Watching a train wreck...

I honestly don't know where to start, perhaps with this tidbit: I've been in Beijing a long time, so I know the usual misadventures in management that plague Beijing establishments; however, the staff at Molly's even surprised me with their utter lack of intellectual capacity, dangerously combined with management inaction/indifference/incompetence to ruin what had started out as a pleasant evening.

Firstly, yes things are overpriced, what can I say, welcome to restaurants that cater to the tourist crowd. Food was decent however when it did finally arrive. Ditto for the beer, although one wonders why in an nearly empty bar it takes 10-15 minutes to pour a draft beer...

No, the real trouble began when I called for my bill before the rest of my group was ready to leave. Naturally, when it comes perhaps 10 minutes later there was a problem, namely that some of my beers had been put onto a buddy's bill (some would not really consider this a problem, but rather a gift from above...), no problem, lets take a pen and cross that out there, add something here, fine, now go with my credit card and give me a fapiao. Like sheep they go en masse back to the bar, my mind playing with the question...do they get it? Ten minutes later without a bill in hand I have my answer and ask the manager about this, who rather than take charge of this, looked down the way and mumbled something or other and returned his attention to the dart game he was watching. Trudging down to the bar myself I am greeted by the sight of six, I kid you not, six staff standing around the credit card and fapaio machine. WTF people, this is not rocket science, it's not even a foreign credit card I gave you. Back to the manager, engrossed in the dart game, to ask why it takes 15 minutes and six staff to get my bill. Same reaction as before, to which another person kindly pointed out to him, that yes, he is the manager and shouldn't he be doing something? Like a scolded schoolboy he heads back to the bar and reappears with staff in tow with my bill. Asked again why it takes so long to prepare my bill, he simply shrugs and when I inform him I won't be coming around in the future he again shrugs. Total time from asking for bill to signing credit card receipt: 30 minutes, give or take.

Inaction/indifference/incompetence front and center. If it were not for the revolving door of hotel guests, Molly's would have long ago been shuttered.