Mai Thai Cuisine — Restaurant in West Columbia

6/26/2024. We've been to Mai Thai 3x in just the last 6 weeks. You'd think that would count for something??? I order the same thing each time we are there. Our waitress evidently forgot to write down to "fry" the tofu put in my soup. I won't eat it raw. Thus, my soup was made incorrectly. I noted this and the other waitress (CC = shrill, loud, rude) yelled at me making a huge scene. She pointed at the sign and lectured us in a demeaning manner that we'd still have to pay for it, even if I didn't eat it. She yelled that I obviously didn't specify what I wanted. My husband and I both stated that I was very explicit in my directions. She continued to lecture me loudly and stormed off to the kitchen. Everyone in the restaurant were staring in our direction. I didn't expect to see the soup back. I wanted to leave and never come back. Both my husband and I thought it would be a nice break after a medical appointment, but I felt attacked, & my condition flares up when people go to such lengths to harass me publicly. The soup was partially fixed. Some of the tofu was still un-fried. We told our waitress what happened, asked for the manager, who wasn't there, and then we asked for her contact information, which our waitress said no one had. Shouldn't a manager be able to be reached??? At that point I was literally shaking and couldn't finish my meal. Evidently, both waitresses find such abominable behavior on the part of CC as normal. My husband asked me to head to the car, because he saw how my system was extremely aggravated & worried about a possible asthma attack on top of the lupus flare I was already experiencing. He said he asked why no one apologized to me for being yelled at publicly in a harassing manner, and CC claimed her shrill, loud, mocking tone is her everyday tone. So, clearly she sees nothing wrong with chewing people out regularly. Well, that's not acceptable! We frequented your establishment, wanted a relaxing meal, but now know, not only is that not possible in the future, with one staff member getting off on berating customers for no other reason than she gets off on bullying and humiliating people! The fact that no manager was there with this kind of behavior going on says loads too. Clearly, this gives the staff the message of no accountability. When you allow this behavior to happen with no repercussions, I guess it's normal, horrible customer service, especially for an establishment who's manager doesn't even want to be there & can't be reached by staff. We spent $74 on food not prepared to our specifications, were yelled at like children, and clearly the manager doesn't care, because she lets this behavior (they see as normal) continue! It was one of the worst experiences I've had in...

I would rate this place higher as the taste of tge food is good, the service and attention to a good dining experience is not as good. I ordered Rainbow duck, described as CRISPY duck with a variety of vegetables and a sauce. My wife ordered curry. We both asked for brown rice. We also ordered appetizers being eggrolls with pork and shrimp, and satay. They clearly state that the food is not fast food, so you should expect to wait. The appetizers arrived after about 15 minutes and they were fresh and tasty. After about 35 minutes or 40 minutes we were informed that there was no more brown rice would we be okay with basmati rice, to which we agreed. Another 25 minutes and the entrees arrived. Mine arrived first with rice, my wife's arrived several minutes later without rice. They informed us that when the rice was cooked, they would bring it out to us. I shared my rice with my wife, and they then brought out some noodles for my wife. My duck tasted good, but was smothered in sauce which rendered the crispy duck, no longer crispy. At this point, no one ever came to check on us, and the rice was neve brought back until the end of our meal. I told the wait staff person about the issues. He apologized and took the check to be paid. Someone from the management/wait staff and never acknowledged the problems, and I am not sure if there was a language barrier or what, but they never seemed to undestand why soggy duck is different than crispy duck, and when promised rice never made its way to the table after being promised seemed to be an issue. I will go back but it will be with me keping an eye on wait staff following through and also making sure that I am checked on more than after we had finished eating. I also will ask many more questions about the food preparation than I did...

Published closing hours of 2:30 after lunch is misleading, both online and on the door, kitchen closes at 2:15. Food here is always excellent. Service can be hit or miss depending on the staff. I arrived at 2:17 the other day hoping to avoid the crowd, but the place appeared pretty busy. Attempting to walk in I found the door locked and I reviewed the hours posted on the door saw closing was posted at 2:30. A staff member unlocked and asked if I had a pickup and when I replied that I hoped to eat in she replied that the kitchen closes at 2:15. It looked like the place was packed as usual but that didn't really matter. I wanted to just make the point that posted hours are 2:30 and as she was locking the door the staff member said kitchen closing at 2:15 is posted on the door. Before I left, I looked for where it said that on the door and if it does it's within faded yellow above the regular hours. I couldn't read what the yellow said. I think it makes more sense to post the time they stop taking orders as the closing time, it might save some customers from wasting their own and staff time. Being clear about this might also keep this from creating a bad experience. Meeting and exceeding expectations are what make a great experience. Someone might also want to verify if locking the door with customers still inside is a violation of fire code. I'm...