Hello, I'm at Your Service (2023)

Cute but couldn't avoid cliches

"Hello I'm at your service" is a lovely office romance that is both binge-able and cringey. One of those sweet, sugary dramas that we get every year from China but it still has some elements that you would enjoy. For me, it was a unique CEO male lead and the concept of your workplace being your family.

Our ceo male lead, Lou Yuan (Miles Wei) appears like a cold, aloof, very typical at first but he is rather friendly and nice. He is not a total introvert either. Behind this perfect ceo is a down to earth, frugal guy who dotes on the female lead.

Contrasting to him is the female lead, Dong Dong En (Xu Lu) who is quirky and efficient at her work. As a customer service representative she is good at flattering people too. She is just too smart and knows how to talk through her way.

She works for a small company called Ba-Er (Eighty two studio) which has less employees but they all are like family members who go through hardships together. An amusing company which barely makes any money but stays up for nights to meet the client's requirements. The founders are like elders of the family where an employee is casual enough to nag or stare at the boss. They even dine together daily. Her bonding with them was one of the parts I loved in the drama.

Now coming up to what took 2 stars away. Its the stereotypes of a Chinese Romcom. You get a CEO, rich ML- poor FL story (which gladly is the main highlight here although they presented a very healthy relationship since Lou Yuan was not domineering and rather understanding), you also get a bitchy childhood lover out of nowhere (with zero self respect obviously), a toxic Ex (who you wish could die bald, many might enjoy this arc tho becoz I laughed a lot at the end).

But anyone watching this for the romantic story wouldn't get bored for sure. Along with these adorable leads we also get two second lead couples who have interesting stories going on parallely.

And all throughout this drama one thing you can definitely learn is how to butter up people. Like no one here is talking in a sane way without adding compliments. Its so cheesy at some scenes but its funny too. Comedy makes this drama light and an easy watch.

Overall, it was quite a mid, okayish drama that you can binge watch over a weekend or keep as a side dish for a strong ongoing angsty historical you're watching.

Sweet, a lot cliche yet fun!

Read More

More gifworthy than watchworthy...

This is the story of the highly annoying customer service expert who attracts the attention of a kind overbearing slightly aloof CEO, because honestly is there any other kind of CEO in drmaland? And goes on a journey filled with second hand embarrassment and scheming, scheming as far as the first 7 or 8 episodes reach there will be scheming. When we finally get a break from the scheming we get some pretty decent romantic gestures, friendships a and a bunch of steamy kisses... After that we get some more scheming... before they call it a day and the drama comes to its end.

Was this good? Nope,
Was it bad? Nope,
Will I remember this drama in a month? Probably not.

But it did make way for some really good gifs!

Read More

Annoying and good to have fastforward button

This will be short review and is maybe just me.
I started with some kind of goodwill and wanted to have a fluffy romance watch. I fast forwarded 80% of it. Nothing new, the actress is really annoying, or her character. In adult world nobody is doing business like that. Take the client to the hotel to find your friend cheating boyfriend, you kidding right? Cheap lines - like this is branded clothes, and do you know how much it cost? ... OMG. Ex boyfriend coming and doing business with you (with FL company), give me a break... He loves her so much, but by the end he sleeps in another woman house? Is this Thai lakorn? If a man gets so drunk and doesn't know how and where he got after, AVOID such love. He didn't cheat, but the feeling he was dragged by another woman in her house, left me puzzled and super annoyed. So this is my review full of frustration. Sorry lovers of this drama.

Read More

Gets better and better BUT..........

The first thing that I want to say about this drama is do not judge/drop this drama just by watching the first two episodes. Only in episode 3 or episode 4 you will get a better understanding of the drama and you will start to like it. I think few people will agree with me regarding this matter. If you feel that the first two episodes are great and did not get bored while watching the first two episodes then you might even give this drama a 10 on 10.

Then again the story isn't anything new, we have seen this kind of "rich ML" and "hardworking FL". But the actors tried to make up for it. Well, yes! even though the story is something that is very common there are few elements in the drama that are quite refreshing like the ML's mother's character and the SML's character. But this drama is not boring at all. It is such an enjoyable drama even though there are minor flaws.

The acting is good and yes, we all agree Miles Wei is an amazing actor and he nailed it in this drama as well. I am not a big fan of FL character acting immature and being all cute(except for Esther Yu LOL). So I just can;t say that I liked Xu Lu's acting. But I respect people who think differently, well end of the day it is just a matter of interest. But I felt that except for Miles Wei and SML everyone else could have done better. The leads have great chemistry!! And one thing i can't stop talking about is the healthiest relationship b/w the leads. A big thumps up to the team for the relationship portrayal.

