As someone who really has nothing to do with the Maid Cafe officially... but has been there giving his input and helping out whenever needed, I'll try to answer some of the questions. First I'd like to say though, thanks for the comments and criticism. It helps us make it better in the future.
It seems that people did have a good time at the cafe! I'm glad for it, though my experience was not too great.
I came in about 1pm-1:30pm on Sunday, and had a group of four. I disliked choosing the food and paying upfront, but I know that it really can't be helped sometimes. (Sigh.. politics and the union) Prices were expensive for size portions, but the garlic wrap was yummy.
There were lots of cute maids! That was a serious plus from last year, and they all seemed very polite. The Host maid was demure and polite and very cute. (however, someone ran up to say that 2 maids would not be able to come to work, which is a BIG no-no in my book, but it was a hush-hush deal).
With this, we aren't professionals, nor is this being run like a real business. Maids not being able to show up, being late, etc. isn't a real secret, and to me, letting the other maids know is more important than keeping it a secret. 99% sure, that person was me or mizuki letting me know. As Jun said, we didn't expect this many people based on prior numbers/years, so we were already under staffed, and having two maids unable to show up due to personal reasons was a big hit to us. I know this isn't the most professional nor proper way, but it did serve as a small excuse as to why things may have been slow.
Our host maid (I couldn't read the tags very well because they were adorable and in pen and I'm blind) seated us at a small table. I couldn't quite understand this. There were bigger tables open, and we got seated at a table that had us bumping knees, save for the fact that two of my companions were petite.
IIRC you said you had a party of 4. The larger tables were supposed to be for parties that were greater than 4, unless all other tables were full, in which case a smaller party would have been brought to a larger table, but in this case the party would be asked if other small parties in line would be able to also be seated with them. Some people really enjoyed this, and although no one denied, I'm sure many would prefer to only be seated with their party. Unfortunately, those are the only two table sizes we are able to work with, a slightly larger table than the small ones would be nice, but that isn't our call(or in our capability to make).
The server maid came by with the tray of food, which was just about as big as the table. She was very softspoken and for the space that we were in, and the fact that I was NEXT to her, I couldn't hear her very clearly. I know that there isn't much we can do about food serving, but the big cafeteria tray was terrible. I would rather have her do several trips with a cuter tray or at least a smaller one. Her words were also hurried with her goshujin-sama and ojou-samas. It may have been for her moe-type though. After she dropped off the food, she went off, and we enjoyed our meal. But she didn't come back...
Ah, personalities. The trays, again we hold little control over, maybe next year now that we may have a bigger budget maybe something can be done, but i personally doubt it. The maids were taught to let the guests have time to eat before they interact with them. Most people feel vulnerable/embarrassed when they eat, so having a maid around at this time is usually the opposite affect of what is desired.
During this time we were able to observe the cafe. In the actual cafe itself, there were plenty of maids. By the tables, there were 3 maids. Generally, we are paying not for the food, but for the maid atmosphere. Most of the maid atmosphere was centralized around maids at the photo area and hanging around the host desk. It is understandable to have one server maid to a table, but having idle maids wander the tables area would be nice... Rather than only being able to see them doing the "maid harem photoshoot." After observing all this, we were wondering where our server maid was. She showed up again, apologized for the wait, then cleared our plates. Having trained for a maid style cafe before, I was wondering where all the bowing and curtsying was. There wasn't even really a quick bob of a curtsy from either of our maids.
This is where I question things. Having multiple maids wander and "take over tables" is questionable. We generally don't want this because it causes conflicts in where a maid should be and what they should do. I'm curious... where did you train for? As far as I know, no maid cafe has come even close in terms of interaction with their customers compared to this one, but if you could give some insight, it would help. Bowing and curtsying is dependent on the type. Curtsying is actually really against how a maid should act, because curtsying is a sign of respect in terms of equal. You curtsy in respect to an equal and they respond in the similar fashion(curtsying if they are female, bowing if they are male), so I wonder who taught you this. A maid curtsying is actually quite insulting to a master, it belittles their position as a master, and a maid only bows when they are beginning or ending their presence with their master, unless their master is expecting it, or if a maid makes a mistake causing them to be in an apologetic form (if you want to question my knowledge in this, please feel free to do so, but this is based on my experience and research on maids through out history and current service).
I'm starting to figure out the time you were there, because I only mimiced the maid performance for 2 of the mini performances and I'm starting to figure out which person you are. If my deduction is right, I'd give a longer reply for a more specific reasoning.
Determined to create a better experience for ourselves, we stuck around the cafe, noting differences from the years before and idle chatter. Lucky us, the maids did a little dance performance for the cafe (though it was more entertaining to watch the music cue guy doing a mock of the dance from the floor.) Our maid was in the performance, and did not return for quite a while after and asked if we wanted to take a picture with the maids. One of our group accepted and off he went. I'm also used to taking only a picture with your personal maid, or requesting a maid for a picture. Sending all the maids for a photo takes the maids away from the cafe itself as well, thus the loss of the atmosphere.
