Mr Feedback

Okay, so I am not a great fan of Spanish food but I won’t hold that against Capitan Torres Restaurant. As part of my “education and learning” conference in Sydney, I had a night out at this restaurant. Here is my take.

The setting
What is with restaurant these days, they are all cramped. This one was no exception. It was very crampy, and reminded me of La Spaghettata. The entrance features a bar / dining strip where singletons eat and the opens up at the rear. The kitchen is visible for the interested patron. The chairs and dining tables were alright. The mood was good, and it had reasonable decorations on the walls.

The cost
Four of us dined there (+ 2 children) at a cost of $166, which is not bad considering we had entrees, four mains, and some non-alcoholic drinks. The prices for dishes were average, and quantity served was excellent. So, good value for money.

Their full menu is available online, which is an excellent way to promote themselves. They also have an online booking form (although requires 48 hours notice), which is available Monday - Thursday.

The service
I can’t complain about the service, but once again I felt the waiters were under the pump. The entree (garlic bread) arrived within minutes, and so did the drinks. Unlike our friends at Tandoori Oven - Ballarat. The mains took a while to come, but considering the size of the servings - I guess it was allowed. They didn’t have a children’s menu, but the waiter accommodated for their meals in a giffy and it was a non-issue. It was a bit hard to get hold of the waiting staff for extra serves, or drinks but eventually I managed to.

The food
* Well presented
* Generous portions
* Relatively tasty (I say this because the Paella that I ordered was so so, but my colleagues had fish / chicken which they said tasted excellent)
* Garlic bread - excellent.

Suggestions
* I continually come across cramped restaurants, and Capitan Torres was no exception.

Rating - 7/10 (perhaps a bit harsh, but it didn’t wow me)
I had to find a place to eat, so I came across Capitan Torres. The restaurant can be difficult to find from the main street (with its solid black front door). The prices are reasonable, but the restaurant is way too cramped for my liking.

I was involved in choosing some prescription glasses, although they were not for me. OPSM seemed like a good option, and it was the preferred centre by HBA Health Insurance.

Store
384-386 Bourke Street
Melbourne, VIC 3000
Ph: (03) 9670 9885

The service
We scouted the place before making the purchase. They have a wide range of glasses, and some top notch brands. Appointments were easy to come by for an eye test. The optometrist was very professional, and punctual. There were quite a few personnel, and we were approached for assistance within a few minutes of entering a store. However, on the day of finalizing our purchase (it was a Saturday morning), the staff were trying out all the glasses available. Granted this is a temptation, but not when there are “real customers” in the building. “I would never be game enough to wear this in public” said one lady, while another said (while trying out another pair): “I think these are not bad”. Entertaining sure, a bit unprofessional though.

The setting
OPSM sets a high standard, and this store was no exception. The building is kept clean, and is very inviting. The staff are professionally dressed. You would expect this when spending in excess of $500 for a pair of glasses. Optometry I hear is big business, and very lucrative. Ophthalmologist also, at that. Hmm, maybe I should change my career.

The glasses
They are great. We received an sms stating that the glasses were ready to be collected. On collection day, the optometrist sat down with us and made sure the glasses were a perfect fit. Good on ya!

Inside tips
* I notice that almost always some glasses are cheaper than their advertised price. So don’t be afraid to ask.

Suggestions
* Great store, good service - perhaps try on glasses when no one is looking. LOL!

Rating - 7/10 (don’t try on glasses and giggle when customers are around)
A bit harsh I know, but you can see why it’s not a good idea for staff to try their own products and comment on them when customers are present.

I was walking home one day and noticed a Volkswagen people mover with a sign - Jetbus.com.au. I had never heard of this airport shuttle service before. It seems these guys are contractors for moving airline staff (Malaysian Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Jetstar) between the airport and their hotels. This was their primary business structure, but over the past few weeks opened their service to the public.

The booking system
The process is quite simple, and it begins on their homepage. You select the number of tickets you want, and then fill out your travel details. The tickets are valid for 12 months from the date of purchase, and they have a range of designated pick up spots - particularly hotels in and around the CBD. They do not travel to the suburbs of Melbourne, nor Avalon Airport.

Once you fill out the pick up / drop off details, you go on to the order confirmation page. Make sure you print this page, because the printed ticket does not list these details. So if you forget, then you need to chase it up. Their email response time is quite appropriate, within 24 hours and most of their customer service is through the internet. You can book over the phone, but there is a surcharge of $2.50 (read the fine print!).

If you book for more than one person, the main person whom you book under will appear on the ticket. Don’t stress, the driver has your details.

