Hawker Puts ‘Arrogant’ Sign At Stallfront & Business Improves Instead

“Don’t order if you cannot wait.”

Would you order food from a stall with a sign that had the above notice?

Well, one stall owner in Ang Mo Kio posted such a sign outside her stall, which some viewed as an arrogant move.

Many complained about the attitude of the female hawker and the sign outside her stall, with one netizen saying “Don’t wait, don’t order food? Need to be so rude?”

The sign also says that they don’t accept special orders for carrot cake without eggs, vegetables, or garlic.

Many of us would be put off by such a sign, no matter how delicious the stall’s food is.

But, while a picture is worth a thousand words, it does always not tell the whole story (even if it has actual words on it).

Impatient customers 

Xu Shaoyu, the owner of the stall, said that she was compelled to put up the sign due to her customers’ unpleasant behaviour.

The 52-year-old said that when she first opened the stall, she encountered impatient customers who refused to line up to wait for their food.

“During busy hours, customers want to jump the queue,” she said. She added that some customers also swore at her because of the waiting time.

Ordered Liao But Ghosted Her

Some placed orders but left before payment and collection because they were too impatient to wait, leaving Shaoyu with cold, wasted dishes.

In one instance, one particular customer ordered seven packets of a certain dish but left before Shaoyu finished cooking it. Shaoyu left it outside the stall, waiting for the customer to pay and collect it, but someone else came and took it away without paying.

Tired of this behaviour, the 52-year-old stall owner decided to post a notice outside her stall telling customers to order only if they’re willing to wait.

Better business

Contrary to what you might think, the sign actually improved Shaoyu’s business.

She said that the sign was very effective because it helped to prevent misunderstandings and smoothen the buying process.

Customers who read it understood what she meant, and didn’t regard the posting of the sign as a cocky move.

So, if there’s anything to learn from this, it’s that there are always more than meets the eye.

One has to ask though, who orders carrot cake without eggs?