Crab, or Crap from Vietnam?
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Having read the below article from New Paper, I have the following to ask:
>> Ethics in question, who do we question?
> the stall holder ?
> or the Vietnam supplier?
>> New emerging economy Vietnam: are their sense of ethics
becoming corrupted by money? - seems to be the traits of all
emerging economies...
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He's charged for 450g crab & 300g rope
Upset Tampines diner refuses to eat or pay
May 15, 2007
TAMPINES resident Chen Qing Hong (above) was puzzled when the small steamed crab he ordered cost him $21.
When weighed for a photograph, the ropes around the crab tipped the scales at about 300g. --
The 80-year-old was shocked to discover that he was being charged not just for the 450g Vietnam crab but also the 300g of rope that had been used to tie it.
Based on a price of $30 per kg for the crab, the rope cost $7.50, reported Shin Min Daily News.
An angry Mr Chen refused to eat the crab or pay for it.
But the owner of the zi char stall he had ordered the crab from said she had not cheated him.
She said that she was charged for the weight of the rope by her supplier and was just passing on thecost.
The incident happened last week at a coffee shop at Block 419, Tampines Street41.
Mr Chen was looking forward to tucking into the single steamed crab he had ordered. But when the dish arrived, he was shocked to be presented with a bill for$21.
Mr Chen, who said he loves eating crabs, felt that the crab on the plate could not have weighed more than500g.
Convinced he was being cheated, he went to the kitchen to clarify the cost of the meal with Ms Huang Xiu Mei, 42, the owner of the stall.
(Left) One of the Vietnamese crabs that the zi char stall in Tampines occasionally serves. It typically comes with thick ropes around it, said stall owner Huang Xiu Mei. --
She took him to the crab display area and showed him the tied-up crabs and a clump of rope used to tie the crab on Mr Chen's table.
Mr Chen said he put the wet rope on a nearby weighing scales and was shocked to see that it weighed 300g.
Ms Huang said: 'When the crabs were delivered to me, they were already like this. The supplier also charged me for the weight of the rope.'
So she had no choice but to pass on the cost to the customer, shesaid.
Ms Huang, who has had the stall for 21/2years, said she usually buys Sri Lankan crabs, and has served Vietnamese crabs only a few times, when there is a shortage of crabs from Sri Lanka.
She added: 'I've realised for a long time that the amount of rope being used seems to be getting more andmore.'
She said that in the beginning, about 100g of rope would be used to tie each crab.
Now, it's about 300g.
The importer told Shin Min Daily News that the crabs are tied that way in Vietnam.
(Left) One of the Vietnamese crabs that the zi char stall in Tampines occasionally serves. It typically comes with thick ropes around it, said stall owner Huang Xiu Mei. --
He said he has given feedback about the amount of rope used several times, but nothing has been done about it.
Ms Huang said that she will probably stop buying crabs from Vietnam and has returned the rest of the crabs to thesupplier.
She said she did not blame MrChen for not paying.
She said: 'He is an old customer. I can't blame him and chase him away because of one crab.' -
in my opinion, the Stall holer is not responsible for the difference in the weight, as he himself is also a victim lo........
any way, the customer should not had made such a fuss lo, and said that the stall owner cheated...
sale of goods act : its the Customer that offer to buy the goods from the stall owner...
..but that's my view.......... -
Yeah.. and maybe the customer should have boiled the 300g Crab Rope and have Crab Rope Soup...
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When our neighbours see S'pore as home to the regional super-rich (a yardstick no doubt brought on by the recent pay hike for cabinet ministers), everyone thinks they can con us for a few extra dollars.
Unfortunately, the distributors here do us no favours by accepting the delivery conditions - crab, rope and all and having taken an entrepreneur's approach to the matter, conveniently transfer the cost to the consumers.
Our people must really be suckers to even accept such a con job from Vietnam, let alone give a green light to make our unsuspecting consumers pay the burden cost for them.
After being spoon-fed for so long, it seems our people have forgotten street smarts. -
Sad to say , you're rite...Originally posted by BillyBong:When our neighbours see S'pore as home to the regional super-rich (a yardstick no doubt brought on by the recent pay hike for cabinet ministers), everyone thinks they can con us for a few extra dollars.
Unfortunately, the distributors here do us no favours by accepting the delivery conditions - crab, rope and all and having taken an entrepreneur's approach to the matter, conveniently transfer the cost to the consumers.
Our people must really be suckers to even accept such a con job from Vietnam, let alone give a green light to make our unsuspecting consumers pay the burden cost for them.
After being spoon-fed for so long, it seems our people have forgotten street smarts.
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LOL what's new? There are many cases of rip-off in SG happening everyday
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i think he did the right thing, not perfect but right. if he doesn't do anything, the stall holder would probably think nothing of it and continue to sell those crabs as they were.Originally posted by alantic82:in my opinion, the Stall holer is not responsible for the difference in the weight, as he himself is also a victim lo........
any way, the customer should not had made such a fuss lo, and said that the stall owner cheated...
sale of goods act : its the Customer that offer to buy the goods from the stall owner...
..but that's my view..........
now because of this fuss, she returned those crabs, swore em off, and the customer is satisfied with the outcome, and will probably return again in the future.
the blame is totally on the supplier. -
Here's what I think:
>> Supplier suggested selling the crabs with the additional weight of the ropes, and splits the extras with reseller
>> Supplier didn't sell crabs with such thick ropes, the reseller added the thick rope to fatten profits
There. Two scenarios... which is quite plausible... -
We need more people like Mr Chen Qing Hong.
Else Vietnamese crabs will come here secured with chains. -
HAARHARRRHAARRRHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!Originally posted by mancha:We need more people like Mr Chen Qing Hong.
Else Vietnamese crabs will come here secured with chains.
HAAAAAAHAHAHAHH A HA HA HAAHHAHAHAARRRR!!! -
what's this doing in Speaker's Corner?
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not stall owner's fault? she had already knew abt it long ago and if she felt cheated, she should already have stopped purchasing or reasoned with the supplier instead of passing the cost to consumers. she IS cheating even though she was cheated also.Originally posted by alantic82:in my opinion, the Stall holer is not responsible for the difference in the weight, as he himself is also a victim lo........
any way, the customer should not had made such a fuss lo, and said that the stall owner cheated...
sale of goods act : its the Customer that offer to buy the goods from the stall owner...
..but that's my view..........
the customer agreed to buy the crab, not the rope! -
Actually i got something important to add....Actually, we should look at why those poor vietnamese fisherman and crab farmers used all those tricks to tie the ropes...Simply because of those business that exploiate them...
they pay them such a low price for their crabs that they can hardly survive,,,'
i myself being a crab distributor, i know the price of crabs that came into singapor at only lets say $10, where restaurant sold for $20.......how much do u think those people in vietman get ...i beleive only $1 or 2 a kg for all their work............
it's social and society problem where rich get richer and poor get poorer..
i fell so sad... -
at least you know not to eat the rope .....
be glad that it's not melamine in wheat gluten ....
anyone's doggie or meows expired recently ? ....