| There are Bacolod Chicken restaurants, but they differ in presentation and the ambiance they bring for the walk-in random individual that fills their tables and starts the long line at the payment counters. Also, the location is not what most Masa “masses” would often notice because most want to be led astray to it.
But for those who like exploring the “hidden gems” of living an urban life, you might discover things you have never noticed while passing by it. Case in point, having lived in the area for more than two decades it never occurred that this place was something worth having that “chicken experience.” |
The Bacolod Chicken Express has been around, and based on ‘word of mouth’ it’s always packed and at the same time, the waiting time is well enough to have a bite of one of their dishes. Personally, YouTube browsing has brought this place to attention thanks in part to Chef JP Anglo, who has been prominently promoting this so-called “hole in the wall” on his YouTube channel.
It’s been a while since to rarely dine in casually to places like this despite being within walking distance of this area, and has been seeing this place packed by lunchtime. It’s for obvious reasons that dining in places like this has caught the curiosity to have the experience that most people have been frequently talking about on their socials. Of course, getting there as early as 10 AM was a must to not miss out on the dining experience as the waiting times when you arrive late is going to be a turn off.
- Customer Service Experience
- Chicekn Waiting Time & Food Portions
They Start Cooking at 11 AM
If you’re early getting to the venue at 10 AM they’re still closed. You’ll find the staff starting to prepare their dishes during this time, and if it wasn’t so Filipino enough it’s just how they roll in getting their stuff ready for their customers. It’s either you’re a regular customer or a first-time random walk-in to try their dishes you have to be ready to be there to find the available table.
They exactly start letting people take orders either takeaway or dine-in a few minutes before 11 AM. It’s the way of observing how the staff behaves and how they accommodate the people around them that catches my eye and listens to the convo on how customer service happens. By the time finding the table to wait for a staff to order the dish, there are already a handful at the counter getting their takeaways.
Mixed Customer Service
There was a woman seated next to the table who was getting the ‘best service’ getting asked if she was going to eat by hand as the male staff offered if she was using plastic gloves or a spoon & fork, while the rest of the customers next to her were not offered such accommodation as yours truly have to self-serve my way to get a spoon & spork not even being asked if I wanted service water as the lady had on the other table.
Also, the staff who took the orders never informed the rest that the waiting time for their food was slowly taking a few minutes more, while those who just arrived were advised that it would take 45 minutes to an hour to wait and that some had walked away from ever getting that experience get immediately shot down.
The Menu is… Unclear
You get the idea you are getting what you wanted and it feels like being rushed due to that their orders are starting to pile up and waiting times are increasing. The part that feels unclear apart from the waiting time is the menu. They should change their chalkboard to be clear on the pricing as some of the menus listed are getting erased.
But you get the idea of how guerilla-style service is being given here due to the popularity of this place that they can’t take all in, and why it feels like being rushed to get someone to take your seat when you’re done. You get that cold experience but being used to this just wait for the meal to be served like you’re in the Marines.
Chicken in a Hurry Literally
This was a brief experience of why you should not dine in here at Shakey’s located in Chino Roces beside a gas station and just across from a big box grocery store. The experience of waiting is already a wasted time when they can control the amount of people coming in and out. It is a terrible fate that some would leave because they did not check in first or book a table. In the age of accessing their contacts through social media Shakey’s could have utilized communicating with their customers for table availability.
The waiting part for the food is another concern. Because they need to be reminded to give them a follow-up when they should know already the moment they have taken the orders and get it to the customer quicker than having 15 minutes wasted in hoping the customers are not going to be pissed.
Well, there is no apology here. There will be no recommendation to dine at this place. Honestly, the food is good that it still holds up despite having a slow retarded service to begin with. There’s a saying “You can’t rush art” At the same time you can’t keep customers waiting to get a bad experience, right?
Overall, the experience is nothing more than a roller coaster. The food is great, but the ambiance of being rushed is not. It is for what it is as they say, because of its popularity they close as early as 3 PM and that’s why you need to be early to be there before they start setting up the tables.
You can say, the staff is quite selective of how they treat their customers, but that’s how Filipinos do. But I don’t think that’s a bit fair point. Nonetheless, it is still an experience I won’t have the same situation going there. The expectation going there was not originally the “customer service” experience.
It’s all about the food, but being from a cultured country there should be an equal opportunity on how you treat each person who walks through that door. But just as I went there I waited and observed human behavior, and not only about the food that I’ve been craving for weeks since seeing it being featured on Vlogger's YouTube.
Lastly, the only noticeable about the food is the portions with the garlic rice (not enough) and some can’t be justified for the price. But you want quality for it there’s a price and why it was worth trying it.
- Branch: Bacolodo Chicken House Express
- Customer Service: C+
- Food Quality: 8/10
- Overall: Selectively accommodating to a select few customers, and the food portion was underwhelming with the garlic rice.
For more about this place, you can follow their social through Facebook and Instagram!
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