'He doesn't look at the money box': Chinatown hawker earns praise for trusting customers to pay and take their own change

Being a hawker involves plenty of multi-tasking and apart from cooking, they also have to manage customers and be their own cashier. 

To perhaps make the process a little easier for himself, one hawker has created a system where customers pay and take their own change. 

But it's something that requires plenty of trust. 

Impressed, netizen Lee Siew Yian took to Facebook on Wednesday (Jan 10) to praise the hawker, who runs a lor mee stall at the basement food court of People's Park Centre. 

"I was amazed to see his money box right at the counter while he cooks his noodles," Siew Yian said. 

"There’s a queue for his delicious lor mee. He doesn’t look at the money box. He has no assistant, just himself."

Siew Yian also shared a picture of a sign at the front of the stall near the cashbox.

This read in Chinese: "Payment is self-service. Takeaway boxes require an extra 30 cents. Thank you for your cooperation." 

"It is on the customers and their integrity to pay the right amount," she noted. 

AsiaOne has reached out to Siew Yian for more details. 

In the comments, netizens also praised the hawker for being so trusting and many said they respected him for it. 

Others said that he is teaching people an important and valuable lesson, while one netizen expressed that he's amazed that to date, some people practise such methods. 

Some also shared similar experiences they've had with other food vendors. 

One netizen said that he used to patronise a stall at Whampoa Market where he established a trust system with the hawker. 

The hawker too had allowed self-service payment. 

Another netizen shared that a drink stall in Temasek Polytechnic Business School functions the same way too, which teaches students a valuable lesson. 

ALSO READ: Serangoon hawker returns money after customer pays $700 for $7 meal

melissateo@asiaone.com