Delifrance
I wanted to have a different breakfast this morning, to have a heavier breakfast, despite me already eating a lot last night. Instead of walking the usual way to Yakun to get my daily teh c, I turned the other direction and went to Delifrance.
There were just a couple of other customers ahead of me, and it didn’t take me long to get to the front of the queue, but from that point, I waited 15 minutes before I was able to leave. The cashier got me the croissant I wanted in a paper carrier, without asking if I would like it to be warmed up. I didn’t ask for it to be toasted since it’s morning, and I thought it shouldn’t be too bad; plus I really don’t mind pastries that are not warm because that’s how they have it in other parts of the world anyhow. Being asked if we want to have our croissants/muffins warmed up is such an Asian luxury.
The message was passed to another staff for a takeaway cappuccino, but I don’t know if she didn’t hear it, or it just did not register. She was standing just next to the cashier when he told her so it couldn’t be that she didn’t hear. She went on to serve other customers, and I saw her preparing drinks for customers that came after me so I asked the cashier if my coffee was ready. He turned to the barista who then asked if I wanted milk in my coffee… hmm. I thought I ordered a cappuccino?
In the end, I got what I ordered. Honestly, I was a little annoyed at having to wait so long when it was obviously not that busy. I mean, the queue formed because they were so slow in filling the orders, until the manager returned and suddenly the pace picked up a bit. You can’t just rely on one person alone to get the game going, and especially where peak hours are concerned, speed and precision are key to making a food joint work. Perhaps the coffee or tea that I buy from Yakun aren’t of the best quality, neither is Starbucks or whatsoever, but at least they make up for it in terms of speed, so the turnover is high.
Anyhow, Delifrance has been in Singapore for a long time, even if their presence seems to be dwindling, which I won’t be surprised if the service remains at such a level. It’s not bad customer service, just slow, and I appreciate the apology from the barista, so I bothered to say thank you to her when I left. Anyhow, the croissant already got a little soggy by the time I got to the office. But it still tasted alright, and the coffee was decent too.
I won’t write them off totally but I’ll reconsider if I am rushing for time. I guess they are for days when I have more time to spare waiting for my order to be ready.