Being the cue person, and the director of the maids, I only pulled maids to take a photo *IF* they were currently not attending to someone. I trust my maids, and their judgment, so if you are questioning whether I pulled maids away from the cafe itself, I certain did not, and I honestly find it insulting that you are accusing me of that. IIRC the time you were at the cafe, there were more maids than we expected, BUT they all showed up at the same time, so the current tables were set as to who was attending, but there was an actual excess of maids on site itself. *IF* this is the case (and I'm fairly certain it is based on what was said) then I do not fault my maids at all. Each one did exactly as they were shown in that they shouldn't intrude on a party that already exists unless I or the serving maid asked to do so, and that free maids are to help out how they see fit. Seeing that I trust my maids, I think they maid the right decisions.
Finally, he comes back and our maid asks if we would like to play any games. Having sat enough at the cafe, we declined (plus there was no room to play!) Our maid escorted us out of the cafe, and murmured something along of thanks and come again? She was very quiet about her speech, though I was fairly sure she was not a shy person. I think a different maid persona would have suited her better.
And this I actually find insulting to our maids. You seem to believe you have a grasp as to their personalities. Personas were not asked of our maids, and in reality the maids were told to act a certain, but be themselves. To insult someone as to say their personality was not their own... is very irritating, not only to me, but very much so to the maid. It may not have been that they were shy(at this point, I'm fairly certain I know which group you belonged to as well as which maid you are talking about). Luckily the maid in question isn't easily insulted, but a few of our maids are semi-sensitive and may have been hurt by your words that her "persona" was fake because she has a soft voice.
It seemed that the most attentive areas of the cafe were the photo area, and the large tables, where you could comfortably play a game or draw with your maid. But it just seemed like you would come to the cafe to take a picture with your own maid harem.
I apologize if I do seem harsh, but I look at the cafe from restaurant serving experience, maid experience, and experiences at other maid style cafes (mostly con run).
I'm curious as to your other experiences at maid style cafe, seeing that I've been to many, as well as actual pay ones in established areas. In terms of restaurant serving experience, what is allowed and how things work in terms of food service is limited, and as legitimate as many complaints are in this field, really, there isn't anything allowed due to circumstances and established rules made by the convention center itself.
My companions agreed that if the maid had taken our order, returned with the order, came back to check on us (games/photo-op), and finally escort us out, we would have been satisfied. Taking our order at the table requires her to come back to check up on us, which would ideally give us more "maid time." There were enough maids to cover one or even two to each table, so guests should not feel neglected. My company definitely felt neglected, and there were no maids wandering by the tables to satisfy our eyes.
Based on what you said, I find this statement complete and utter bull shit. You state rather clearly that a maid not only served you, but checked up on you, asked you to play games, attempted to talk to you, cleaned up your table... but you state you were neglected? Either your not truthful in what you said earlier, or you stated something incorrectly.
I am perhaps a little harsh on the maid service as well, since I suppose I was trained in a more extreme form of maid service (ie. kneeling, tea service, cooling service.) More fantasy style I suppose... like "Maid in Akihabara" rather than most maid cafes in Japan where they are simply your server in costume. But seeing how it's Fanime, I would kinda expect a more personal time with the maids, and more of the fan service ideal.. I'm NOT suggesting anything lewd though! ^.^
And here I question your "training" once again. I've attended maid cafes before in Japan. I have friends that regular them, as well I know the rules and regulations of the convention. Maid in Akihabara is actually a TERRIBLE TERRIBLE example of what a maid cafe realistically is. But I'm deathly curious at this point as to what you were trained, by whom, and for what.
I've come to realize that there are extremes in what a "maid cafe" is to most American attendees. There are those that have no clue what one is like, and expect nothing more than someone in a costume, and those that believe in extreme of what a "maid cafe is" and put unrealistic standards on what they THINK a cafe depicts. I know I'm not alone in this, as the cafe had multiple JP guests inform us that their expectations of a maid cafe were far surpassed, as they frequent JP maid cafes in Akiba, and the amount of time and effort per maid were far more than they ever experienced in Japan.
Just for reference, Maid in Akihabara depicted 3 maids with about... 5 customers total in a shop that was known for having regulars. At any given time, there were more than 30 people in the maid cafe, with about 10 maids actually working tables, not including the hostess and the head maid (if you couldn't tell, I love numerical analyzation and efficiency analyzation).
While I agree that maids weren't completely proficient with how they spent their time, there wasn't enough of a down time to where I would say any maid NEGLECTED any table, and your words in this post sway more on my side than yours. While I love criticism, to me it just sounds like you didn't like that a maid didn't completely wait on you, and spend all her time with you, which is actually *NOT* what a maid cafe is about. It's about comfort. As far as I can tell, our maid did everything she was supposed to, and you really weren't happy with that based on a false presumption you have on what a "maid cafe should be". I don't hold it against you, but I think you're basing your thoughts on something only on presumptions.
