Dear TRS,
I was having lunch with my family on a typical Tuesday, at Ang Mo Kio’s food court when I found myself in a trouble that is, quite common to people everyday. Most of the seats available for use have used bowls and plates lying around the table making it difficult for new users to place their bowl of food around and also making the food court unsightly and unhygienic.
I looked around to see where the cleaners were, and what I found broke my heart. There were 2 cleaners, one elderly man and another elderly woman, sweat pouring down their backs as they scramble to toss and organise the cutlery and bowls into the grey containers that is already filled with plates to be washed.
Don't get me wrong, these people were efficient in their plate clearing, with one hand combining the bowls together and the other pouring the unfinished food into the bin. So what is it they were doing wrong?
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. As I further investigated, I saw that the NEA has already recognized the problem and thought of a solution. And it is for users to put back our own trays of used bowls on a rack located at the sides. This would help cleaners vastly as they would only need to wipe the tables, making tables available faster for other users who need it.
However, the problem that we face now is that people do not feel the need to move their plates to the rack because they do not have an incentive or consideration for the cleaners. Of the many bowls and trays being used in the span of 1 hour, which I spent in the food court, there were only a handful of trays left on the rack.
I had a thought about it and might have found a viable solution that may work.
We, as the user needs an incentive to move our trays from the tables to the rack, and it is seen that compassion isn’t going to help, therefore, I think what we could try, is to give a person a $0.10 coupon that can only be used at the specific food court the next time they eat there. Hire someone to give the coupons and also ensure a smooth flow of trays and bowls.
Although $0.10 may not be of enough financial incentive for many Singaporeans, we have to remind ourselves that we aren’t paying them to move the trays, but rather riding on their consideration for others to clear the plate, and “thank” them for it by giving them coupons.
With the addition of $0.10 coupons, people who do need the money would be helping the hired cleaners decrease their workload making it labor-saving and time-saving for both the cleaner and the customer.
In conclusion, I urge NEA to liaise with the food court owners and come up with this or a similar and improved system.
My heart goes out to the elderly cleaners because I believe they should not have it so hard. Please help me by either supporting or coming up with a better idea.
Regards,
Tun