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Hi, came across an article today, tourist kena chop big time.
WHY SO EXPENSIVE?
March 18, 2009 (TNP)
WHEN a group of six tourists decided on a no-frills seafood dinner at a Newton Food Centre, they didn't fancy paying $500 for five dishes and drinks.
Mr Mike Rigby and his wife Dewi, from Portland, Oregon, were taken aback by the bill.
Having visited the food centre when they were last in Singapore 18 months ago, the couple suggested it to their four friends, all first-time visitors.
'We came here for lunch on our previous trip. We ordered two tiger prawns and chicken rice, and the two of us remember paying reasonable prices,' Mr Rigby said.
He added: 'The main draw for us was all the great food here. So we took our friends on their first visit. For six people, I didn't think the bill would be more than $200.'
When they got to Newton Food Centre last Saturday evening, it was already packed.
'We were having a hard time finding a table,' recalled Mr Rigby, 'Then this guy approached us, saying that he had a table for six. So we thought why not, and ordered dishes from him.'
They had initially intended to order only four tiger prawns, but the stall assistant suggested that eight prawns would be better for a party of six. Mr Rigby described the man as 'aggressive and pushy'.
Over and above the half-chicken, prawn, crab and baby squid dishes they ordered, the man also put two plates of stingray on the table.
When asked to take the stingray items away, the man appeared 'a bit put off', noted Mr Rigby.
They left it at that but, when they finished eating, the same man told them they had to pay $491. The group was surprised by the sum and asked for an itemised bill.
Said Mrs Rigby: 'He just came up with the figure, $491. When we asked for a receipt, he came out with one receipt.
When the man returned with the bill, he was accompanied by three or four men, said one of the guests, Mr Sal Rubjo, 53, from Arizona.
'Maybe they were afraid that we would get upset over the bill. When (my wife) said that it's (the bill) not reasonable, he (the man) didn't budge,' said Mr Rubjo.
Why did they pay if they thought the price was not justified?
'We were having fun,' replied Mr Rigby.
'It was our first night in Singapore, we didn't want to create a scene, so we just paid the bill.
'In hindsight, we should have (called and) waited for the police to deal with the matter, and that was our mistake,' Mr Rigby said.
Added Mrs Rigby: 'We handed him him $500, and he pocketed the change of $9. He just stood there, and didn't give us the change.'
Ripped off?
When did they realise that they could have been paying more than normal?
Mr Rubjo said: 'We started converting the weight to pounds, because we don't use grams in America, where the prices are set.
The bill listed three seafood dishes, a bun, half a steamed chicken, beer and drinks. Mr Rigby said they had five large bottles of Tiger Beer.
But the main point of contention was the price of the eight tiger prawns, which was listed on the stall's signboard as $8 for every 100g. At $239 for eight prawns, each one would have weighed an average of 375g.
Mr Rigby reckoned that the tiger prawns they were served would have weighed a maximum of 300g each, describing them to be around 20cm in length.
Why didn't they ask for the price before they ordered?
'We assumed that it was a reputable place with a fair price,' Mr Rigby said. 'The system here is very misleading and hard to understand. I don't think most tourists would take the time to figure out the price like that.'
A friend of the Rigbys, Mr Danny Chaplin, who has lived in Singapore for the last 19 years , alleged that the stall assistant may have bought some of the dishes from other stalls and inflated his prices.
The price of the half-chicken stated on the bill was $19. 'Where do we have half a chicken costing $19?' Mr Chaplin asked.
When The New Paper approached one chicken rice stall at the food centre, it was clearly stated that half a white chicken is only $12 .
Another stall operator at Newton Food Centre, who only wanted to be known as Madam Sng, 53, said: 'If customers want to order our dishes, they should go to the store directly.
'Another concern we have is that if the third-party vendors raise the prices by too much, we ourselves will be affected if it gets out that we are charging unreasonable prices.'
Mr Rigby said: 'I feel like there's a double standard for tourists. We're treated differently. They go after us because they think they can charge more. I feel really targeted as a foreigner.
'I would encourage my friends to shy away from Newton, and stay away from other touristy areas.'
If he had known that the bill would be so high in the first place, 'we would have gone to a five star restaurant and eaten for cheaper'.
Since the Saturday incident, they have eaten at three other food centres. Said Mr Rigby: 'It was a much better experience.
'Based on those experiences, we would look forward to coming back to Singapore again.'
