Eateries may impose a surcharge for various reasons, some of which have been controversial enough to make the news.
A restaurant in Outram, for instance, charged customers with “screaming children”, allegedly for the sake of fellow patrons and to protect its business.
For a coffee shop located at the junction of Beach Road and Aliwal Street, the manager recently introduced a S$10 surcharge on outside food and drinks.
Source: Shin Min Daily News on Facebook
His reasoning was that customers bringing in their own food and drinks will affect business.
In addition to that, some diners allegedly had the habit of leaving behind the food that they brought from somewhere else.
Shin Min Daily News reported that the sign was plastered all over the walls and columns of Luk Lu Eating House when a journalist paid a visit.
Source: Google Maps
According to the manager Richard, he frequently saw people come in with their own takeaway coffees in his five to six years of running the establishment.
“We sell our own coffee and toast, so this would affect our business,” the 66-year-old man said.
He added that some would even leave without cleaning up their leftovers after they finish eating.
He recalled an incident where only one person in a group of diners ordered from the shop.
The rest brought food from outside, which he deemed “unreasonable”.
Fortunately for him, fewer people have apparently been doing so since the sign went up a month ago.
In fact, he has not even had to impose the surcharge once so far.
For customers who have attempted to do so, Richard said they will usually comply once his staff point out the sign.
Despite being located in a tourist area, staff claim that foreigners aren’t the ones who exhibit such behaviour.
A customer interviewed by Shin Min Daily News said he did not understand why some people would bring outside food to the kopitiam, which already sells food.
Another interviewee said it wasn’t right for customers to occupy seats without ordering food.
An anonymous hawker, meanwhile, deemed the sign a good move as it could prevent disputes if staff were to tell customers off.
Since the kopitiam is a private business establishment, a practising lawyer told Shin Min Daily News that both the owner and operator can rightfully set their own regulations.
He also pointed out that it was no different from restaurants imposing a corkage fee on customers, which is perfectly legal.
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Featured image adapted from Shin Min Daily News on Facebook and Google Maps.
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