Punctuality
When you book your ticket, and select pick up times etc - ensure you have plenty of time to get to the airport. It is your responsibility to do this, not JetBus’s. Remember, if you intend to travel during peak hour traffic - account for this. The punctuality during my trip was impeccable. In fact, the bus arrived within a minute to spare. I am not sure how they time their trips, but I had a whole bus to myself going to and from the airport. Technically, people can enter a whole range of pick up times, and it would be a technically challenging task to coordinate all the buses so they all arrive on time (particularly in CBD traffic).

The service
I had one of the nicest drivers. His name was Nick or Mick, and was very professional yet casual. He helped with our suitcases, and kept us entertained throughout the trip. Not like your average driver who listens to music while driving. He even dropped us off closer to our house on the return trip. The bus itself (I got a mini bus - not the Volkswagen) was neat and tidy and their service is Carbon neutral (read more).

Inside tips
* Confirm your booking at least 24 hours before your trip.
* Ensure you print the order confirmation page so you remember your pick up details
* Don’t be surprised to see the tickets having only the main booking name. The driver has your details.
* Allow enough time to travel in peak hour traffic.
* On arrival into Melbourne, you can wait inside the terminal for the driver to pick you up. Read more in Suggestions section.
* I hear they are playing around with their pick up structure, and perhaps even may include some inner Melbourne suburbs.

Suggestions
* The tickets must have pick up and drop off details in them.
* We got a bit confused when we arrived into Melbourne. The driver had gone in to pick us up, yet the website said we had to wait outside. So we waited outside, until I saw the driver (same guy who picked us up few days before) waiting inside. Furthermore, there were plenty of buses just outside the terminal so it can be hard to find. To avoid this perhaps a dedicated bus stop for Jetbus would help customers.
* Keep up the good work Mick (or Nick).

Rating - 8/10 (great service, will use again)
I will use their service again. There are slight elements which can make your travel confusing, but their service based on my experience is excellent. They need to work on their booking process, and make sure you get some more details onto the ticket to reduce potential hassle for customers.

Note: I am interested in publishing reviews of other airport shuttle services. Let me know!

I have been asked to write a review about WhatsOpen.com.au. This is an unpaid review.

The idea
I think it’s an ingenious idea, and a simple one at that. I have sat around at home, wondering what was open at wee hours of the night. Particularly in regards to food (me love food) outlets. The website will let you know what is open in your area (as specified by you). The default time is set to “current”. You can even SMS a search term, and a response will contact the nearest venue, the distance, and the times it is open. Similarities are borne with WhatsOpen.com which is an American version, but you can sign up for the full beta to get international locations.

The website (design, features etc)
The venues are updated by the site administrators, and also by members of the public (which are approved by the site administrators). You can add venues here, and they will be updated as soon as possible by the administrators. The website has a very clean, neat and usable design. It gets to the point right away. Once you log on, you are faced with a search bar where you can type in any location in Australia. The great thing about the search feature is you can use vague addresses, or landmarks and the site picks it up. For example: I tried “Cnr Elizabeth Flinders Melbourne”. I was looking for Pepperoni’s Pizza (reviewed here), but it wasn’t listed. I promptly added it as one of the venues and it was promptly accepted by the administrators. It’s that simple!

The site has a Web 2.0 appearance, the blue makes it easy on the eyes. The simplicity of the site is what I like, because you don’t need to spend too much time on it to find out what it’s really about. The maps and distance feature is also a very smart way to localize the information.

The confusing part
I typed in “Racecourse Road”, and for the first 22 pages (and then I gave up), it brought up all the businesses in Victoria. That’s great for me because I am based in Victoria. What about Racecourse Road’s elsewhere in Australia. Therein lies a small gap in the system. As the site grows, you would expect it to be smarter by picking up which State you are from. So I chose: “NSW” as the preferred state, and it promptly brought up all the businesses that are open currently in NSW, but when I typed in Racecourse Rd it defaulted back to Victoria.

The advertising part
The site does not make it clear how advertising makes a difference to what you find in your search results. I do notice in their about page they offer paid advertising programs, so whether it’s already implemented in the question. A bit more information will be useful. There in lies an opportunity to Googlise the search to display “sponsored results” and make money from it.

Suggestions
Some of these suggestions I am sure the brilliant minds at WhatsOpen are already on to, but here goes:
* You have great database of information, so you need to get more people into it. A simple and effective way is to allow people to become members.
* Once there are members, allow them to interact with the site by allow them to rate the businesses, and comment on them.
* Once there are members, you can incorporate a social networking component to it - recommendations from friends is more valued than me finding a business through random search.
* When you search for a generic term, allow the results to be displayed according to state. This means, in the results page - split into the various states and allow the user to click on which state they would like (or better yet - default the state by detecting where the viewer is located)
* If you want to be real smart, then allow users (like me) set default locations (i.e.: during membership I provide my address/postcode and this becomes my default location). Generally, we would to find out WhatsOpen near our homes first, then everywhere else.

