Hawkers in Chinatown Are Offering Discounts To Get People To Come Back

By
Siti Hawa
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Lest you’re unaware, the COVID-19 outbreak has negatively impacted tons of businesses and retailers.

For one, no one wants to go to crowded places anymore and let’s face it, who would want to go somewhere where half the people have their mouths hanging open.

The potential for personal fluids (and viruses) to fly left and right is alarming.

Image: tenor

(Don’t worry though, because the authorities have stepped up cleaning and disinfecting hawker centres to once every two hours.)

Thus, some hawkers who are feeling the pinch have had to take matters into their own hands:

Chinatown Hawkers Offer Discounts To Lure Back Customers

Stall owners have reportedly seen their business fall by up to 80% due to people staying away from crowded places amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.

Thus, hawkers at Chinatown Complex Food Center began to offer promotions and thankfully, scores of diners were seen streaming in.

Around 130 out of the 226 food stalls at Chinatown Complex Food Center offered discounts and various promotions to lure back customers.

For instance, one hawker named Madam June Cheang offered 10% off her herbal drinks.

Mr Johnny Tng’s Super Mummy stall, on the other hand, is selling Hokkien Mee for $4 or $6 a plate, which is a discount of $1 off its already reasonable price.

Mr Tng said, “Business was especially bad after the Chinese New Year period, and at one point the number of customers here fell by 80 per cent.”

Still Lesser Customers Overall Compared To A Usual Saturday Crowd

Though these discounts were considerably successful in luring back customers, Mr Tng says that it’s still not as crowded as it used to be.

He said that the discounts have resulted in an increase in customers by up to 20%, but the overall number of customers are only around half of a usual Saturday crowd.

The owner of a Chicken Rice Stall also said that the business has been very badly impacted because the area was heavily dependant of tourist.

Due to the implementation of travel restrictions, the number of Chinese tourists has drastically fallen. This is further aggravated by locals shying away from crowded places.

Discount Scheme Initiated By FMAS

The discount scheme was initiated by the Federation of Merchants’ Associations, Singapore (FMAS) after they received feedback from the Chinatown Complex Hawker Association that business wasn’t doing well.

FMAS has also helped to inform the public about the initiative in Chinese newspapers. However, the costs of the discounts are being borne by the hawkers themselves.

A similar discount scheme is also going to be implemented at the People’s Park Food Centre which has also been negatively impacted due to the outbreak.

FMAS president Yeo Hiang Meng said, “Other food centres in housing areas are also affected, but Chinatown seems harder hit because of the drop in tourist numbers.”

Hawker Centres Are Being Cleaned & Disinfected

The president of the Chinatown Complex Hawker Association said that efforts are being put into place to ensure that hawker centres are kept sanitary amidst virus woes.

For instance, cleaning regimes have been stepped up and the premises are being disinfected once every two hours, a massive increase up from just once a day.

He said, “we want our customers to have confidence in us, that we’re keeping things clean, and that they can come here to relax and eat.”

So if you work nearby Chinatown, now you know where to go for lunch liao.

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Siti Hawa
Email: [email protected]