Customer upset after kway chap stall refuses to sell him third bowl of ‘kway’
A customer got upset after the stall owner of a kway chap stall in West Coast Food Centre refused to sell him a third bowl of kway (flat rice noodles).
The hawker explained that this was due to them not wanting to run out of kway to go with the other braised ingredients.
He added that customers might not buy the surplus ingredients if they ran out of kway.
Kway chap stall refuses extra order of kway
Mr Huang (surname transliterated from Chinese), 58, told Shin Min Daily News that he bought a serving of kway chap from a stall in West Coast Food Centre last Sunday (14 Sept) afternoon.
Photos shared by Mr Huang showed a plate of braised dish, a bowl of rice, and a bowl of kway.
Source: Shin Min Daily News
“Later, the more I ate, the angrier I became. After I finished the bowl of kway and rice, I still had some braised ingredients left, so I went back to the stall to demand an explanation.”
He said the owner eventually agreed to sell him an extra bowl of kway but told him it was a one-time exception.
“The stall owner told me that if I continued like this in the future, I shouldn’t bother coming back. I feel his attitude was wrong.”
Stall prepares fixed portion of kway daily
Speaking to Shin Min Daily News, the stall owner recalled the customer asking for an extra bowl of kway.
“We allow each kway chap set to have only two bowls of rice or kway, or one of each. Three servings are not allowed.”
He explained that the stall prepares a fixed daily portion of kway to go with the ingredients prepared each day.
“If everyone orders extra bowls of kway, only the braised ingredients would be left, and no one would buy them.”
The stall owner said the customer was very “emotional” at the time, and he complied with his request to avoid an argument.
“I told him that if he wants to buy three servings of staples with one kway chap set, he should go to another stall, as it’s our rule.”
Exceptions made for special cases
The stall owner said that although they limit a kway chap set to a maximum of two staples, they can make exceptions in special cases.
For cases where the customer is a senior or someone “really in need”, he is willing to sell extra or even offer it for free.