And here we enter to the most commonest and cringe part of the story ML's friend who tries to intrude into the leads relationship. But who can do anything when our leads have the strongest bond hahahaha. So yeah, I would like to say that even if you don't watch this drama it's not like you are missing out on something but if you:

->are a fan of Miles Wei
->are a fan of Rich and Smart ML and Cute FML
->are a fan of good chemistry b/w the leads
->have nothing new to watch
->want to watch something that is not complicated.

Then yes this drama is for you...GO WATCH IT :)

PS - Nothing new but Enjoyable.

Read More

cute, but got boring in the end

This will be a short review, cuz there isn't much to say about this cdrama

if i'm being honest, i only decided to watch this cdrama because of Miles (Zhe Ming). I don't really like Xu Lu's acting (I'm basing it on her dramas that I've watched, but I have nothing against her, she looks sweet and gentle).

And the drama is actually quite interesting. FL is a hard-working, creative, and a determined woman, who is not afraid to move heaven and sea to achieve her goals. She is very admirable.

ML is the typical role that Miles usually plays (he needs to change a little, choose different characters), although I think this time, he is a more mature and charming character than the usual.

Despite these interesting points and the fact that it is an office romance, which is one of my favorite tropes, this cdrama failed to be a good experience for me.

Due to the excess of clichés that I already know after watching so many Chinese series and combined with the tepid and boring last chapters, this cdrama became another forgettable one among the many we saw this year.

Furthermore, I really liked the friendships in this drama. I really LOVE that the FL managed to have male friends without the cliché of them being in love with her. Thank god the writers discovered that men and women can, in fact, be friends.

Read More

Decent rom-com for fans of Xu Lu and Miles Wei

Subjective Gut Rating - 7.75

For the most part, “Hello, I’m at Your Service” is a fun and light drama. The best part about is the chemistry and the romance between Dong Dong En (FL) and Lou Yan (ML) and their story is the central plot. Mixed with this fun romance are the business side of things and the relationships of the different characters. Not a serious business drama, so don't be deterred if you don't like business stories.

Main Leads:
As mentioned, Xu Lu and Miles Wei have great chemistry together. They make this drama watchable with their acting and the healthy relationship that they have. Dong Dong En is an account executive that would do anything to please her customer, Party A. Whatever Party A wants and at any time of the day, she delivers. Miles Wei is a typical C-drama CEO. He was cool and calm in the beginning but slowly evolved into a great, warm and adorable love interest and boyfriend. Their fun interaction in the first half of the drama creates a lot of comedic moments (which to some might be a little over-the-top). But if you just go with the ride, you can see Xu Lu and Miles Wei have a lot of fun playing their respective roles. Once they get together, Lou Yuan is especially cute and adorable. They have honest and open communication. Lou Yuan is one of the rare CEOs who openly declares his love in sincerity to everyone, expresses his feelings and always says the right thing (though his words don’t always touch my heart for some reason). He’s the perfect boyfriend. Dong Dong En, on the other hand, is a little more reserved in this relationship and yet she’s the one with the supposedly bigger personality. She’s more cautious because of the disparity of their social status and their business relationship. She’s the one in the driver’s seat in the relationship. It’s been a long time since I saw such a dynamic in a romantic comedy, and I appreciate that.

Supporting Cast:
I enjoy the side story between Wang Zi Jian and Cao Ya. It’s nothing earth shattering because we’ve seen such second lead romance in many romantic comedies. However, it’s nice to see a pair of successful individuals get together when one is a supposedly playboy and the other is an independent, career woman. The different characters at both companies, Peony and 82, are fun and endearing. There isn’t anyone too annoying and most of them are very supportive and caring individuals. ML’s mom is fun and loud. FL’s parents are caring yet protective, but not too unreasonable. At least we have nice parents in a C-drama. The ‘villain’ is OK. The character is not very well developed as a ‘villain’ but I can understand the animosity towards the leads. The only side character I couldn’t stand was introduced towards the last ¼ of the drama. Let’s say she was introduced to cause trouble for our main couple, since everything is going so swimmingly well and we just need drama.

Acting:
Xu Lu and Miles Wei really have no trouble playing their respective roles. These are not difficult characters to play and they are both very experienced actors. Their performances are to be expected. Everyone else did their job right. I would not say there’s anyone that stands out for me to praise, nor anyone that stands out for me to criticize.

