When people go out to eat with a bunch of friends, they may like to share food so everyone can enjoy a taste.
However, they might also want to be mindful of stallholders’ difficulties if they expect to get extra tableware to split the food.
Recently, customers of a dessert shop in Ang Mo Kio asked for five extra bowls when they ordered two bowls of dessert.
Source: Lim Foo Choong on Facebook
When refused, they allegedly screamed at the auntie running the stall.
The incident was shared in the Hawkers United – Dabao 2020 Facebook group.
In a Facebook post on Friday (10 Mar), the OP, Mr Lim, identified himself as the owner of a dessert stall at a hawker centre in Ang Mo Kio, but didn’t name his stall.
During the incident on the same day, his assistant — whom he calls “auntie” — was manning the stall.
It all started when a woman, who was part of a group of diners, ordered two bowls of dessert from his stall.
Their order came up to S$3.60.
Source: Xunliang Lin on Flickr. Photo for illustration purposes only.
However, she asked for an extra empty bowl and also helped herself to many disposable spoons, considering she was with a group.
Later, someone from the same group came over and asked for four more bowls.
However, the auntie refused this request and suggested they buy takeaway bowls from them at S$0.20 each.
Unfortunately, the group responded by allegedly creating a scene that “involved screaming”, Mr Lim said.
He claimed they stood in front of the stall for a few minutes and “shamed” the auntie.
According to him, one of the things they said was, “没人这样做生意的!” (“Nobody does business like that!”).
The group also allegedly demanded the phone number of the person in charge, he said, adding,
(They) give a twisted version of the incident and threaten we will be “famous”.
In an interview with 8days.sg, Mr Lim, 43, said he wasn’t around then, and the customers called him later.
He added that they gave a “twisted version” of what happened, claiming that the auntie refused to provide them with a bowl but neglecting to say that she already gave them one extra bowl and they wanted four more.
They also allegedly threatened to make his stall “famous” on social media.
The stall owner, who got the full story from auntie, said the group comprised young adults in their 30s, and had both men and women.
He declined to name his stall for fear of reprisal from the group in question.
In his Facebook post, Mr Lim explained why the group was denied four extra bowls.
He has “limited space” to store bowls and spoons, having only two containers to store used bowls that are returned.
Due to such restrictions, they can only wash their bowls after closing.
Thus, it’s likely that they may run out of bowls for the day and be forced to give out takeaway bowls.
This will cut their profits, especially since the average selling price for one of their desserts is just S$1.80.
So for the group that ordered just S$3.60 worth of desserts, giving them five extra bowls meant they’d have to wash a total of seven bowls for S$3.60.
Hence, Mr Lim wrote the Facebook post to share the difficulties of operating a stall and the hidden costs that customers may not know about.
He urged customers to be reasonable when requesting extra items like chopsticks, chilli, bowls, saucers and plates.
He said they should take what they need and request only what is reasonable.
Worse still, the “bullying” hawkers face is “depressing”, he added.
Singaporeans are known to be demanding customers, and many may feel it’s their right to make requests since they’re paying.
However, it’s always good to be understanding of the difficulties that F&B operators and workers face and be aware that there’s usually a good reason for any refusal.
Above all, there’s no harm in being kinder and more reasonable in all our interactions with others.
Have news you must share? Get in touch with us via email at news@mustsharenews.com.
Featured image adapted from Eatbook.
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