Customer gives 1-star Google review, calls Hokkien Mee hawker ‘money face’ for not giving extra plate
Since opening his popular Hokkien mee stall Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee in 2019, former Les Amis chef Xavier Neo has seen his share of unreasonable customers.
But the 47-year-old was riled up enough by a recent encounter that he posted about it on his stall’s Facebook page.
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“Beware of this unreasonable couple”
In his post which he has since deleted, Xavier wrote: “Dear F&B partners: Beware of this unreasonable couple. They packed food already and change mind still ask for two plates. Screaming at stall like a mad man [sic].”
Speaking to 8days.sg, Xavier explains that his customers, a man and a woman, had ordered two packets of Hokkien mee for takeaway, but later changed their mind and decided to dine in after the food was packed to go.
“The wife asked for a plate and we gave her a disposable plate for free. She then came back and asked for one more plate,” he recounts.
Customer “screaming and pointing fingers”
Things went south when Xavier’s wife Alice, who helps him at their stall, informed the woman that every additional plate requested would cost 10 cents each, which apparently displeased her dining companion.
Xavier elaborates: “The man came back and shouted angrily at Alice. He [said he] is a customer and he didn’t want a disposable plate — he wanted two [dine-in] plates. He was screaming and pointing fingers at my wife, although she was very calm. After he left, he wrote a Google review giving us one star. He said we were ‘money face’ and that we were rude.”
Hawker woes
According to Xavier, he started charging for extra plates and chilli after customers abused his no-charge policy.
“Many times we have customers ordering two plates of noodles and asking for five extra plates. Some buy a plate to share among four to five people, and get a big bunch of disposable cutlery. That’s why we paste a [charge notification] sign on our stall,” he says.
When he first opened his stall, Xavier did not charge customers who ask for extra chilli, but found that there was a lot of wastage. He recalls: “Some people were greedy. They would ask for more chilli but did not finish and threw it away. It's when they have to pay the 50 cents for chilli that they will appreciate it and finish it.”
He reckons that there is a “general perception that hawker food is low-cost” and people felt it was harmless to request for extra frills. “Costs are very very high now, and we are not first-generation hawkers who enjoy low rental. How to absorb everything? Customers always say give a little more. How to give when they always ask [for so much]?” he laments.
Still, Xavier and Alice faced aggressive resistance from diners who were asked to pay for their additional requests. “Last time, a man threw 50 cents at Alice for charging for extra chilli. He treated us like beggars,” he sighs.
Incurred losses from inconsiderate customers
Since opening in 2019, Xavier says he has some 60 dine-in plates going missing and had to spend money replacing them. Some customers, he points out, carry plates of his Hokkien mee over to the hawker centre beside his coffeeshop.
“But they don’t bring the plates back to my coffeeshop. They always want to save 30 cents for a takeaway box, but they’re not responsible at all,” he states.
Xavier says his stall’s Google review rating fell from 4.2 to 3.9 stars due to negative reviews by what he calls “unreasonable customers.”
Like Lucky Plaza’s grumpiest nasi ayam goreng seller, Xavier’s service and food draw many polarising online reviews. He reckons that some customers’ expectations inevitably lead to disappointment when they don’t get what they want.
He reflects: “Customers’ mindset now is that we [hawkers] must serve food fast, must give more and must be delicious. These four years we have met very nasty customers and we've had many nice and good customers too. I hope people will be more understanding towards hawkers, and not exploit them.”
Hokkien Man Hokkien Mee is at Sing Hiap Huat Coffee Shop, Blk 19 Toa Payoh Lor 7, S310019. For preorders, call 8798-1525. Open daily except Wed, 11am-3pm. www.facebook.com/Singaporehokkienman
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