Malaysians Argue Over Service Charge Vs Cleaning Up After Ourselves At Restaurants
"[Cleaning up] is just a courtesy, not a rule. Deal with it," a netizen argued.
By May Vin Ang — 22 Jul 2022, 05:55 PM
A rant on Twitter recently turned into a discussion about whether Malaysians should clean up after themselves when dining out
Twitter user @MuhammadEilham took to his account on 17 July to chide some customers who did not clean up their table after eating at a Texas Chicken outlet.
In his tweet, he wrote that the food and beverage (F&B) industry is currently facing a worker shortage, and implied that not leaving a mess was the least customers could do to help the situation.
"There's only one employee at the counter and two in the kitchen. And on top of that, there are customers who don't want to tidy up after eating," he said.
"It's really sad to see people nowadays. Where is the common sense?" he asked.
His rant was retweeted thousands of times and garnered over 3,000 likes and 300 replies
Surprisingly, people were sharply divided over the matter.
Some agreed with Eilham, saying that cleaning up is a common courtesy. Meanwhile, others said that they had paid for the service and, so, it was not their responsibility to clean.
"Haiyo. Whether a customer cleans or not, that is a choice. But as a worker, you do not have a choice to clean, because that is your job, right? You shouldn't even be complaining about this," said a user.
"The service tax we pay isn't little, it's 10%. When you do not pay service tax at tom yum shops, then of course there's no argument. [Cleaning up] is just a courtesy, not a rule. Deal with it," another said.
However, others pointed out that the service tax argument is not even valid because service tax is a tax collected by the government, not by the employees.
"Service tax is the 6% sales and service tax (SST) that is taken by the government, not the employees. The 10% service charge is the one that goes into a worker's salary. Fast food restaurants don't have a service charge," someone explained.
Meanwhile, many others said that regardless of service tax or service charge, people should learn to be considerate, not only to the staff but also for themselves and other customers
"I'm sorry, my parents taught me that if I ate at a fast food place, I must throw away my own leftovers. Even if I'm eating at a restaurant with a service charge, I will arrange my plate nicely so that it's easier for the waiter to pick up. Besides, Islam teaches us to be clean, so practise it," said a user.
Another said, "Honestly, I clean the table after eating, not because I've paid taxes or any charges, but because of the attitude and discipline my parents taught me since childhood. My opinion is that cleaning is a good deed because I ease the work of the staff there."
This user said, "I'm sad looking at all the comments being against cleaning up their tables after eating. Regardless of whether you pay tax or charge, you should have the heart to at least ease the burden of others. Make it easy for the staff, and for the next customers who will sit at your table."
