie Kou” in Hurstville, Sydney

Introduction

In the restaurant industry, service is not just a detail—it’s the heart of the experience. Good food may bring customers in once, but it’s respectful and attentive service that makes them want to return. Unfortunately, my experience at “Dong Jie Kou,” located in Hurstville, Sydney, proved just how damaging poor service can be.

Personal Experience: Being Rushed Out Mid-Meal

During my visit, while we were still eating, an older woman with short hair—presumably a staff member—rudely approached us and told us to finish up quickly so the table could be prepared for the next customers. This happened before we were even done with our meal. The message was clear: our presence was no longer welcome. It was not just abrupt—it was humiliating.

We didn’t overstay our time or cause any trouble, yet we were made to feel like a burden rather than valued guests. The experience was uncomfortable, disrespectful, and frankly, unacceptable.

Psychological Impact: More Than Just a Bad Mood

This kind of treatment goes beyond mere annoyance. It sends a clear signal: customers are not people, they’re just table occupiers. Being rushed out of a restaurant in the middle of a meal instills a sense of shame, rejection, and disrespect. It damages the emotional relationship customers have with dining out, and can lead to distrust of the entire service culture.

Industry Consequences: What Happens If We Let This Slide?

If this behavior becomes normalized, the consequences will be serious: Loss of Customer Loyalty – A single bad experience can permanently turn away a customer. Worsening Reputation – Negative word-of-mouth spreads faster than praise. Service Culture Collapse – When “rushing customers out” becomes standard, genuine hospitality disappears.

Great service creates a cycle of trust and loyalty. “Dong Jie Kou” has chosen efficiency over respect, and in doing so, risks eroding its long-term reputation.

Conclusion: I Won’t Return – And You Should Think Twice Too

As a customer, I have the right to decide where I spend my money—and I choose not to support a place that treats diners with such indifference. I won’t return to “Dong Jie Kou” in Hurstville, and I encourage others to consider whether a restaurant that can’t offer basic respect is worth supporting at all.

There is no future in hospitality without...

Sunday 10th August, 2025

First time trying this place today. Had the dry noodles and peanut butter sauce, chef's special beef and pork ribs noodle soup, pan fried dumplings, mushroom & pork bone soup along with selection of beef tripe and chicken drumsticks and a can of herbal tea.

Food: mushroom soup with pork bone was smooth and well balanced but could do more with flavour.

noodles and peanut sauce just tasted like peanut butter and the noodles were soggy. Way too much sauce.

dumplings were pretty much empty. Just like a table spoonful of meatball and the rest are an empty bun. To sell for $14.80 is an absolute rip off.

the beef noodle soup with tripe did not have any flavour in the soup. The soup was bland. Had to add soy sauce and some chilli oil to get the flavour into the soup.

Also after scanning the barcode on the table, when you look into the menu list it can be abit confusing as it doesn't really match up with the menu that's handed out.

The staffs were quite welcoming and friendly though.

Too many tables for a small sized shop, which affects the dining comfort, therefore affects the comfort, therefore affects the atmosphere. Seats were too close to another table sitting next to, or behind you.

Overall, not really worth the price for the portions they give ($60-65) The New Huang Restaurant and the Lanzhou 1915 has better meals with...

Shocking treatment by the short hair lady and extremely poor service that I would go as far to say, could have ended with a medical episode.

I'm allergic to fish. I ordered a chicken dish and a pork dish. However they mistakenly brought a fish dish that looks similar to the chicken one. When we received the dishes, we thought it was the correct order and started to distribute both dishes amongst ourselves to share. The lady walked out and said it's fish and not chicken, however since we touched it with our chopsticks (but not eaten anything), the lady refused to bring the fish dish back to replace it.

I said I was allergic, but the lady continued to refuse, and showed no understanding that some allergies can be extremely severe even with physical contact/contamination between dishes.

Another thing was, we asked for a take home container and the same lady says 50c, and we decided not to get a container. The lady goes back and says disparaging remarks about us to the other waitress in Mandarin. We understood what was said because we are both Chinese.

The same lady came to take our plates away even though there was still food, so we told her we were not done. She proceeded to glare stare at us point blank, which was very uncomfortable and confronting.

I really don't understand why we were treated...