The whole thing actually boils down to "education", "upbringing" " graciousness"....by upbringing....I return my trays etc.. anywhere, without being told, reminded etc... & anything else....by education, I have been taught to be gracious..
But, then again, I admit, at times, I do leave trays etc..unreturned for the nasty feeling I get, I am paying "premium" for the cleaners to clear the tables & paying "premium" in GST by spending money on the food & paying "premium" for I am also paying the food sellers, who is paying NEA etc..for employing people or paying for the cleaning services..
My "upbringing", "education" "graciousness", gets thrown out of the windows, for I will leave the tray etc on the table..for I am , what they say in Hokkein " Um gum guang" having to pay "premium" prices...let the cleaners do the work.
There is nothing ungracious about leaving the trays on the table after makan at food court or hawker centers. Hawker centers or foodcourts are hawker centers or foodcourts, not army cookhouse.
It's part of the set up where stallholders will clear the table for the next customer, and with big money foodcourt operators having taken over the operations of hawker centers, thus the term "foodcourt", cleaners are employed to take care of such chores.
If returning trays is all about good upbringing and graciousness, then everyone should do it at Ding Tai Fung, Crystal Jade and Paradise.
You will have shown good upbringing and graciousness by treating the cleaners nicely and not eat like a dog shitting on the table. Most importantly, don't kpkb and talk like your grandfather's kopitiam in a hawker center so that the person seated on the next table can also enjoy a peaceful meal.
The act of returning trays in foodcourts and hawker centers is something invented by the foodchain operators to fleece the customers so that they can employ less cleaners. In return, there is absolutely nothing in return. They will not lower the price of the food as a result of less cleaners employed. The money will go into the foodchain operators' pockets.
Another invention is the term "claustrophobic" to put the blame on you, not the people behind the policy to open the floodgates to migrants.
The campaign for good upbringing and graciousness should start from the food operators - with the cleaners and stallholders. Not every father mother and son is an UNCLE OR AUNTIE. Taxi driver they call Uncle, doctor also they call Uncle, lawyer also they call Uncle, Professor in University they also call Uncle. They turned the fucking foodcourt into some beer garden culture and see every man as a cheekopeh taxi driver buying beer and beoing beer ladies to past time.