A dispute at a mixed rice stall in Funan has gone viral after a customer accused a staff member of insulting him during a payment misunderstanding.
The incident reportedly happened on May 14 at Tong Luck Mixed Rice, located inside the mall’s food court.
According to Lianhe Zaobao, the customer, identified only as Zhao (transliteration), said he had visited the stall to buy takeaway dishes without rice and wanted to check whether an additional packaging fee would apply.
After queueing to make payment, Zhao claimed he was instructed to scan a QR code. However, communication issues reportedly arose when the staff member struggled to understand his English.
Zhao then switched to speaking Mandarin.
Customer Claims Staff Called Him ‘Stupid’
Zhao alleged that during the exchange, the staff member suddenly responded with a remark that translated to: “You still want to scan? You’re really stupid.”
The comment reportedly left Zhao upset and angry.
He demanded an apology from the worker but claimed the staff member ignored him completely.
Another employee, believed to be a supervisor, later stepped in to apologise and explained that the worker was still inexperienced.
However, Zhao reportedly remained dissatisfied and said customers should still be treated with basic respect regardless of whether the employee was new.
The incident has since sparked online discussions about customer service standards, communication barriers and language misunderstandings in Singapore’s multicultural environment.
Staff Denies Insulting Customer
The worker involved, identified as Sui, denied insulting Zhao and insisted the issue stemmed from differences in language and accent.
Sui reportedly said he is originally from Northeast China and had only been working at the stall for about two to three months.
According to him, he had already informed Zhao earlier that takeaway orders would incur an extra S$0.30 charge.
When Zhao reached the payment counter, Sui claimed the customer attempted to explain his payment request several times in English before switching to Mandarin.
However, Sui alleged that Zhao used terminology unfamiliar to him, adding to the confusion.
He later explained that he had muttered a phrase closer to “you’re really something” out of frustration rather than directly calling the customer “stupid”.
Sui also claimed Zhao became upset before he had the opportunity to explain himself properly.
The employee added that he had already submitted his resignation before the incident occurred and was expected to leave the company next month.
Company Launches Internal Investigation
Following the controversy, the company behind Tong Luck Mixed Rice released a statement saying it had started an internal investigation into the incident.
Initial findings reportedly suggested that inappropriate remarks may indeed have been made during the exchange.
A company spokesperson expressed regret over what happened and said management would reach out to Zhao personally to apologise.
The company also stated that although the worker was still undergoing training, it was not an excuse for unprofessional behaviour.
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, disciplinary action, counselling or additional retraining may be implemented.
The company added that it would strengthen staff training procedures to ensure frontline workers maintain professionalism and respectful communication with customers at all times.