Customer in S’pore slams restaurant for S$2 CNY price hike on bee hoon, surcharge revealed only at payment

CNY price hike

Redditor says restaurant added CNY price hike without informing customers

On Sunday (26 Jan), a Redditor who dined at a restaurant shared on the r/askSingapore subreddit a shocking price hike of S$2 on a plate of bee hoon due to Chinese New Year (CNY).

According to them, the restaurant did not put up any notice before this.

“CNY restaurant mark up, is this NORMAL?” the OP asked in her post.

S$2 hike on a plate of bee hoon

The OP recounted her experience at the restaurant, saying the price markup was “insane”.

beehoon cny price hike

Source: Eat What Tonight, for illustration purposes only

The OP noted that the usual price for a plate of bee hoon was S$8.50. However, with the price hike, OP paid S$10.80 excluding GST and Service Charge.

This means the S$2 markup was on the dish alone.

Moreover, OP said that she only learned of the CNY price hike upon payment.

“I was not informed of the price mark up,” they said, adding that the restaurant did not put up any “notice or any information” regarding the price hike, and was only given the menu with no indication of the surcharge.

When asked, the staff at the restaurant said that their supplier had stopped working over the holidays, leaving the restaurant to “separately source” the ingredients. This allegedly led to the price hike.

“The mark up will end after CNY (all 15 days),” OP explained, adding that they dined at the restaurant on Saturday (25 Jan), meaning the CNY price hike would last 18 days in total.

Holidays leading to CNY surcharges in restaurants

Last week, Oriental Kopi, a popular chain restaurant in Malaysia hiked their service charge from 10%-15% but soon apologised to customers and scrapped the move after facing backlash.

White Restaurant price hikeSpo

Source: Singapore Atrium Sale, for illustration purposes only

Not only restaurants, but CNY goodies like bak kwa also increased their prices for the festive period.

Netizens express similar frustrations

Many netizens sympathised with the OP, with some users saying that they had also encountered the same issue when patronising the restaurant.

The OP replied to one comment saying that they would not go back to the restaurant after the “daylight robbery” experience.

White Restaurant price hike

Source: Reddit

A few users also said that it was uncommon for restaurants to upcharge their customers for the whole 15 days of CNY.

White Restaurant price hike

Source: Reddit

White Restaurant price hike

Source: Reddit

One user noted that it was “scammy” to upcharge their customers without any notice.

White Restaurant price hike

Source: Reddit

However, other netizens found the price hike normal. One user said that it was normal for suppliers to stop work due to manpower shortage, as they might spend their holiday in their home country.

White Restaurant price hike

Source: Reddit

Another user said that the price hike was completely normal even in Hong Kong. They advised avoiding eating out at restaurants during the festive period.

White Restaurant price hike

Source: Reddit

MS News has reached out to the restaurant in question for comments.

Also read: Tampines Restaurant Adds 10% Festive Surcharge, Customer Pays S$3 Extra For Order

 

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Featured image adapted from Eat What Tonight and RDNE Stock project on Pexels, for illustration purposes only.

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