Mum Finds Tiny Glass Shards In Smoothie At Plaza Singapura; Manager Says It’s A ‘Small Issue’

2019-11-19 , 12:00 pm

There are a lot of things you can put in smoothies these days.

Throw together a bunch of colourful fruits and some ice, and you got yourself an ice-blended smoothie.

Heck, some people are even putting raw eggs into their drinks.

But… glass bits? In smoothies?

A civil servant and her family were the first to experience the one of a kind drink served by Slappy Cakes, a DIY pancake house located at Plaza Singapura. When the manager was approached, he simply shrugged it off as a “small issue”.

SMALL issue?

Thought Glass Was Just Ice Bits Initially

Wu, the mother of three, was having a meal at the pancake house with her children aged five, seven and eight, as well as her husband on 17 November.

At around 4.30pm, they ordered some food and a glass of harmless-looking berries smoothie.

Wu was the first to drink the smoothie. She felt that there were some rough particles in her mouth which she thought were just “ice bits”.

She spat it out after realising that it was harder to bite through than normal ice.

Imagine the horror that she must have felt when she spat out the “ice bits” only to realise that they were GLASS bits.

Ice-Blended Smoothie Becomes Glass-Blended Drink

The parents managed to filter out more glass bits from the remaining quarter of the smoothie.

Some fragments were blended into finer bits, while the others are glass shards with sharp edges.

Ouch. Imagine those shards scrapping your throat as it makes its way down.

Maternal Instinct On

After realising that glass bits were in the drink, she immediately asked her children not to drink the smoothie.

She was shocked when her seven-year-old son had already drunk some of it.

Fearing the worst, she called for the police and an ambulance. The ambulance personnel advised them to go for a check-up at the hospital.

Wu told a Chinese evening daily reporter that she was upset because she felt that it was an act of severe negligence which could lead to serious consequences, especially for young children, as the glass bits can hurt the throat and intestines.

Unremorseful And Irresponsible Staff

When a restaurant makes a mistake like this, this is what they would typically say.

“We are so sorry. Are you alright? Are you hurt?”

But for Slappy Cakes…

“It’s just glass bits. Move on.”

When the couple demanded an explanation, the manager pushed the blame to the supplier of the glass cup saying that the glass bits were probably left in the glass cups when delivered.

They felt that the manager was being condescending as he even said that this was a small issue as the glass bits were small enough to be swallowed.

Other than telling them that they did not pay for the meal, he did not show the slightest bit of concern for the well-being of Wu and her son.

The staff who prepared the smoothie also did not admit to any negligence.

The mother left dissatisfied with the irresponsible attitude of the staff.

Customer service at its finest.

Glass Bits Scratched Wu’s Throat

Later that night, she visited the hospital with her son after feeling discomfort in their throat. Both of them were admitted for observation.

Wu felt uncomfortable even when drinking water.

Fortunately, other than the minor injury from the glass bits that had scratched her throat, no glass shards were lodged there.

The son’s condition is unclear as it was not mentioned in the report.

Slappy Cakes To Replace All Glass Cups

The Singapore Food Agency has been alerted and Slappy Cakes management is assisting with the ongoing investigations.

A representative from Slappy Cakes has said that the smoothies have been temporarily taken down from the menu and all glass cups will be replaced with acrylic ones.

They have also contacted Wu and plan to visit the family.

We wish Wu and her son a speedy recovery. And let this be a PSA for everyone out there… if the ice is too hard to bite on spit it out!