The cost
This is the best bit, it is free to use by the public. I am not sure how they are sustaining the service, and the company does not openly disclose if they receive advertising money from the businesses they list. None the less, its free for the public which is the most important aspect (and the one that matters) of the site.

Rating - 8/10 (ingenious concept, really looking forward to your development)
These guys are onto something special. It’s such a simple concept, and I am not sure why Yellow Pages or White Pages didn’t think of it. It’s a neat, simple, unique, and ingenious idea and with further development will go a real long way. Excellent work, certainly a site I will be using again. (Never mind the 8/10, it’s only because there are plenty more features you can add on, and I’m being harsh to motivate you guys!).

I’m in Sydney as I write this, and have a few more reviews up my sleeve. Just attended a pretty full on conference for 3 days, and I’m in information overload.

To streamline things a bit, registering with Mr Feedback automatically gives you the power to start writing reviews. You do not need to wait until I make you a contributor. Simply sign up, and start writing.

If you want to be listed as a regular contributor on our Contribute page, then you can drop me a line and I will do so. I have had some interest in people who want to write reviews, but unfortunately it’s been me all this time. Not sure what they are all waiting for.

If you like writing mini-reviews, then join Twitter and follow me. All blog posts are automatically updated to Twitter, and Facebook.

Recently, I received a letter from Virgin about my “unreturned modem”. This is what it said at the bottom in bold:

“Please note that if the Modem is not returned by May 23, 2008 you will be charged $400 for the Modem as per the conditions of your agreement with Virgin Broadband”.

Did any of you receive the same letter? I’d be interested in hearing from you. If you are new to Mr Feedback, check out my earlier posts: here, here and here.

Sadly, I had the receipt from Toll Priority who collected the modem in the pre-paid satchel. I promptly rang them up, and informed them of their mistake. The call centre guy did not seem surprised, and said it was an “oversight”. Bloody oathe it is! Hopefully this is the last I have heard from Virgin Broadband. These guys are a joke!

There is so much talk about Hollywood and cinema companies being greedy, and wanting to make more money. Most of this is related to the illegal downloading of their movies, months before their release. I guess they have a point. However there is tremendous opportunity to exploit file sharing networks to generate publicity about a movie, particularly for low budget film makers. Similarly, the music industry has its gripes, but here’s an interesting article about it.

I was hoping to catch the new movie Iron Man, at the Century City Village Cinemas, near The Glen Shopping Centre. Everything was going well, until the car I borrowed broke down en route. This was on a Sunday, so there was no hope of getting it fixed quickly.

So I rang up Village customer service, and explained my situation. In fact, in the haste, I also emailed them to see if they respond quickly. The lady in customer service said, if I presented myself within 30 minutes of the movie starting, then they can initiate an immediate refund onto my credit card (since I bought it online).

First of all, I think it’s a bit silly to ask someone to physically present for an immediate refund. If someone’s car broke down, then obviously transportation is a problem. Anyway, I borrowed another car and the manager was more than happy to refund the money. That was kind of surprising to me. I was expecting a verbal onslaught, and requests to document my experience so their “finance department” can assess my situation. It was pretty easy (although I still haven’t received the refund on my CC, but I hear it can take up to a week). If I had not gone within 30 minutes, then all “sorts of paperwork” will required to be filled before I see any dime.

The service
The telephone service was prompt (waited about 1 minute on hold), and the desk service was alright. But, no one at the desk really knew what to do until the manager rocked up. Fair enough, not many people get refunds from movie tickets. From their perspective, a refund need not have been given. It wasn’t their car that broke down, so I appreciate their efforts to satisfy their customers. When I came back home, I even got a reply to the email I had sent. Wow!!

Inside tips
* Purchasing tickets is so much easier online, and you don’t wait in line.
* You need access to a printer
* You can select the seats in some cinemas when you make an online booking.

Suggestions
* When someone asks for a refund, then obviously they cannot make it to the movie nor the premises. So asking someone to present physically within 30 minutes for a refund, otherwise condemning them to fill out paperwork is not the most efficient way of handling it. Refunds can easily be handled via the phone, or even online.
* I was told tickets may not be transferred to another session. Why not? I could have easily seen the movie on another day, at another time. This should be allowed, because you will maintain your customers. Now, once I get my refund, potentially I could not watch the movie at all (although I will be going next weekend).

Rating - 8/10 (annoying rules, but thanks for the refund)
I hope to see the movie this weekend. Heard lots of good comments. Don’t ruin it for me.

