Since my original posting (see below), Tim sent me an email apologizing and offering to make up for my poor experience. I am very impressed by his quick response and personal approach (although my response to him was less prompt). He also informed me that they will be talking to the manager to pass on instructions. All in all, a very professional yet friendly manner in dealing with an awkward situation. I'm very satisfied and have changed my rating accordingly (from 1 to 3 stars)....thank you, Tim

Original Posting

Beware your bill!

The last 4 times I have been to O'Reilly's, they have twice added an extra beer to my bill that was never ordered. Both times, it was a young chinese fellow with decent English (the bar manager, I believe) who tried to argue the point and was quite resistant to change the bill, providing a number of reasons and excuses that were not relevant to the situation. I don't know if this is a mere mistake or if something more pernicious is occurring. My gut reaction from these experiences is the latter, as the particulars of each encounter raised my hackles in how it was dealt with. Good beer, descent food, good atmosphere, but very hesitant to return.

How to get there: The entrance is not very obvious. On the corner of Beijing Lu and YongAn Lu (which is under heavy construction right now), you can see a Construction Bank of China. You need to walk along YongAn Lu, going east on the north side of the street, past the bank. 20-30 meters later you will be able to turn left (north) into a very small courtyard-like pedestrian area. This area has another bank and modern storefronts on the left and leads to one door in the north (maybe 10-15 meters) with the number 155 beside it, which is your destination. There is a guard sitting by the door who will let you in. Go to the elevators, to the left, and go up to the 5th floor. Exit the elevators to the right and then left up to the end of the hall...very easy to find. Door 507.

Hours of Operation: On the door, it states that it is open from 9-12 and 2-6 Monday to Friday. Closed on the weekends.

Cost: A single entry, 30 day tourist visa costs 390 RMB for 2 day service. (I went in on the 29th and they said it would be ready on the 31, and as Dan said, I should pick it up around 5pm.) If you want 1 day service it costs an extra 100 RMB. I didn't ask about other types of visas.

Service: I got there Monday at 2:00 on the dot and they were about 8 minutes late opening the doors. There were 2 other people there waiting with me. I ask for a visa form and filled it out in the office. This identical form can be found on their website and can be printed and filled out beforehand. The gentleman behind the counter didn't appear to speak much English so we conversed in Chinese. I waited at the counter for him as he worked on the computer for about 5-8 minutes, which I thought was a little rude although he seemed nice enough. I gave him 400 RMB, but he didn't have any change and so wrote on my receipt to return 10 RMB to me when I pick up my passport (a bit strange that they don't have change). When we actually got the business at hand, it only took 3 minutes. He only looked at my name, passport number, and the type of visa I wanted on the application form. He glanced at the other information (workplace, contact, employment, etc.) to see it was filled out but that was it. He wrote the receipt and away I went.

Overall impression: Why did I give it 4 stars? Despite all the little complaints, the overall objective of getting a visa was easy and (relatively) quick. I haven't pick it up yet, but I can't see it being too much of a hassle besides waiting a bit. I'll add further information if I run into major issues, but otherwise feel the 4 stars is fair.