Image 1: Mama Mia! What is all this?
Image 2: The staff. Their in-charge (missing in this photo) was super snooty
Image 3: Dreamy desserts
Image 4: Cup cakes!
Image 5: Dessert delight
Image 6: Dessert dream
Photographs by: Tanya Munshi
Text by: Tanya Munshi
My only interaction with Mama Mia was at the Calcutta Club's Bakery Carnival. They made my visit to the carnival memorable by being snooty. Frankly speaking, they had the best stall at the carnival with some of the best baked exhibits on display, but mama mia, it won't earn your bread and butter -sorry, pastry and gelato (pun intended) from being snooty and rude to your customers. But honestly, had I been a judge at the carnival, I would have given them first prize for the best presentation, but then the buck stops there.
I asked for a slice of a chocolate cake and the staff at Mama Mia said, "Ma'am, would you like an ice cream to go with it? We have ice creams too."
I thought, why not and when I paid Rs. 65/- worth of coupon (we had to buy coupons from the club counter), he said, "Another Rs.65/- Ma'am."
I asked, "For what?"
He said, "The ice cream."
I said, "You should have told me it's extra cost, and there was no price list that says, ice cream scoop cost extra!"
The snooty Mama Mia guy said, "If you don't want it, don't take it'!"
Woah! I thought...what attitude. Doing us a favour by serving ordinary pastries and ice creams. Let me tell you, Monginis is far better ;) The point is, it is not about paying the extra Rs. 65/- bucks, but to be honest and not thinking your clients are fools.
I asked, "For what?"
He said, "The ice cream."
I said, "You should have told me it's extra cost, and there was no price list that says, ice cream scoop cost extra!"
The snooty Mama Mia guy said, "If you don't want it, don't take it'!"
Woah! I thought...what attitude. Doing us a favour by serving ordinary pastries and ice creams. Let me tell you, Monginis is far better ;) The point is, it is not about paying the extra Rs. 65/- bucks, but to be honest and not thinking your clients are fools.
There is a lot that goes into making a brand successful and being snooty and over smart is definitely not going to take anybody anywhere. There is a way of handling miscommunication. The price of the pastries were mentioned in tags, but if you are charging extra for something, do let your customers know.
So if I did ask them as to why they did not mention the extra cost in the first place, there was no reason for the guy in charge at Mama Mia to raise an eye brow. Dude, you're just an employee, and you behave like you own the place! (You can see how pissed I am with their unprofessional behaviour).
So if I did ask them as to why they did not mention the extra cost in the first place, there was no reason for the guy in charge at Mama Mia to raise an eye brow. Dude, you're just an employee, and you behave like you own the place! (You can see how pissed I am with their unprofessional behaviour).
You may think you have made an extra profit of 65 bucks, but ask yourself, is it really worth the bad publicity and your customers going back disgruntled? Anyway, we paid that extra Rs. 65/- for a piddly vanilla ice cream scoop and I made up my mind to write about this.
We have grown up with brands like Monginis, they were never rude to us. There is a Monginis everywhere in India and we remember growing up celebrating every birthday with a cake ordered from Monginis (my favourite Pineapple Pastry Cake), and they never made us feel out of place. So why the snoot factor from new comers? Just because brands like Mama Mia come up with gelato and pastries which are phoren sounding, does not give you the licence to be rude to your customers.
