Tourists charged $300 for 2 crabs at Clarke Quay
AsiaOne | Thu, Oct 1 2009
Restaurant disputes claims of Filipino customer that he was overcharged for crabs and other dishes.
[top photo: Bobby describing the size of the crabs he ate at a restaurant in Clarke Quay. He paid a total of $300 for two such crabs.]
A Filipino tourist claims he has been ripped off after he was charged $300 for two crabs at a seafood restaurant in Singapore, the Shin Min Daily News reported on Wednesday.
The incident took place at a Clarke Quay restaurant last Sunday night, where 38-year-old Bobby, his wife and four other friends had supper after catching the Formula One (F1) race.
The café owner from Manila says the group ordered ten sticks of beef satay, two bowls of white rice, garlic prawns, two chilli crabs and six glasses of soft drinks.
The total bill came out to $702.43, inclusive of taxes and surcharges, and with the two crabs amounting to about $300.
Bobby claims he was charged $20 for appetisers, which he understood to be a bowl of mixed nuts placed on their table. No other appetisers were ordered, he said.
No prices were also indicated on the restaurant's menus, he added.
As he did not have enough local currency with him at that time, Bobby resorted to paying US$500 (about $707 Singapore dollars) which resulted in the restaurant being unable to return him the change.
Seafood restaurant disputes claim
The restaurant person-in-charge said in an interview that crabs are priced at 100 grams for $6. The Filipino tourist had ordered two crabs each weighing two kilograms, so the charges came up to a total of some $300.
The item listed as "Meat" on the receipt, amounting to $120 (2 x $60) was not as Bobby pointed out, to be the 10 sticks of satay, but two roasted ducks instead.
The item listed as "Appetisers" on the receipt, which cost $20, was actually the beef satay, and the bowl of mixed nuts was given with compliments.
It is a case of misunderstanding, the restaurant said, and should customers be dissatisfied with the prices, they would try their utmost to resolve the issue.
With regards to the customer paying in US dollars, the restaurant used an exchange rate of US$1 to S$1.40, the person-in-charge said. Hence when the customer paid US$500, this was equivalent to $700 and the restaurant did not make an extra $2.43.
AsiaOne | Thu, Oct 1 2009
Restaurant disputes claims of Filipino customer that he was overcharged for crabs and other dishes.
[top photo: Bobby describing the size of the crabs he ate at a restaurant in Clarke Quay. He paid a total of $300 for two such crabs.]
A Filipino tourist claims he has been ripped off after he was charged $300 for two crabs at a seafood restaurant in Singapore, the Shin Min Daily News reported on Wednesday.
The incident took place at a Clarke Quay restaurant last Sunday night, where 38-year-old Bobby, his wife and four other friends had supper after catching the Formula One (F1) race.
The café owner from Manila says the group ordered ten sticks of beef satay, two bowls of white rice, garlic prawns, two chilli crabs and six glasses of soft drinks.
The total bill came out to $702.43, inclusive of taxes and surcharges, and with the two crabs amounting to about $300.
Bobby claims he was charged $20 for appetisers, which he understood to be a bowl of mixed nuts placed on their table. No other appetisers were ordered, he said.
No prices were also indicated on the restaurant's menus, he added.
As he did not have enough local currency with him at that time, Bobby resorted to paying US$500 (about $707 Singapore dollars) which resulted in the restaurant being unable to return him the change.
Seafood restaurant disputes claim
The restaurant person-in-charge said in an interview that crabs are priced at 100 grams for $6. The Filipino tourist had ordered two crabs each weighing two kilograms, so the charges came up to a total of some $300.
The item listed as "Meat" on the receipt, amounting to $120 (2 x $60) was not as Bobby pointed out, to be the 10 sticks of satay, but two roasted ducks instead.
The item listed as "Appetisers" on the receipt, which cost $20, was actually the beef satay, and the bowl of mixed nuts was given with compliments.
It is a case of misunderstanding, the restaurant said, and should customers be dissatisfied with the prices, they would try their utmost to resolve the issue.
With regards to the customer paying in US dollars, the restaurant used an exchange rate of US$1 to S$1.40, the person-in-charge said. Hence when the customer paid US$500, this was equivalent to $700 and the restaurant did not make an extra $2.43.
