As inflation continues to gnaw away at Singapore consumers, we’ve become more sensitive to the changing prices of our food.
This is especially true when dining from hawker stalls, as they’re expected to provide affordable fare.
So when a customer was reportedly charged S$1 extra for his chicken at a food court cai png stall, he had to find out why.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
He was told it was because he had chosen the “biggest piece” of chicken.
The customer in question was a retiree named only as Mr Long, who had gone to Singapore General Hospital (SGH) for medical treatment, he told Shin Min Daily News.
On 27 Feb, the 70-year-old decided to eat lunch at the hospital’s Kopitiam food court before his admission.
He ordered a cai png meal comprising fish, chicken and steamed egg with minced meat.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
Mr Long noticed that the prices of every dish were clearly stated on signs next to each tray. The chicken he ordered was labelled as costing S$3.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
However, when he checked his receipt, he noticed that his S$3 chicken was listed as “pork chop” instead. There was also an extra charge of S$1.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
When he asked the staff about it, they told them the S$1 charge was because he’d chosen the “biggest piece” of chicken.
At the time, he decided not to make a fuss about it as he was in a rush.
The more he thought about it later, however, the more uncomfortable he felt.
After all, there was no indication at the stall that there was an extra charge for a bigger piece of meat.
Besides, the staff chose the meat for him, he reasoned, and he didn’t think there was any significant difference in size.
While eating, he observed another customer also seeking clarification from the stall.
Apparently, the woman’s helper also ordered chicken but was charged S$4, and her receipt showed that she ordered two pieces of fish instead.
The staff told her that the cashier system didn’t include all the dishes, so they just keyed in items with similar prices.
When Mr Long took a photo of the prices at the stall, the staff took away the signs, he claimed.
However, several photos of the stall on Google Maps show that they have clearly labelled prices for most dishes.
Source: Google Maps
Upon enquiries from Shin Min, the stall told the paper that Mr Long had received chicken breast meat, which is larger.
If he’d bought a chicken drumstick, he would’ve been charged S$3.
They added that the stall would sell only drumsticks in future to prevent misunderstandings.
After Mr Long brought the matter up with Kopitiam, they promised that the extra charge would be refunded, he said.
The food court operator also told Shin Min that the stall had already refunded the customer.
A spokesman said they expect their tenants to uphold standards of professionalism and honesty.
Thus, they expressed their disappointment to the tenant and will take necessary action against practices that go against their contract.
The company also wishes to reassure customers that no dishonest practices will be tolerated, and tenants are expected to serve customers with honesty and integrity.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News.
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