Prinsep Street BBQ Restaurant Charges Customers For Chopsticks
With Covid-19 restrictions, dining out has become a luxury of sorts. One great perk of enjoying a meal out is not having to worry about the washing of cutleries and additional costs dabao-ing food might entail.
However, when a 26-year-old lady was paying her bill at a barbecue restaurant along Prinsep Street, she discovered that each chopstick cost her 50 cents.
She found it strange and relayed the incident to her mother, who felt that the charges were unfair.
Now, her mother is considering filing a complaint to the Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE).
Prinsep Street restaurant charges 50 cents for chopsticks
After work on 6 Nov, the lady and her colleague dined at a barbecue restaurant along Prinsep Street.
When she was settling the bill, she found that she was being charged separately for chopsticks.
According to Shin Min Daily News, each chopstick set costs 50 cents, amounting to $1 for the 2 of them.
Both the lady and her colleague were surprised at the additional cost. But seeing as they were left with little choice, they paid the bill.
Mother considers filing complaint with CASE
When she returned home, she shared the story with her mother. Similarly, her mother was puzzled by the extra charges for utensils.
“After all, when you order takeaways, chopsticks and spoons are all free,” she said.
The restaurant provided a set of cutleries that included a pair of chopsticks, a spoon, a tissue, and a toothpick. Customers cannot refuse these cutleries separately.
To her, it was outrageous to have to pay for them, adding that it felt like a forceful expense.
She is now considering lodging a CASE complaint against the restaurant.
Restaurant says imported chopsticks are high quality
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, Mr Lee, a staff at the barbecue restaurant, explained that the disposable wooden chopsticks are specially imported from China. He added that they are high-end chopsticks.
The restaurant had moved to Prinsep Street in August. Before this, they provided cutleries for free but Mr Lee explained that those were more typical chopsticks.
It was only after a recent expansion in September that they upgraded and started providing the set of cutleries to customers. Each set is priced at 50 cents.
If customers accidentally drop their chopsticks, staff will provide them with a new one for free.
Mr Lee added that whenever customers ask about the extra charge, the staff would explain. He said they had not received any complaints to date.
Hope restaurant will be upfront about additional charges
People often dine out for a good meal that’s fuss-free.
Though the restaurant owner had good intentions in providing high-quality utensils, this wasn’t communicated clearly to customers at the start.
Hopefully, the restaurant will be upfront about the charges to avoid such an incident again.
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Featured image adapted from Facebook and Shin Min Daily News.
