Felt like eating chicken rice today so went to the nearby hawker center. That particular hawker center has 2 rival chicken rice stalls; stall A has been around for almost half a century and has many loyal customers while stall B has been around for decades but nonetheless has a steadily growing customer base. 


Stall A's chicken rice costs a whopping $34 per plate :o The most expensive chicken rice I've ever eaten in SG cost about $5 so I have always wondered if eating stall A's chicken rice can help one to attain immortality or what, for it to warrant a price tag of $34? However many of the residents who live nearby seem to not mind the hefty price; they might complain about it being more expensive than other stalls' but their reasoning is that as long as the chicken rice is tasty and delicious, the $34 is worth it, better than paying $3.40 for a plate of cheap chicken rice for which you don't know if it tastes as good. 


Six months ago, some of stall A's customers complained of food poisoning after eating their chicken rice and thereafter swore not to ever patronise stall A again because not only is their chicken rice no longer as scrumptious as before, rats and cockroaches can also be seen scurrying around in their stall. Previously there were already numerous complaints and urges for them to be more hygienic but it fell upon deaf ears. However, this food poisoning incident perhaps did give them a slight wake up call because the usually arrogant stallholder actually apologised to affected customers and also promised to pay more attention to the sanitary conditions of his stall. Due to the recent food poisoning incident on top of their pricey chicken rice, quite a number of customers have flocked over to stall B instead, so I guess stall A is finally feeling the heat from their competitor and is aware that they must do something to retain their customers.   


So today when I went to the hawker center, I passed by stall A and realised that they have slashed their price by 36% to $22. Amid the snaking queue at the stall, a couple were sort of quarreling. Apparently they were victims of the previous food poisoning case so the husband was adamant about boycotting stall A for life, but his wife kept trying to persuade him to give stall A another chance because after all they have reduced the price of their chicken rice from $34 to $22 which is quite a lot, and also, the owner of stall A is obviously not selling chicken rice for profit, he just sincerely wants to share his delicious chicken rice with the people. If he was truly in it for the profits, he would have set up his chicken rice stall in holland village where the affluent live, rather than in a neighbourhood area right? When the husband retorted that at $22, the chicken rice is still too over-priced, his wife gave him a tongue-lashing and said that he is really hard to please, give discount already still not satisfied.


Hmm... so this has got me thinking; why is it that some people are so easily deceived? Market rate for chicken rice elsewhere is only $5 at most even for the most heavenly-tasting ones, so no matter how much discount a stall gives, as long as the chicken rice cost more than $5, it is still considered expensive okay? End of story, kthxbye :s