By Han Su-Ying, newsroom intern, source from TNP
WHY SO EXPENSIVE?
March 18, 2009 (TNP)
WHEN a group of six tourists decided on a no-frills seafood dinner at a Newton Food Centre, they didn't fancy paying $500 for five dishes and drinks.
Mr Mike Rigby and his wife Dewi, from Portland, Oregon, were taken aback by the bill.
Having visited the food centre when they were last in Singapore 18 months ago, the couple suggested it to their four friends, all first-time visitors.
'We came here for lunch on our previous trip. We ordered two tiger prawns and chicken rice, and the two of us remember paying reasonable prices,' Mr Rigby said.
He added: 'The main draw for us was all the great food here. So we took our friends on their first visit. For six people, I didn't think the bill would be more than $200.'
When they got to Newton Food Centre last Saturday evening, it was already packed.
'We were having a hard time finding a table,' recalled Mr Rigby, 'Then this guy approached us, saying that he had a table for six. So we thought why not, and ordered dishes from him.'
They had initially intended to order only four tiger prawns, but the stall assistant suggested that eight prawns would be better for a party of six. Mr Rigby described the man as 'aggressive and pushy'.
Over and above the half-chicken, prawn, crab and baby squid dishes they ordered, the man also put two plates of stingray on the table.
When asked to take the stingray items away, the man appeared 'a bit put off', noted Mr Rigby.
They left it at that but, when they finished eating, the same man told them they had to pay $491. The group was surprised by the sum and asked for an itemised bill.
Said Mrs Rigby: 'He just came up with the figure, $491. When we asked for a receipt, he came out with one receipt.
When the man returned with the bill, he was accompanied by three or four men, said one of the guests, Mr Sal Rubjo, 53, from Arizona.
'Maybe they were afraid that we would get upset over the bill. When (my wife) said that it's (the bill) not reasonable, he (the man) didn't budge,' said Mr Rubjo.
Why did they pay if they thought the price was not justified?
'We were having fun,' replied Mr Rigby.
'It was our first night in Singapore, we didn't want to create a scene, so we just paid the bill.
'In hindsight, we should have (called and) waited for the police to deal with the matter, and that was our mistake,' Mr Rigby said.
Added Mrs Rigby: 'We handed him him $500, and he pocketed the change of $9. He just stood there, and didn't give us the change.'
Ripped off?
When did they realise that they could have been paying more than normal?
Mr Rubjo said: 'We started converting the weight to pounds, because we don't use grams in America, where the prices are set.
The bill listed three seafood dishes, a bun, half a steamed chicken, beer and drinks. Mr Rigby said they had five large bottles of Tiger Beer.
But the main point of contention was the price of the eight tiger prawns, which was listed on the stall's signboard as $8 for every 100g. At $239 for eight prawns, each one would have weighed an average of 375g.
Mr Rigby reckoned that the tiger prawns they were served would have weighed a maximum of 300g each, describing them to be around 20cm in length.
Why didn't they ask for the price before they ordered?
'We assumed that it was a reputable place with a fair price,' Mr Rigby said. 'The system here is very misleading and hard to understand. I don't think most tourists would take the time to figure out the price like that.'
A friend of the Rigbys, Mr Danny Chaplin, who has lived in Singapore for the last 19 years , alleged that the stall assistant may have bought some of the dishes from other stalls and inflated his prices.
The price of the half-chicken stated on the bill was $19. 'Where do we have half a chicken costing $19?' Mr Chaplin asked.
When The New Paper approached one chicken rice stall at the food centre, it was clearly stated that half a white chicken is only $12 .
Another stall operator at Newton Food Centre, who only wanted to be known as Madam Sng, 53, said: 'If customers want to order our dishes, they should go to the store directly.
'Another concern we have is that if the third-party vendors raise the prices by too much, we ourselves will be affected if it gets out that we are charging unreasonable prices.'
Mr Rigby said: 'I feel like there's a double standard for tourists. We're treated differently. They go after us because they think they can charge more. I feel really targeted as a foreigner.
'I would encourage my friends to shy away from Newton, and stay away from other touristy areas.'
If he had known that the bill would be so high in the first place, 'we would have gone to a five star restaurant and eaten for cheaper'.
Since the Saturday incident, they have eaten at three other food centres. Said Mr Rigby: 'It was a much better experience.
'Based on those experiences, we would look forward to coming back to Singapore again.'
By Han Su-Ying, newsroom intern, source from TNP
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