SINGAPORE: A Singaporean recently stirred up debate online after saying he supports foreign-run food and beverage (F&B) outlets over local ones.
In a post on the r/SingaporeRaw subreddit, he pointed out how people often complain about the increasing number of foreign F&B brands popping up all over Singapore. But from his perspective, they actually bring “better food and service” to the table than most local places.
He then gave a few examples. One of them was CHAGEE, a popular chain selling Chinese-style milk tea. “CHAGEE — their milk tea is far superior to typical Sinkie brands, which often taste like cheap, overly sweetened syrup with zero innovation.”
Another favourite of his is Bahmi, a Vietnamese spot near his home that he says serves big portions of meat for just $7. He praised the value for money, the consistent quality, and the warm service. “The pretty Vietnamese girl at the counter always greets customers with a warm smile. It’s become my go-to breakfast place.”
He went on to criticise the service standards at many local establishments, saying that staff often come across as “moody or disengaged”.
“If you’ve travelled abroad often, you’d realise how underwhelming service in Singapore’s local F&B scene can be,” he continued.
“You’ll see middle-aged women or older aunties frowning as they serve, barely making eye contact. Some even display subtle passive-aggressive behaviour, like slamming your tray, mumbling under their breath, or giving a cold stare if you take too long to order. It’s as if you’re bothering them just by being there.”
“Hawker food used to be cheap and good; now most aren’t either.”
Unsurprisingly, the post drew mixed reactions. Some commenters agreed, saying that customer service in Singapore can be hit or miss and that foreign F&B brands do tend to “try harder” because they’re new and need to build a customer base.
One wrote, “Some of these foreign F&B provide better value, like free napkins, free-flow rice and sky juice. Most local estab charges for these and they add up.”
Another said, “Only Sinkies stuck in SG would buy into how wonderful the local food scene is. Maybe it used to be, but no longer. Hawker food used to be cheap and good; now most aren’t either. And I can’t think of a local F&B brand that is worth the hype.”
A third added, “Aside from f&b some stores can have really snobbish or rude af staff like idk what’s gotten into some of them.”
Others, however, pushed back. They pointed out that many so-called “local” F&B places actually hire foreign staff too, so blaming bad service on the fact that it’s a local brand isn’t exactly fair.
One commenter explained, “Most staffs are Malaysians and rarely they are locals. Anyway, not just our FnB is lacking in service even retail. You go to places like Miniso and similar shop the staff will walk away as you get closer to them and some pretend they are busy. I don’t expect them to acknowledge me, but as a customer, I will still be turned off by this behaviour.”
In other news, a jobseeker recently shared on Reddit that he had a strange and uncomfortable experience during the hiring process with a local SME.
Posting on the r/askSingapore forum on Wednesday (Jun 25), the jobseeker said the company asked him to bring his payslip to the very first interview, which already felt like a “red flag.” During the interview, the hiring manager also mentioned that overtime was “very normal” in their company, which added to his concerns.
But the biggest surprise came after the interview. The HR representative told the jobseeker that if another company offered him a higher salary, the SME would not proceed with the hiring. They also said that if he wanted a written offer, he would need to “verbally commit” first and reject all other job opportunities he was considering.
Featured image by Depositphotos (for illustration purposes only)