Customer Complains After KFC in Toa Payoh Allegedly Refused to Give 8th Cup of Free Water

There are all kinds of dining complaints out there.

Sometimes there are belligerent and impossible customers who smash plates on the ground and try to pick fights.

In others, the staff can be irreverent and rude, such as the incident at Burger King where the staff refused to render any help after a fire extinguisher was accidentally sprayed at a whole family.

Diner Complains About Dissatisfactory KFC Experience

On Monday (20 June), an anonymous diner took to @sgfollowsall to complain about their dining experience at KFC’s Toa Payoh outlet during Father’s Day.

In the post description, they recounted that their family of six had ordered 15 pieces of chicken and asked for seven cups of plain water as they didn’t want any carbonated beverages.

Later, the original poster’s seven-year-old son split his cup of water, so they went to the counter to ask for another cup, to which the staff denied.

Allegedly, the staff said, “I already gave you seven cups of water, I cannot give you another cup, you need to buy the soft drinks.”

From this statement, it can be assumed that the family might have ordered the chicken a la carte, like the 10-piece chicken bucket or Mega Feast for instance, which don’t come with drink options.

While stunned by the staff’s response, the poster elaborated that their son had spilled his cup of water, in hopes that it would be a satisfactory explanation.

However, the staff remained staunch and refused their request.

“I walked back disappointed and the happy dinner was completely ruined,” the poster wrote.

The customer service evidently left a bad aftertaste on the poster’s tongue as they went back to the counter to ask for the staff’s name so they could lodge a complaint about the staff’s “poor and rude” attitude.

That question probably made the alarm bells ring in the staff’s head as she said, “Why do you want to know my name? Why do you want to know? Anything tell my manager.”

The “only saving grace” about the entire dining experience, in the poster’s opinion, was the fact that the assistant manager later apologised to them.

The diner ended the submission with a noticeable tinge of annoyance. (Read: sense of entitlement.)

“Seriously, how much does a small cup of plain water cost the restaurant?! Why can’t I ask for more water after my son had accidentally spilled his?”

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The Netizens’ Response

At the time of writing this article, the post has gained more than 7,000 likes and over 250 comments.

If the anonymous diner was hoping to find some sympathy or voices of agreement in the comment section, they are sorely mistaken.

The first three most well-liked comments had no empathy for the diner. Zilch. 

The top comment with 554 likes sneered, “Cheap right, ask for water. Control your own child or bring [your] own water.”

The comment below reminded the diner to clean up the mess before they left the restaurant.

The third netizen pointed out that staff wasn’t being completely unreasonable, as there are other non-fizzy options like milo, sjora, and iced teas available at the fast-food restaurant.

… Which probably only gives more credence to the first comment where the diner was just trying to be cheap, because KFC also sells bottled mineral water.

Speaking as someone who has worked in the F&B industry before, restaurants tend to charge or refuse to give out complimentary water because they want to encourage the consumption of other beverages.

At its core, restaurants are businesses who want to encourage their diners to spend as much as possible.

There’s a reason why water tends to be listed at the end of the menus, just saying.

In fact, the KFC outlet being willing to give out seven cups of free water is already very kind, because some restaurants won’t even go that far.

I mean, try that at Coffee Bean or Starbucks and the staff will definitely throw you dirty looks by the third time you ask.

Another eagle-eyed reader remarked that the diner had requested for seven cups of water for a family of six. Having said that, even if one cup was split, there was still enough water to go around.

Worse come to worst, go to the basin and get some; Singapore’s tap water is perfectly drinkable, jeez. It’s not like our water is poisoned by lead piping or something.

The comment that summarises the measure of the diner’s personality best is probably this: “Cheapo at its best. Spoil Father’s Day because of a cup of water.”

Can’t imagine that the dinner went spectacularly well when there’s one black-faced family member who can’t put down the fact that they weren’t given their 8th cup of free water.  

Erstwhile, other Instagram users ask the anonymous diner to spare some sympathy for the staff instead and stop being such a headache, even noting that eateries and restaurants tend to face manpower shortages.

If there’s a lesson to learn from this, bring your own water bottle, problem solved.

It’s more eco-friendly too.

Read Also:

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• There’s an Old-School-Themed Halal Zichar Eatery at Pasir Ris Opened by Buey Tahan See-Food
• M’sia Eatery Allegedly Said Diner Was Poor ‘Coz She Ordered Omelette

Featured Image: Instagram (@sgfollowsall)