Thai shop’s refusal to replace ice cream spoon sparks debate

A mother’s request for a replacement spoon at a popular ice cream parlour sparked a heated debate online after the shop refused to provide one. The incident, which quickly garnered attention on social media, divided netizens into two camps: those supporting the shop’s policy and those sympathising with the mother.

The event came to light when a member of the พวกเราคือผู้บริโภค (We Are Consumers) Facebook group shared their experience on social media. The mother detailed how she took her daughter to purchase ice cream at a well-known brand within a shopping mall.

Unfortunately, her daughter dropped the spoon on the floor and accidentally stepped on it. When the mother asked her partner to request a new spoon from the staff, they were denied. The staff explained that the shop had to follow sales quotas and only provided spoons according to the number of sales.

The mother expressed her frustration, stating that utensils and tissues should be readily available for customers, especially in case of emergencies such as a dropped or broken spoon. She argued that if the policy was about maintaining sales quotas, it would make more sense for items like cones or cups rather than spoons. Ultimately, she solved the problem by getting a spoon from the food court to allow her daughter to eat the ice cream, reported KhaoSod.

Following the online discussion, numerous comments flooded in, showing a clear division of opinions.

Supporters of the mother:
1. “It’s just a spoon. If it’s dropped, shouldn’t we be able to ask for another? Aren’t they counting the cups, not the spoons?”
2. “Providing utensils is a basic part of customer service because accidents can happen during use.”
3. “Accidents happen. There should be a backup plan, like having inexpensive extra spoons for customers.”
4. “I once dropped a spoon in front of the shop, and the staff gave me a new one.”
5. “This is a service that should be provided. The quota should be based on the system, not on utensils.”
6. “I’ve bought one cup but asked for two spoons before, and the shop provided them. I didn’t know they counted spoons too.”
7. “I thought they only counted cups. Do they count spoons now too?”

Supporters of the shop:
1. “You could have washed the spoon. Sometimes staff are checked on their sales quotas, including spoons.”
2. “If they could give it without trouble, they would have done so.”
3. “Not everything is free. Everything has a cost.”
4. “Nowadays, it’s easy to blame others before taking responsibility.”
5. “Spoons are part of the sales quota. You can’t just give them out freely.”
6. “Why not buy another cup for your child?”
7. “One spoon won’t bankrupt the shop, but the staff might get into trouble for giving it away.”

Some users offered practical solutions, suggesting that the shop should have a stock of cheaper backup spoons for such incidents. However, they also noted that blaming the employees was unfair as they were simply following the rules. They pointed out that a shop that fails to accommodate small customer needs might lose repeat business.