Bamboo Inn Comox — Restaurant in Comox

FYI If you are a customer at the Bamboo Inn be aware that tipping is mandatory on orders you pick-up. In fact it would be better to think of it as a mandatory SERVICE CHARGE. It is not a TIP as a tip is a voluntary amount that you get to decide. I say this because last night I ordered some food for pick-up, went and got it and paid for it, only to have the hostess refuse to give me my change. The bill was $16.70. I gave the hostess Emily $20. She smiled and said "Thanks have a good night." I realized that she intended to keep the rest. But I wanted my change. So I asked for it. When I did, Emily refused. In fact she became hostile and blurted out "The last 3 times you have come in here you have not left a tip and I am taking this money, you need to leave a tip." I was taken aback by her rude tone but managed to say to Emily that I don't tip on pick-up orders because it hasn't been established that I should. FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm not sure what the protocol is about tipping on take-out orders. Pick-up service took off during COVID and has now become quite common. But food pick-up is not the same as eating at the restaurant. I don't tip at the McDonalds drive through where I pick up food. I don't tip at the Tim Hortons drive-through, Starbucks, Thrifties or any of the host of other places where I am the one picking up food or drink. (Unless I want to). In all areas of life where the act of tipping has been firmly established I routinely tip. In fact it would be great to hear the owners take on tipping on take-out at the Bamboo Inn. Is it mandatory or has Emily overstepped her authority? Either way it must be said that Emily's behaviour was appalling. I've been a loyal customer at the Bamboo Inn for years. To be treated with such disrespect is unacceptable. Emily was angry and upset from the moment I asked for my change. Probably because as she said earlier this was not the first time I had not tipped. But instead of explaining to me what the restaurant's expectations are around tipping on pick-up orders she showered me with verbal abuse. She could've politely told me that tipping on take-out is mandatory, not voluntary, at the Bamboo Inn. Instead she berated me. And even if I am wrong about tipping on take-out, it should be the customer who decides how much of a tip one should give, not Emily. The Bamboo Inn cannot allow its employees to withhold money they feel they deserve unless it is part of a stated policy. Which it is not. (Notwithstanding, it is probably illegal to withhold a customer's change) I finally asked to speak to the manager. Emily said there wasn't one in the restaurant. It was about 8:30pm at night so that may have been true. I asked her one last time for my change, she replied "You can have it if you have the exact right amount on the bill." Fortunately I happened to have the right cash on me and paid her $17 and left. However I will not be going back to the Bamboo Inn which is sad because like many of you reading this I also enjoy the food there. But after this experience I no longer trust the people working at the restaurant and worry that something would be done to my food as a punishment for publically explaining what happened to me. I'm not here to tell you to stop going to the Bamboo Inn. I'm posting in the hope that the Bamboo Inn will clarify with its employees and the public what its expectations are around tipping on take-out orders. I also feel I deserve an apology for how I was treated by Emily. In fact, if I were to receive a sincere apology from Emily I would delete this review. I've always tried to be fair in my interactions with the Bamboo Inn. If I'm wrong about not tipping on take-out orders I can accept that and adapt. What I cannot accept is Emily deciding how I spend my money and being chastised for choosing not to...

Have been here a few times and the first few times it wasnt too bad which had lead me to come back here and there, but this most recent experience is the final nail in the coffin. One of the worst takeout Chinese food experiences in my life. A kid making food from an easy bake oven could have produced better results. Egg foo young, chow mein, and chop suey. It is almost insulting how much we paid and what we got. The egg foo young was not cooked through, doughy in the center. More dough than egg. See photo for reference. the egg had so much flour incorporated into it there wasn't much "egg" like texture to it, more of a solid pancake characteristic. We got Canton chow mein, which is more expensive than regular chow mein because it has different noodles (crispy). Suffice to say, not even 1 strand of crispiness to it. The noodles were lumped in the center and were almost solid noodle pucks. The chop suey...if you can call it that, would have been good but they used packaged gravy sauce poured over the vegetables. They gave us a bunch of gravy on the side and we had no idea what it was for. To top it all off, we called the restaurant to share our disappointment so they could learn from this, but instead of acknowledging a customer's bad experience, they tried justifying every concern that was mentioned by saying no one else feels this way, or this is how they make it, or that other people like it. ZERO customer service. One of the most important things an upset customer wants to hear is an apology, not excuses. Will never return. SIMPLY HORRIBLE AND...

I just drove passed this restaurant and figured I would give it a try as a visitor to comic. As soon as I walked in I felt un welcomed. There were no other customers in sight and I should have taken the hint. I took a menu and before I could read the first line, I was immediately was asked you want to order. I expressed to the lady that I had never been there before and I need to read through the menu. So she said okay take a seat. I didn’t feel like their customer service was great but I ordered anyways and left a tip. I left and came back she yelled from the back your order is on the table. I thought that was rude and then asked for soya sauce and hot sauce. She said you have to pay for hot sauce and began walking into back to continue what she was doing. Not even a fork or napkin was given to eat my food. I’m big on customer Service and this was horrible service in my opinion. I would never come back to...