Some customers who went to get the former ended up thinking it was more of the latter.
The deal in question is a cafe's two-day 50 cent promotion.
The Cafe Lobby at the Toa Payoh interchange is advertising that customers can buy noodles or nasi lemak, and get a free cup of coffee - all for just 50 cents. The offer ends today.
What the posters fail to mention, however, is that the 50 cents is for rice or noodles only, and for the deal to be valid, one needs to order additional ingredients.
They can cost anything from 20 cents for vegetables to $1.60 for a chicken wing.
And this had some customers complaining.
Madam Jenny Chee, who is in her 40s, thought the offer was a good deal until she found out about this requirement.
'I didn't buy anything in the end,' she said.
'They are not being fair in their advertisement because the sale will definitely exceed 50 cents.'
Housewife Madam Doris Lim, 60, also felt the posters were 'misleading' as the exact conditions of the offer were not clearly stated.
But not all were upset.
Retiree Madam Chan Jan Peng, 61, felt the meal was 'worth it' despite it costing more than the advertised offer.
'The food tastes good. Considering that the prices of many things are rising nowadays, this is value for money,' she said.
Madam Chan also feels the advertising tactic is understandable.
'Getting more people to try their food at a lower price is a good business tactic to get new customers,' she said.
'We can't fault them because the purpose of advertisements is to draw customers.
'They need to do business too.'
The two-month-old cafe had offered the same promotion once before, said Mr Jason Lim, 42, its managing director.
He said the low price was meant to attract more customers.
A supplier to the cafe, who wanted to be known only as Mr Goh, also said the cafe was 'willing to make a bit of a loss to attract more customers'.
Mr Lim said the deal was to 'let our customers enjoy our coffee and taste more of our food'.
He stood by the requirement that customers had to order other ingredients before they were entitled to the promotion package.
'Otherwise, people will take advantage of the deal,' he said.
Asked if it was misleading not to mention this in the advertising, he said: 'We didn't think that information was essential. The staff could always tell the customers.'
It seems like the promotional gimmick has paid off.
Mr Lim said The Cafe Lobby had attracted the number of customers that it had targeted, though he wouldn't reveal how many.
This article was first published in The New Paper on April 12 2008.
