Singapore Expats

I was in a coffee shop yesterday at JP and there were no seats as 50% were taken by young students who share drinks or drink nothing with the other 50% choped for imaginary friends.....so I asked/told a couple to move right along or do a strange thing and buy something ......then the wee friends come along and mouth something and continually stare as my wife is a local.....so straight to the face " you got a problem'....of course they cower behind the empty coffee glass and hide...and the glass was quite big so I could not see him...
The younger generation here need a good slap in the jaw....they act tough...mouthing at foreigners....as they study in coffee shops sharing their drinks....
Of course after I left he slagged me off telling me to leave his country....I did not walk back as did not want to make the shop girl clean up his urine...

Us Ang Mohs have no need to share drinks....we are not asylum seekers...we are here working and earning lots of money thank you and paying taxes to your country to keep you lot in work!

My wife is Singaporean and is ashamed of the way some of her country folk behave.....Get a life and look within...that's where the problem is...not with us...we are all really quite happy...unlike you!

It's a difficult situation.... I've lived most of my life as a guest or PR or work visa holder in a few places. I normally attempt (not always successfully) to try to remember I am an ambassador of my own country and act accordingly. I've not had a lot of resentment sent my way in Singapore.

The 'chopping' nonesense and taking up of tables by students all day has to stop though - I think we'll see the stall and shop owners act on that soon enough with the pressure on rent and profits.

Subway in Bukit Timah Plaza have put up signs saying no studying. I'm not sure it's an SG thing, the ignoring of it by business owners maybe, but students are always a bit feckless, thoughtless and poor and will spend the whole day over one drink if they can.

And so is Starbucks. Obviously they like the idea of being seen studying with a single cup of expensive coffee in an 'atas' place, while hogging the entire cluster of seats and the socket nearby.

Very difficult question with no obvious solution. If I am not feckless, thoughtless and poor and will not spend the whole day over one drink, why can't I study in a coffee shop?

Sergei82 wrote:Very difficult question with no obvious solution. If I am not feckless, thoughtless and poor and will not spend the whole day over one drink, why can't I study in a coffee shop?

The problem calls for a situational judgement for resolution. If three students push three full-size tables together for their laptops, books, notebooks, calculators, and smart phones, consuming the space needed for twelve 'normal' customers for hours, but the shop is otherwise empty, no problem.

If they do this at a popular location and dozens of other shorter-term customers can't sit down, so instead of buying drinks and pastries to eat in the store, instead take-away their drink and go eat elsewhere, they should be booted out.

Unfortunately the 'situational judgement' required is not a common trait in the shift-supervisor or manager likely present in each store. Even more so, I imagine they would not have support from their direct management if a complaint was escalated up. (Even if that direct management complained about the lowered sales!)

Sergei82 wrote:Very difficult question with no obvious solution. If I am not feckless, thoughtless and poor and will not spend the whole day over one drink, why can't I study in a coffee shop?

I can't imagine anyone caring if a proper grown up is sat studying/working whilst purchasing. But students are students and studying is frequently loafing and socialising whilst buying nothing.

I must admit if we were somewhere (anywhere) with students everywhere and empty glasses I would approach with a smile and ask if they were done because we needed a table. Maybe their reaction was based on your (understandably irritated) approach?

I reckon if Sergei went up and asked for a table, they wouldn't be able to vacate fast enough, just in hopes that he didn't turn green and therefore angry. Ala, Bill Bixby's, "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!"

sundaymorningstaple wrote:I reckon if Sergei went up and asked for a table, they wouldn't be able to vacate fast enough, just in hopes that he didn't turn green and therefore angry. Ala, Bill Bixby's, "you wouldn't like me when I'm angry!"

And for those who haven't met him, the avatar photo on Sergei's posts is actually him. Just photoshopped to remove the green skin.

Another thing related to "studying" but on a different topic related to taking up space that annoys me is that there are countless numbers of people riding lifts who obviously aren't handicapped, aren't pushing strollers/prams and aren't carrying large things.

It would be so much quicker for them to ride the escalators or take the stairs but they won't do it. This is quite common in the shopping malls and MRT stations. I'm waiting for a lift with my child in a stroller and the lift stops and I can't get on because it's filled with abled bodies.

I feel compelled to call them out but refrain.

I feel compelled to come post and report, live from Big Splash Starbucks

So the place is packed, obviously packed with both students and local "professionals" (I'm guessing all real estate agents). One table in the corner was 'free'. As I walk up, I see a student on one side of the chair has his cables draped through the area to the outlet. That doesn't bother me at all. As I continue to walk up, he sees me, looks at his cables, and very conspicously picks his cables up and drapes them across the chair at the table he isn't even using as if to chop the chair. I chuckle and just sit down. He turned back around and mumbled something in the bastardized pidgin talk used on this island.

Anyway, not to be all STOMP! like, but I decided to take a photo anyway. His shirt is funny.



The Singapore Spirit! indeed. hah.

BedokAmerican wrote:Another thing related to "studying" but on a different topic related to taking up space that annoys me is that there are countless numbers of people riding lifts who obviously aren't handicapped, aren't pushing strollers/prams and aren't carrying large things.

My office is a two-story building. There is such a queue for the lift that people often have to wait an extra two minutes for it to go up, and come back down, when the steps are 15 meters away.

And the word in red 'Majulah!'? It means 'Let's be progressive'. Looks like we're seeing a backward trend around...

Our new lifts have been operational now for about 10 days. Yesterday, after returning from the market with a considerable load of consumables, I decided to take the lift for the first time, up to the flat instead of walking up and down for three trips. But I've seen other wait 3 minutes for the lift to go down 2 floors.

So what? In MRT they queue up for lift to go down 1 floor only.