Gold Class
I am looking for Village Cinemas Gold Class service reviews from people who have used this service before. Contact me.

This is a follow up on the post a few days about Samsung’s delayed delivery of their free LCD TVs. It seems Sony is also having similar issues with their PS3s. According o this article, there are also talks of a class action lawsuit. They promised delivery within 28 days, but four months later some customers are still waiting. 28000 people had taken up the order according to Sony Australia.

According to the terms and conditions of the promotional site, it does say “approximately 28 days” with respect to deliveries. This can be open to interpretation, I guess.

Looks like another company has bitten off more than its bargained for.

Sofia’s Family Restaurant
802 Ferntree Gully Rd
Wheelers Hill, VIC 3150
(03) 9574 7000

Wow, these guys know how to feed someone. Their portions are huge, and prices are reasonable. Food is not the best, but the value is definitely there.

The Stats
5 people, entree, main course, and 1 desert: $71.60

The value
By far the best value for money I have ever come across for the restaurant size that it is. They have a number of restaurants across Melbourne, but the Wheeler’s Hill one is absolutely massive with ample car space. Their portions are huge, and “normal” people need only order their small size. I ordered a small Gnocchi Calabrese and still couldn’t finish it.

The service
I went for lunch on a Saturday to my surprise the restaurant was quite empty. Usually the restaurant is packed out to the max. It is wise to book in advance for weekends anyway. I have been there a few times, and their service is prompt. We were a bit of a hurry, and finished our meals and got out of there in less than 75 minutes. Not the fastest, but way up there. Due to the size of the restaurant, sometimes it can be hard to get attention of the serving staff but I had no extensive problems. The owner is a nice fella and is friendly with all his customers. (I think it was the owner whom I saw today. Their community contribution is quite significant. Once I saw a contribution cheque worth thousands of dollars to the Royal Children’s Hospital. Good on ya guys!!

The electronic ordering system is unique, and it is nice to know they are a tech savvy business.

The ambience
Can’t really comment on this much because the restaurant was quite empty. But there is plenty of space for everyone. The tables are appropriately spaced out. However, I have been there at night when it is absolutely packed, the ambience is bustling! The view while driving past is extraordinary, with the restaurant lit up with people having a great time.

The food
I never really looked at the menu much during my previous encounters. They have quite a small range of options for the size that they are. None the less, there are plenty of options. However I have seen smaller restaurants offer a much wider variety of options than what Sofia offers. The taste wasn’t the best, I must admit. They did lose some points for this. It was served hot, and well displayed. I ordered one of their pasta Gnocchi. I have had pizza there before, and it is much better but unfortunately, I rate according to my experience now - not from before. On the other hand, the chocolate mousse is the best!

Inside tips
* Book in advance for weekends
* The pizzas are great tasting. The chocolate mousse is the best I have ever tasted.

Suggestions
I attempted to make an online booking, and couldn’t (email bookings possible). However, unlike recent businesses I have reviewed, it is nice to know that you are working on a website, albeit a very basic one at that. I am not sure why you have different websites for the same restaurant at different locations, granted it may be a franchise. Why not just have 1 website, and then have different sub-sites within for each location? The Burwood store has a better site, but the music is annoying.

Rating - 7/10 (great value, great service, food needs work)
I would definitely go there, and take my friends there. It’s a great restaurant, and going on a busy night is a must for anyone who has not tried it yet.

Technorati Profile

Store
Michael’s Furniture
409-411 High Street, Melton
Ph: (03) 9746 0666
Further contact details

I moved house about 3 months ago, and was on the hunt for furniture. I have always lived in furnished apartments, and it was time to venture out to buy my own furniture. I was quite keen on Fantastic Furniture - as they had deals featuring whole lounge and bed room sets. I wasn’t into buying really expensive furniture (not just yet anyway), and wanted a complete set so I could get it over and done with. One day, while driving back from Ballarat I spotted Michael’s Furniture in Melton. This is my story.

The service in store
It took a while before we got some attention from one of the staff members, but that was fine with me. I was measuring out the lounge set, and bed room set to ensure they fitted into the new apartment. I spent a good 30-40 minutes having a look around the shop, and really liked the Montego package which was on display. The main priority for me was the length of time for delivery. I was told it would be 6 weeks maximum, but in most cases it will be earlier than that. Fantastic Furniture also had similar time frames, but their deal did not include a bed, tallboy, side tables etc. After having a think about it, I decided to go ahead with the package, paid my deposit. The order was placed on 15/01/2008.

The staff member answered all my questions well, and I did have a lot of them. He even convinced to treat the furniture for“extra protection”. Anyway, now I have some life time stain warranty and free removal of stains or something like that! Read the rest of this entry »