Sure, it's a mindset change. But it would help if the tray-return points are cleaner and the path to these points less perilous.
Office canteens are obviously different from the super public foodcourts and hawker centres. There shouldn't be a difference. But there is. Many points.
Everytime I eat at a hawker centre or foodcourt, the cleaner swipes my tray before I finish the last morsel.
The last time I attempted to dodge steaming hot bowls and wildly gesticulating arms to return the my tray at a Koufu food court where the tray-return points are cheerful and clean, I was roundly scolded by the cleaner-auntie who said that if I did all these, she'd be out of a job. Perhaps her words aren't all true. But I'm not going to spoil my day by incurring the displeasure of the cleaners at the foodcourt.
I'm not gracious. I don't return trays at the foodcourts and hawker centres.
Since I'm feeling so disagreeable, there will be days I don't feel like fighting humidity and migraine-inducing noise levels to clear trays. On those days, I simply don't eat at foodcourts and hawker centres.
10 comments:
ta-pow home the good stuff!
they should ask cleaners to go on 'strike' for a week, get 'Kindness Associates' to 'patrol' the foodcourts and encourage everyone to do it. how about that?!
sometimes the cleaner just act so fast, some even stand beside u if u are finishing soon, totally no chance to clear our own tray...=p
Ahem. Since my mom has worked as one of these cleaners before, may I provide some alternative viewpoints:
a) sometimes the cleaners are under pressure from their supervisors (who wield power over them for e.g. by threatening to cut their pay) to be quick! quick! quick!
b) customers not able to find seats also complain about the tables not being cleared quickly enough. The complaints go to the supervisor who then add pressure the cleaners. Repeat cycle.
So far I've not come across any auntie who tell me off for returning the trays. Almost all of them would thank me as they were so busy clearing trays and the customers waiting were building up.
I only clear my trays at fastfood joints. Not that I don't want to at foodcourts or hawker centres, but like many others, I don't get any chance of doing that!
Or maybe, those that I've frequented so far are not that super-busy or crowded that the cleaners can't cope and left uncleared 'mess' lying around.
~CDR~
i always clear my trays - at food courts, hawker centres and fast food restaurants - because the angmohs do it. We all know that the angmohs are civilised and gracious and sotisphicated so we should emulate them.
If the progressive angmohs start a movement to wash their own plates and bowls and cups, sign me up and hand me a sponge !
cavalock: that works.
queenie: hahahah. should.
elaine: they are good! and fast!
eveline: they work very hard and it's tiring. they should just do away with the practice of pple clearing plates. instead, station them at clearing stations to help pple with the trays. that will help alot to change mindsets. but then, would that take away jobs?
CDR: maybe the hawker ctrs have it worse. foodcourts are generally fast in cleaning up. i think...
lcn: i'd like someone to invent a portable dishwasher! or i could bring a Scooba around mealtimes.
Yah, I kena scolded by cleaners when I tried to return my tray too. They seem to be more impartial to angmohs (angmohs don't get scolded when they return their trays). Nowadays, I just bus all the stuff onto the tray and try to leave the table relatively unmessy before I go off. That's the most I'll do before I get scolded by those aunties...
This is not that bad already. Out of point here but I must rant haha. That day I was at Old Airport FC, brought in my dabao teh-ping into the toilet. Got ranted at for not paying 10 cents (coz auntie was not there) then she screamed at me: 1.Didn't pay HER 10 cents. 2. Bringing in my drink coz scaly I spill my teh-ping on the floor! According to her, her toilet cannot be wet so she made me leave my drink outside! Guess what? I gave her a killer look and walked out.
LOL. Dry toilet...man, you should have see my face.
diva: why like that?!!! don't tell me they're saying that it's the 'culture' to leave trays to clear rather than encouraging us to help them clear.
ice: wah lau. the 10- ok lah. can't fault her. but the teh-ping in a packet?!!! goodness! why she so grouchy? i've NEVER see a dry hawker ctr/foodcourt/kopitiam toilet in my entire life. she win lor.
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