Woman called 'demanding b****' after ordering prawn noodles from Pasir Ris stall 15 minutes before last order

She only wanted a meal but did not expect to be served attitude in addition to her prawn noodles.

The customer, Soe Myat Myo Shwe, took to Facebook to complain about her experience at a King of Prawn Noodles outlet at E!Hub in Pasir Ris on Sunday (April 17).

On the Complaint Singapore Facebook group, Soe posted her exchange with the "horrid staff", whom she claimed not only told her she had to finish her food at 9.20pm, but also called her a "demanding b****" after she questioned why she had to do so.

In her post, Soe detailed that she had made her order at 8.46pm and paid, upon which the cashier at the counter told her, "you have to finish your meal at 9.20pm".

She wrote that she was puzzled as she had seen the operating hours online which indicated that the outlet closes at 10pm.

She mentioned this to the cashier, but his reply was that they needed time to clean up.

The closing time indicated on the restaurant's Facebook page is 10pm. 

When her food was ready five minutes later, Soe, who was there with a friend, headed to the counter and was once again reminded by the cashier to finish her food at 9.20pm.

At the same time, he showed her a board which indicated the outlet's closing time as 9.30pm, with the last order at 9pm.

When Soe enquired why he was "insisting we finish at 9.20pm", when the stall was closing at 9.30pm and "until 10pm" indicated online, the man retorted: "We also need time to clean up. You don't want to be a demanding b**** right?"

In her post, Soe recounted that her voice was trembling when she told him, "You have no right to call me a b****. I am your customer. Do you want to apologise?"

Soe's friend also insisted that the cashier apologise but he refused.

Soe then asked for the cashier's name which he refused to give, and when asked to see the manager, he claimed the manager wasn't around.

By that time, bystanders had also stepped in to insist that the cashier apologise, Soe wrote.

The cashier eventually did so while allegedly rolling his eyes, an action witnessed by Soe's friend, who continued to engage with the cashier on his unacceptable behaviour. 

Soe said she decided to step away from the counter "because I no longer wanted to be infuriated", noting that while the food was "delicious", she is never returning to the stall.

In a screengrab which Soe posted of her exchange with the King of Prawn Noodles on Facebook Messenger, they stated that the cashier's behaviour was "unacceptable" and that they would be investigating the incident.

They also wrote that the cashier on duty that evening was a temporary staff, though noting that "it still doesn't excuse such behaviour".

Besides the outlet at E!Hub, King of Prawn Noodles also has outlets in Hillion Mall as well as Jurong Point.

In the comments section of Soe's post, many agreed that the service staff had been rude to Soe.

However, one commenter who stated, "next time can don't go order 15 minutes before last order [sic]?" drew a flurry of responses from netizens who jumped to Soe's defence.

The commenter explained: "They close at 930. Staff ask her eat until 920 nothing wrong. 10 mins clean up. What closing early go home early you talking about [sic].

She continued: "Everyone working in the stall already know she is a b [b****] the minute she ordered at 846. Only the temp staff got the courage to speak up [sic]."

Another person who seemed to agree, wrote: "930 close, asking customer to finish by 920 is very reasonable".

Many, however, countered that there was "nothing wrong" with ordering 15 minutes before the last order.

One commenter who claimed to have worked in the food and beverage (F&B) industry noted that the "last order" means "even if you're still open at 9pm and I order at 9pm, I'm still right".

"And no one have [sic] the right to tell someone to eat by a stipulated timing," adding that in F&B, the closing hours at 9.30pm doesn't mean staff leave at 9.30pm.

Wrote another: "What’s the point of having a last order time at 9pm if she has to order earlier than 15 minutes before the stated time?"

Soe, a 35-year-old executive assistant, told AsiaOne on Tuesday (April 19) that she has not heard from the eatery after the initial exchange. AsiaOne has also reached out to King of Prawn noodles for their comment.

candicecai@asiaone.com