Obanhmi — Restaurant in Richmond

INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTING!!!

Review as of December 1, 2024: I find it so ironic that this place has gone downhill so quickly especially knowing BaLe just opened in Richmond. This used to be my go-to banh mi place - emphasis on the past tense.

We had a gathering today and I had spoke to the owner, Juween Nguyen, a few weeks back about placing an order for about 10 to 15 people for December 1st. I spoke to her twice about this order and she let me know that if I place the order at least two days in advance that would be enough time for them to fulfill the order.

I placed the order online on Thursday November 28th - four days before the event. I got an order confirmation on the same day and my credit card was charged on the same day. I originally requested the pickup order to be ready for 11:15 a.m., but decided to call on the day of to see if it was possible to get the order ready for 11:00 a.m. instead. That call was placed at 10:15 a.m. and to my surprise they did not have the order at all - when they looked up the order number they could not find it in their system and requested that when I come pick up to bring the order confirmation email along with the statement on my credit card showing that the payment went through. We got to the location at 11:15 to pick up and the order was not ready. We were told to wait 10 minutes - 10 minutes goes by, and we were told to wait another 10 minutes. The order was finally ready at 11:45 am. Which was an hour and a half after I had called to confirm the order and more than double the number of days that the owner requested I give them in advance to fulfill the order successfully and since I received the order confirmation and my cc was charged.

I spoke to the owner directly over the phone to discuss this matter and she did not seem concerned or apologetic in the least. We had other food to pick up from different locations and this delay caused all the rest of the food to be sitting there waiting to be picked up as well as all of our guests waiting for us as we rushed to get the other food and get back in time. At the end of the day, this owner seemed to only be concerned about the fact that the order was paid for - she DID NOT CARE about the customers satisfaction with the ordering process OR the fact that the tardiness delayed everything for this gathering. Which fine, it's a business to her, but your business is not going to be successful if you don't have returning customers.

To say that I'm incredibly disappointed is an understatement. This location has gone way downhill since it opened, but not to worry, Ba Le just opened up in Richmond and they have amazing banh mis - they're also a 10 drive from Obanhmi so not far at all.

I would highly suggest taking your business and going there instead. It will just save you an insane amount of stress and headache knowing that your food will be ready on time and you will be given great customer service no...

INCREDIBLY DISAPPOINTING!!

Update as of Dec 6, 2024: An update to an incredibly disappointing experience at Obanhmi Richmond on December 1, 2024. I placed my order four days in advance through their online system and spoke with the owner twice on the phone to confirm everything. Despite all this preparation, my gathering was derailed by an almost two-hour delay, which is absolutely unacceptable.

If your system has a processing error, that is not the customer’s fault. It’s your responsibility to ensure the system works correctly or to get rid of it entirely. Offering a service that you can’t manage effectively only causes frustration and inconvenience for your customers.

While the owner eventually apologized, it was undermined by a sarcastic remark thanking me for leaving a "good review" on Google, which added insult to injury. To make matters worse, the owner personally texted me—not to take accountability or resolve the issue—but to shift the blame onto me as the customer for not having followed up by phone for a THIRD time regarding this order. This was after I received a confirmation email AND my cc was charged for said order. This unprofessional and dismissive behavior was completely unacceptable.

We were given 5 complimentary spring rolls which was a kind gesture, but it absolutely did not compensate for the 2 hour delay to our gathering along with the unnecessary stress that came with it. The delay in the pick up order caused an even further delay in our gathering as we had other food to pick up that was ready shortly after the scheduled pick up at Obanhmi Richmond. I was also told over the phone that if I bought 10 banh mi sandwiches I would get 1 free - that did not happen nor was a discount provided for the inconvenience. A discount would've been more appreciated than 5 spring rolls for a party of 15.

Mistakes happen, but I expected far better from a business I trusted with such an important occasion. Taking accountability and making things right is the bare minimum, yet there was no sincere effort to do either. The sarcastic response only confirmed their disregard for customer care.

This experience ruined and severely delayed a special occasion for my group. I will not be returning and strongly urge others to avoid this place. If you value your time, effort, and respect as a customer, take your...

Dishonest restaurant. The combo when you order online including chicken lemon grass Bahn mi, pork spring roll and avocado smoothie came to a total of $16.51 with 5% discount and taxes. The same items costed over $20 and no combo discount or pick up discount was given. Beware they overcharge you for combo! I refuse to spend my money at a dishonest restaurant. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE DUE TO DISHONESTY.

FUNNY! AFTER this review they say they will refund you the difference, so customers who order these items say nothing, they sneak in the extra $4+ dollars and punch it in individually while THEY KNOW it is actually a combo that should give you discount.

When you go to fast food like Mc Donald's, does that happen? NO! When you order a soda, burger and fries, the cashier will say would you like to make that into a combo or that's a combo and its cheaper.

NO WAY GOING TO SPEND A PENNY AT THIS PLACE! A foodie in Vancouver, going to over hundreds of restaurants, this is a NONO! DISHONESTY IS WORST THAN POOR FOOD TASTE!

HONESTY, GOOD SERVICE AND GOOD QUALITY IS IMPORTANT, NUMBER 1 IS HONESTY, NOT CHEATING ON CUSTOMERS MONEY.

PEOPLE WHO JUST WALK IN AND ORDER THE ITEMS ON THE COMBO, THEY CHARGE YOU SEPARATELY, THEY POCKETED EXTRA $4+ PER CUSTOMER!

The best restaurants I went to, actually would say that is a combo I gave you a discount and I would be happy with their honest service. BUT NOT THIS RESTAURANT, THEY SCAM YOU FOR...