Worst. Restaurant. Ever.

We have a Chinese restaurant near our apartment in the West Loop. It's called Jim Ching's and I used to be a fan. I used to enjoy some curry tofu after football on Sunday evenings. We've gotten carry-out from this place approximately 12 times, give or take. My problem comes from the awful service we've gotten there.

Out of the approximately 12 times we've ordered from Jim Ching's, they've screwed up our order 4 times. We've been shorted items, received (and been charged) for items we didn't ask for, gotten completely wrong dishes, and been given incorrectly prepared special order dishes (food allergy). Those occurrences alone are bad enough (we're talking about a 1 in 3 change of having an order come out wrong) but what has really pissed me off is how they address these things.

Each time this happens, I call them up and tell them that the order was wrong. Each time, they argue with me, almost always blaming us for the problem. The most infuriating (and recent) conversation was two Sundays ago. My wife placed our order (I was sitting next to her when she did), getting me a "curry tofu, extra spicy, no chicken broth". We picked up the order when it was ready. Upon returning home, I found that my curry tofu was actually "curry tofu / only tofu" - not even close to what was ordered (and inedible as I can't eat meat). I called them up and they told me that "curry tofu / only tofu" was what my wife had ordered and that we had screwed up somehow. I was livid, as I was next to her when she ordered (not to mention that I get the exact same thing every time I order). They refused to do anything about the problem. I informed them that I would never order from them again.

I've since done some digging, and they're not exactly revered in the community either (big surprise there). Over on Yelp they've got a 3.5 star ranking, which I can only assume is bolstered by some fake vote padding. The text reviews are less than stellar.

When looking for other options, I found a listing for Ming Choy, (three stars on Yelp) also in the West Loop, which surprisingly and sadly is just a separate guise for the shoddy Jim Ching operation. The Ming Choy number rings right to Jim Ching's.

So, I warn anyone who might read this and have occasion to eat at Jim Ching's in the West Loop to stay away, if you value customer service on any level. Also, if anyone can recommend anyplace good for Chinese food in the West Loop area, let me know. I'd love to find someplace near home that's actually good.