Tray Returning Saga

This is part of the transcript of our PM Lee Hsien Loong's National Day Rally 2008 Speech;

"Clear tables and return food trays – we need to improve. We are trying to inculcate this habit. I don’t understand. Every national service man knows exactly what to do in his cookhouse. Maybe we need more reservists training. But at Suntec City, no reservists, no NSmen, it’s going to take time to change the mindset because the mindset is I go to the food courts to eat and not to clean tables. So I got a letter recently from somebody, a lady, an email, talking exactly about this, about how we should make Singapore a more happy place to live. And she mentioned this. She said “Actually we should feel quite embarrassed to leave our dirty plates and dirty tables for the next diner. In my Mum’s house, after eating we will clear our plates and clean the table. This is a good habit we should adopt outside the home”. Then she went on to add, “Oh yes, most importantly, no fines, no fines. Dishing out fines hurts relationships and no good image for PAP Government.” So I thank her for her good wishes. We shall try and find some ways before thinking about fines."

This is probably what spark off the Tray Returning Saga! First let me tell you - I don't return the tray, crockery and cutlery at the food court or hawker centre. Before I tell you why I don't bother to return the tray and crockery or cutlery, let's see what happen to all these trays, crockery and cutlery after the customers used them.

The following are what I observed and aware of in one of the largest food court chain outlets;

1. The auntie or uncle cleaners will take the trays and wipe it with their only cloth they are holding, and return the trays to the stalls. The trays are not wash (not so sure if they are wash at all on a monthly or weekly basis).

2. The crockery and cutlery are put in the rectangular collection bin with leftover food and bones and rubbish cleared. Crockery and cutlery are separated. The cutlery are washed by the employed washers from the food court management. The crockery are washed by the stall holders themselves. This was told by me by this food court management when I wanted to rent a stall.

3. The food court management will engage a cleaning company to provide them with all these cleaning aunties and uncles to clear the tables, trays, crockery and cutlery. The food court management charge each individual stall holders about S$200 or S$300 or more per month depending on the size of the stall, for this clearing service even the stall is a take-away stall with no trays, crockery and cutlery provided.

4. Those cleaning aunties and uncles are paid only about S$600 per month. What other fringe benefits do they have??? Now they even have to compete with those 'foreign talents' from China to keep this job. These cleaning aunties and uncles are employed to do just this job and not the dish washing in the washing bay.

5. In most food court and hawker centres, there are no tray, crockery and cutlery returning point. Even if there is, it's meant for the cleaner use and not for the customers to use. You don't even notice it if you are not the cleaner!

OK, now I tell you why I don't bother to return the tray, etc...This is only a S$600 (about) per month job and the cleaning aunties and uncles are happy to have this job. Even if we clear our trays and crockery and cutlery, do you think the food court management will not charge the stall holders this clearing fees? Only the aunties and uncles will loose their jobs! Don't bother about the so called 'guarantee' that they will not loose their jobs - there is no iron rice bowl!

1. There is no trays and crockery and cutlery returning points for customers in most food courts and hawker centres. The management itself does not encourage such act too, else why no returning points for such items? The returning points mainly are for the cleaners use and not customers use, so it's difficult to identify them. Moreover, how many such returning points are there in one food court or hawker centre? One may have to walk from one end to the other end.

2. If the trays are not wash at all, then by returning them all to the same point - it will make the trays even much more dirtier. Are the cleaners going to wipe them again with the same old cloth and then just return it to the stall for us to use again? Imagine some of diners even put their cutlery on these trays after buying their food...

3. Are there washing points besides the returning points for the customers to wash their hands?

4. I usually leave the tray at the next empty table after I carried my food to the table. I've seen one diner trying to find where is the tray returning point to return the tray, and when he was back at his table, he found his food had been cleared by the cleaners.

5. More aunties and uncles will loose their jobs if all of us start to return our trays, crockery and cutlery.

I really couldn't find any good reasons to return the trays, crockery and cutlery at least at this moment. Tray returning has nothing to do with gracious or not. But the following is definitely NOT Gracious;

1. Students hogging the tables and studying at food courts (see Terminal 3,2 or 1 now) and fast food outlets.

2. Parents allowing their kids to cycle and kick scooter, or round about in the neighbourhood food court.

3. Hogging of seats at crowded food court after finishing their meals.

The above are some of the DEFINITELY NOT GRACIOUS acts by our locals. Why are these issues not address? Maybe PM Lee can include these in the next National Day Rally.

Sometimes I wonder if it is right to spend so much money, time and effort on such a campaign "Goodness Gracious Me". The number of posters, stickers and hanging mobiles printed...See this poster below requesting the diners to return their dirty tray.



For me, I will not eat with my plate or bowl on the tray as I've mentioned, the trays are not washed. So how to return the 'dirty' tray? If they are 'dirty', then these 'dirty' trays are from the stall holders! Most likely this campaign is targeted at those lone diners (office workers) who usually leave their plates and bowls on the tray while eating.

This campaign is organised by Straits Times and Kopitiam Foodcourt. For a start, they are carrying out this campaign at 5 of their outlets;



The media also mentioned that the campaign will be extended to other hawker centres or fast food centres under the Singapore Kindness Movement. I really wonder what has returning tray got to do with Graciousness and Kindness. My family and I have our meals at the food courts and hawker centres at least 6 to 7 times a week and frankly we don't find this tray returning a big issue at all. In fact, we hate to see those students hogging the seats at fast food outlets, and some food courts especially those at Changi Airport. Are these students revising and doing their homework at the food court and fast food outlets gracious?

People who do not return their trays are not ungracious but because the current eating outlets do not have the 'mechanism' for the diners to return their trays, crockery and cutlery. Don't blame the diners for everything like making a mess on the table;

Credit : Above all - The Straits Times

Come on, not all diners intentionally mess up the table for fun. There may be occasional spill on the table due to carelessness. There may be bones, prawn shells, etc on the table due to our type of local food. Of course there may be some used tissue papers too. Are there different bins for the diners to clear all these so called 'mess'?

Below is the video of the Kopitiam Food Court at the Terminal 3 where the campaign is carried out. Frankly it's difficult to identify where is the tray returning point unless you bother to walk round the food court to find it or you are a regular there. Are you able to spot it at first glance? How many tray returning points are there? Are there signs to tell you so? Are there wash point besides it for you to wash your hands after returning the dirty trays, crockery and cutlery?



Let's be gracious, don't blame the diners!