Business Plot:
If you don’t like business stories, this drama isn’t too bad. A lot does happen at the two companies, but business talks are minimal and not difficult to understand. The stories revolve mainly around the characters and their relationships in the business world. But towards the last ¼ of the drama, the business plot does kick up a notch to wrap up the ‘villain’s’ story. I was actually quite bored during this part of the drama and might have fallen asleep a little. For a 24-episode drama, the pacing is good right until the very end for me when I lose my focus. This is partly due to the business plot and the introduction of a character I don’t care for. But compared to recent office romance dramas, the romance is central to this drama, and not the business.


Overall, I would recommend this drama if you are fans of Xu Lu and Miles Wei, or if you are looking for something light and funny. The comedy might be a little too much for some in the beginning with Xu Lu’s character. But it tones down after a while. “Hello, I’m at Your Service” is not an exceptional drama and definitely not a must-watch. I have a good enough time watching this, except towards the end when I got a little bored and distracted. Because of this, I am rating this a 7.75 instead of a solid 8.0.



Completed: 10/6/2023 - Review #363

Read More

Pleasantly very good

These are things that I find very pleasant about this drama that you might also.
1. The chemistry of the leads. I’ve seen both artists works in their rom-coms and they are among my favorites. They are so natural here. Thank goodness there’s not a lot of push and pull in their eventual come together. It’s actually quite mature and once committed, their screen displays are so sweet.
2. Story of small business development versus big isn’t new. It’s about dreams to stand out on own ideas and hard work. That development may be the gist of the storyline but it’s good enough to give us a look at the people. The side stories of the people around the leads adds are sweet and complex that adds flavor.
3. The “intruders” are not too complicated. You have the dramas where you’re seething from beginning to end practically. Not here. It’s very mild but you gotta have some hiccups somewhere right?

Who needs more complications when we have enough in our lives. If you’re looking for a drama that keeps you attentive to what’s next in each episode, especially in seeing a healthy beautiful relationship, then this is a good one to watch. Well, there are two more episodes during this writing but I’m convinced it’s a done deal drama. Give it a chance and I believe you will be pleasantly satisfied.

Update*********done with! As I predicted, to the end it’s very satisfying. Enjoy.

Read More

Respect while Learning to Love

This series gives an aire that it is never safe to assume. The ML and FL had very good chemistry. The secondary couple were cute and their part didn't take over the storyline. The writing was good at weaving the challenges of business and family relations. Somethings we have seen before. However, it is always refreshing to have a ML that is solid in his determination to be with FL and protecting their union as well. The FL was good at showing the conflict of striving for better while navigating unnecessary criticism and conflicts. This is a very cute romcom that's worth the watch.

Read More

Nothing new

Drama was same like any other drama which was based on Boss and his secretary or Boss and his employee. In starting of such dramas the boss gets irritate with his secretary's work or by her behaviour and slowly slowly starting care her . Here little change in the story she was neither his employee not secretary in starting , circumstances made her work for him . She has her advertisement company so she had tie up with male lead's company . In starting their views never matched but he had a past story with her so sometimes he had soft corner towards her and then gradually he fell in love. Then some problem had been created in their life so there was turn in their love story but he gradually solve the issues and there after happy ending.
Though I enjoy watching love stories but this drama bored me a lot .

Read More

Light-hearted sweet romance drama

This is Light-hearted sweet romance drama.
I like their company plots is based on “authentic sauces” manufacturers.
main actor miles Wei is always good looking and handsome with glasses and formal outfits / long coats. That is main reason of watching this drama:)
Main leads are really good in chemistry. The actor miles Wei is always good in acting, especially his eyes’ expressions are always perfect. His eyes look are kind and Humble but he can act really well in different rich boss characters (for example: unforgettable love and this drama). Although both characters are rich boss, there are different personalities in each character..

Overall, it is quite enjoyable and sweet romantic drama.

Read More

Hello, I’m At Your Service is a light romantic comedy within customer service work place setting. The drama is full of likable characters and the leading couple, for the most part, has very good chemistry. Although there is a business plot in the drama and it is presented with business related difficulties and antagonists trying to get the business down, the main plot is the leading’s couple relationship. Dong Dong En and Lou Yuan is a very compatible couple in matters of intelligence and wits, but sometimes, the rich guy-poor girl cliché mentality gets in the way of the relationship flow. It doesn’t take long to be resolved but it gets a little bit tiring to think of throwing a working relationship away because of insecurities. Even though at some point it is repetitive, their love for each other is stronger than the supposed impossibilities and they keep working to make their romantic relationship work. Overall, the drama is nice and entertaining for the most part. Enjoy it!

Read More