Lifestyle

Cheaper Hawker Food But Some People Are Still Angry. Here’s Why

2016-12-22 , 2:50 pm

Last Updated on 2016-12-29 , 10:43 am

Here’s one simple question: if the quality of the food and environment are similar, do you prefer to pay $2.50 for a plate of chicken rice, or $3.50 for the exact bowl?

Now, here’s another question: if you’re selling your second-hand bag online and receive two offers, one offering $200 and the other offering $300, which buyer would you choose?

Without even thinking, I guess we all know the answer. But guess what? Some people answer otherwise. Or to be precise, some people’s Internet persona answer otherwise.

So, here’s some context: NTUC Foodfare, an NGO (Non-Government Organization) social enterprise instead of a Government or private organization, is going to manage more hawker centres. This week, it’s revealed that NTUC Foodfare will be managing five more hawker centres, on top of the two they’re currently managing.

The goal is to let social enterprises play a bigger role in managing hawker centres, which has a series of objectives, with one being to keep prices affordable.

Keep prices low—isn’t that what we as consumers want? And isn’t that what hawkers won’t want?

So, well, last year, there was a controversy involving a fishball noodles hawker and Foodfare. Foodfare requires people who bid for a stall in the then-new Bukit Panjang Hawker Centre to have at least one dish capped at $2.50.

The hawker believes that keeping prices low for his high-quality fishball isn’t feasible, and now, one and a half year later, the hawker is now operating in Timbre+, which I guess allows him to sell his fishball noodles at any price he wants.

That was then the second hawker centre to be managed by Foodfare, and it has created such a hoo-ha—what’s going to happen next when Foodfare is going to manage five more hawker centres?

Well, here’s the thing: if you pay less for a hawker meal (not a lot less, but just slightly less), would you go around the Internet and KPKB tell everyone that you’ve just saved $0.10 today? Yes? No?

Now, if your profit margin of your business is affected due to some change, and you don’t like change, would you KPKB online? Of course you would. Just take a look at the number of YouTubers complaining online about YouTube’s change in algorithm…when Facebook has made that change long ago.

A change in status quo isn’t comfortable, which I think is why even when the decision is sound, beneficial to the mass and useful, the few affected ones will amplify the complaints, leading us to think that it might not be a good decision after all.

Of course, there’re some valid resistances, primarily the rising cost of operating a hawker stall. It’s no secret that a change can never be perfect, and it’s all a matter of finding the best solutions (e.g. NTUC Foodfare and Fei Siong are tasked with bulk purchase to lower the cost of ingredients).

But we’ve got many arguments of hawkers trying to keep the hawker traditions alive, so the management shouldn’t restrict their pricing. Here’s the thing: there’re so many hawker centres and coffeeshops in Singapore. If they die-die have to raise their price, can’t they do it elsewhere?

Is it essentially a reluctance to a change that serves the needs of the many, or merely using the Internet to seek for a change for the needs of one?

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com

Featured Image: behindthefoodcarts.com

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