Customers are not always right.

One day my love and I were eating at Swensen's restaurant. It was cold and raining outside and I thought what better way to spend the day than here eating with Muhsin and ogling at ice-creams that pass by. For the record, I have always been a fan of their ice-creams! The day was going well and I was rather pleased with myself until (insert drum rolls here) a family came and sat next to us.

It was a couple and their baby. They were given the table next us. After they had ordered their food, the wife removed a styrofoam packet from a plastic. She called a waiter to ask for a plate and spoon so she could feed her baby. The waiter had to follow protocol and said that customers cannot bring outside food in that restaurant. The wife argued saying the food was for her baby. He looked unsure so he went to ask his supervisor.  The supervisor, a lady, came with a plastic spoon. She, like the waiter, repeated that they cannot have outside food in that restaurant. The wife and husband were very adamant and aggressively pressed on with  "it is just food for our baby". The wife even said "if we cannot have that then might as well cancel our orders, we'll just pay for the drinks and this soup". That, ladies and gentlemen, is an obvious threat, one that has probably been repeated in countless restaurants and food places.

The supervisor then went to get her manager. A big burly man came out of the room and came to their table, with a paper plate and a plastic spoon. When I first saw him I thought he will definitely give in to the demands of the customers next to us. Why do I say that? I feel shallow to even say this but here it is - the manager is the same race as the couple next to us.

"I'm sorry ma'am, we cannot allow outside food here however we can provide a paper plate and spoon for this time only," he said. And like a broken tape recorder, the wife and husband argued back the same thing.

"But it is JUST food for the baby!"

"I know, but this is a halal certified restaurant and we cannot verify that the food people bring in are halal as well. We have to be fair to our Muslim customers," he countered. Well you can guess what they said.

"This is just food for the baby. If you can't allow that then I guess we will have to cancel our orders," said the wife. She said that with such coolness thinking he'd bend to her threat. But this big burly man did me proud. All he said was "Ok"and turn to get the bill. He didn't even bother to pacify the couple and their unreasonable demand.

Some of you may think "it's just food for the baby". I looked over to their table and saw that the styrofoam packet contained rice with some stuffs on it. Yes it is just food for the baby. But this family were evidently not Muslim. Food for the baby may not contain pork meat but it could have been prepared with the same utensils used to cook pork and meat that were not halal. This couple weren't really thinking about others, just themselves. Children, knowingly or unknowingly, mimic their parents' behavior one way or another, and sooner or later. Seeing how ignorant and arrogant this couple is, I hope the child is smart enough to not follow their way of thinking.

This small nation is a multiracial society. Awareness and tolerance is key to living harmoniously. Those with the intention to incite racial hatred are dealt with severely by the law. A small nation that only has its people to make the economy stay afloat cannot afford to have social problems like intolerance amongst the different ethnic groups.

Muhsin had a concentrated look on his face while the couple were creating the commotion next to us. I thought, like me, he was feigning it. After the couple left, I wanted to talk to him about it and ask his opinion. That guy was actually really concentrating on his food! He knew they were creating alot of ruckus but his food was more important. So all the while when I was busy wondering if the couple would get their way, he was busy filling his stomach. I had to tell him from the start what I had eavesdropped heard. That required alot of hard work by the way.

Let me just end this blog post correcting a myth that food and beverage companies teach to their workers. Customers are not always right. Neither are they always King.