SINGAPORE: A man was not too pleased when the cai fan or economy rice he ordered was not so economical. He was asked to pay an additional $1 for one more piece of tau kwa.
In a post on COMPLAINT SINGAPORE on Tuesday (Jan 28), the netizen wrote that he had bought his cai fan at Bishan Bus Interchange. In addition to the $1 Chinese New Year surcharge, he paid $1 for fried noodles with egg.
However, when he asked for another piece of taw kwa, the stall staff charged him another $1.
Though the post author did not identify the stall where he bought his economy rice, he posted a photo of a sign at the stall stating that from Jan 28 to 31 (Tuesday to Friday), the stall would charge an additional $1 per plate or box, presumably as a surcharge that is not uncommon for this time of year.
Many believe these surcharges are justified, given that staff who come to work on public holidays must be paid more. Due to high demand, some raw materials, including food items, may also become more pricey during this time.
Nevertheless, the Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) said that it received nine complaints last year over CNY surcharges, CNA reported on Monday (Jan 27). In contrast, there were only six in 2023 and four in 2022.
The report added that CASE is asking vendors to be direct with consumers about surcharges, which can be as high as 30% for various services, such as manicures, pedicures, and car washes.
At least the vendor in the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE post had done just that: inform would-be diners that they would be paying more this week.
Nevertheless, many commenters agreed with the post author that the charge for tau kwa was too high.
“Another $1 for tau kwa is ridiculous,” one commenter opined. Others who felt that the stall owner was overcharging the post author said the stall, and others who did the same, should be boycotted.
Another Facebook user pointed out that this surcharge is not implemented in fast food joints. “Plain profiteering that anyone can avoid. I go to fast food outlets without any additional charges during this holiday.
It is within your call to make the decision,” they wrote. /TISG
Read also: ‘Festival Surcharge 10%, but CNY hasn’t even started!’ — Singaporeans shocked by customer’s receipt