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Chris' Tea House's business hardly dented by online threats
Singapore, November 7, 2011
Mrs Christina Lim was keeping her fingers crossed.
Will the online boycott call by netizens, upset by her daughter's "cheapskate" remark on a customer, affect her weekend tea business?
She wasn't sure. By late night last Friday, there were too few reservations for the weekend.
However, when the weekend finally came, almost all the tables were taken up.
Reported a happy Mrs Lim: "We had only a slight dip in business."
The minimal drop could be seen as a weekly swing too, as the cafe has experienced ups and downs in its business too.
Mrs Lim, an avid tea lover who turned an old shophouse into a period English tea shop cum tea house.
Maybe her daughter's apology as well as her own explanation of why they reacted they way they did to customer Kenneth Lee's complaint of the service helped changed tea lovers' mind about giving her place a miss.
Mrs Lim had appealed to their compassionate side to give her fledgling tea business a chance to thrive.
And it seemed to have worked.
Why?
There was an increase in orders for Ice Berry Tea, the very tea that Mr Lee and his friends wanted but didn't get to enjoy because the tea house had run out of it.
Online publicity on the incident probably fuelled interest in the berry tea, even though it wasn't touted as special drink of the tea house.
As the tea wasn't available, Mr Lee and his group changed their order to the Ice Lemon tea, which costs $4.50 or $1 more.
Up to mischief?
Some readers felt the hike in orders for the Ice Berry Tea probably came from supporters of Mr Lee who were curious to see whether they would receive the same service for ordering the cheapest drink available or whether they would be regarded as "cheapskates".
But Mrs Lim, who had said serious tea lovers, who understand the etiquette of English tea appreciation made up 75 per cent of her clientele, said she had no problems with any customers over the past weekend.
Those who opted for the Ice Berry Tea "basically ordered the minimum and stayed for about an hour or so", she said.
Mr Lee had complained on SoShiok.com that he and his group was upset with the service they got when one of them knocked over a glass of Ice Lemon Tea.
He was surprised by Mrs Lim's remarks, which he had written as: "You stained my floor. I really don't understand..." and "Are you leaving soon?!"
He had said: "This kind of service is unacceptable in my opinion. We are paying PREMIUM price for "premium" tea."
His comments got a quick retort from Sasha, Mrs Lim's daughter, who indirectly called him a "cheapskate" as he had not spent a lot at their "high class" tea house, and yet made too many criticisms.
The "cheapskate" and "high-class" (actually "high-classed") remarks led to a torrent of online protests by netizens calling for a boycott of the cafe. It also sparked off a war of words between this group and the tea house supporters.
'Premium Ice Lemon Tea'
The Ice Lemon Tea that Mr Lee and his group has is not the ordinary kopitiam type.
It costs much more at $4.50 and you pay 90 cents more if you want honey. The reasons are explained below:
Mrs Lim prepares specially shaped flavoured ice cubes to add to the two types of ice tea, so that the tea taste is stronger.
- Ice Lemon Tea
She brews different types of tea (either English Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast, Assam) with lemon rinds for about one to two hours. Then she adds lemon juice before pouring them into ice-cube mould.
- Ice Berry Tea
Same preparation method but just using the berry tea, which is poured into another type of mould to freeze into ice cubes. Less work than preparation for the Ice Lemon Tea.
Both types of ice tea are served in different glasses, together with a mini glass of syrup.
"If I use plain ice cubes to chill the ice teas, they would taste diluted," said Mrs Lim.
Maybe that's what you should slurp to cool down a little before starting your ritual of freshly baked scones with a pot of hot tea.
Chris' Tea House
359 Upper Paya Lebar Road
Singapore 534961
Tel: 6502 3063
Open: Tue, Wed, Fri: 11am - 7.30pm; Sat - Sun: 11am - 8pm
Singapore, November 7, 2011
Mrs Christina Lim was keeping her fingers crossed.
Will the online boycott call by netizens, upset by her daughter's "cheapskate" remark on a customer, affect her weekend tea business?
She wasn't sure. By late night last Friday, there were too few reservations for the weekend.
However, when the weekend finally came, almost all the tables were taken up.
Reported a happy Mrs Lim: "We had only a slight dip in business."
The minimal drop could be seen as a weekly swing too, as the cafe has experienced ups and downs in its business too.
Mrs Lim, an avid tea lover who turned an old shophouse into a period English tea shop cum tea house.
Maybe her daughter's apology as well as her own explanation of why they reacted they way they did to customer Kenneth Lee's complaint of the service helped changed tea lovers' mind about giving her place a miss.
Mrs Lim had appealed to their compassionate side to give her fledgling tea business a chance to thrive.
And it seemed to have worked.
Why?
There was an increase in orders for Ice Berry Tea, the very tea that Mr Lee and his friends wanted but didn't get to enjoy because the tea house had run out of it.
Online publicity on the incident probably fuelled interest in the berry tea, even though it wasn't touted as special drink of the tea house.
As the tea wasn't available, Mr Lee and his group changed their order to the Ice Lemon tea, which costs $4.50 or $1 more.
Up to mischief?
Some readers felt the hike in orders for the Ice Berry Tea probably came from supporters of Mr Lee who were curious to see whether they would receive the same service for ordering the cheapest drink available or whether they would be regarded as "cheapskates".
But Mrs Lim, who had said serious tea lovers, who understand the etiquette of English tea appreciation made up 75 per cent of her clientele, said she had no problems with any customers over the past weekend.
Those who opted for the Ice Berry Tea "basically ordered the minimum and stayed for about an hour or so", she said.
Mr Lee had complained on SoShiok.com that he and his group was upset with the service they got when one of them knocked over a glass of Ice Lemon Tea.
He was surprised by Mrs Lim's remarks, which he had written as: "You stained my floor. I really don't understand..." and "Are you leaving soon?!"
He had said: "This kind of service is unacceptable in my opinion. We are paying PREMIUM price for "premium" tea."
His comments got a quick retort from Sasha, Mrs Lim's daughter, who indirectly called him a "cheapskate" as he had not spent a lot at their "high class" tea house, and yet made too many criticisms.
The "cheapskate" and "high-class" (actually "high-classed") remarks led to a torrent of online protests by netizens calling for a boycott of the cafe. It also sparked off a war of words between this group and the tea house supporters.
'Premium Ice Lemon Tea'
The Ice Lemon Tea that Mr Lee and his group has is not the ordinary kopitiam type.
It costs much more at $4.50 and you pay 90 cents more if you want honey. The reasons are explained below:
Mrs Lim prepares specially shaped flavoured ice cubes to add to the two types of ice tea, so that the tea taste is stronger.
- Ice Lemon Tea
She brews different types of tea (either English Breakfast, Scottish Breakfast, Assam) with lemon rinds for about one to two hours. Then she adds lemon juice before pouring them into ice-cube mould.
- Ice Berry Tea
Same preparation method but just using the berry tea, which is poured into another type of mould to freeze into ice cubes. Less work than preparation for the Ice Lemon Tea.
Both types of ice tea are served in different glasses, together with a mini glass of syrup.
"If I use plain ice cubes to chill the ice teas, they would taste diluted," said Mrs Lim.
Maybe that's what you should slurp to cool down a little before starting your ritual of freshly baked scones with a pot of hot tea.
Chris' Tea House
359 Upper Paya Lebar Road
Singapore 534961
Tel: 6502 3063
Open: Tue, Wed, Fri: 11am - 7.30pm; Sat - Sun: 11am - 8pm
