Haiphong Rd Temporary Market

Excellent location. Spacious room

Clean, friendly staff

The team of doormen were exceptional. Very proactive, warm smiles and great attentiveness. There was A and a few others whose names I didn’t catch helped set the tone from the start. A special mention to J, Lobby Ambassador. When I was taking work calls in the lobby lounge, he came and offered a bottle of water. He extends this courtesy and charm to every guest. The ability to go beyond scripted professionalism made interactions a lot more genuine. Everything in the room was tidied and clean, amenities were replenished. Room was on the older side for sure. We got the harbour view on a high floor which was a pretty decent view. Food quality and variety for buffet breakfast was as expected. A negative incident occurred while we were having breakfast on Sunday. A manager could be heard in view of all other guests, calling a staff with a disparaging remark. Calling the staff ‘zero brain’ to his supervisor. Also, instead of calling the staff by name, he went ‘Oei! Hey!’. That is rude. This is not a situation of ‘respecting the hierarchy’ or ‘language barrier’. Wherever one works, you learn the locality and assimilate. These actions undermine basic human dignity and consistency of the Mandarin Oriental service ethos. The external customer is important, so is the internal customer. Leadership, especially in a hospitality establishment is more than just putting on a tailored suit and fancy shoes. Leadership is not a title, it is a burden.