Eating out nowadays can be a costly affair especially as the prices of goods are increasing. However, what makes matters worse is that certain restaurants are inconsistent with their pricing and do not specify how much exactly they charge per item.
Malaysian Vishnu Siwaraja recently experienced this when he bought food from an restaurant in SS15, Subang Jaya, only to be charged heftily.
Sharing his experience on TikTok, Vishnu said that he has been buying food from that restaurant daily for lunch. “Every time I get food from there, the prices are inconsistent. Sometimes it’s RM15, sometimes RM10.90, even though everyday I normally buy the same thing.”
The video’s caption reads, “Be more aware of prices when you go to this restaurant. You have to be brave and ask as it is our right as a consumer.”
He then explained that after noticing the inconsistencies in pricing, he began to collect and analyse the receipts. Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, he explained that while he would be in his office, his staff would normally buy the food for him and bring back the receipt to him.
“On Wednesday (27 April), they charged me RM15 for rice, chicken, vegetables and 2 teh tariks. In the bill, there is no breakdown and it is charged as one listing of food for RM15.”
“Although there is no breakdown, this is acceptable,” he added.
However, yesterday (28 April), Vishnu said that he ordered rice, chicken, vegetables and iced tea and was charged RM19.
“This one doesn’t make sense. So what I did was to call them afterwards and ask about their pricing. They told me that they charge RM3.50 for rice, and RM2 for vegetables, which is fine with me.”
“Then to try to justify the RM19 total bill, they said that it is because I took 12 tiny pieces of chicken. So that means that they charged me RM11 just for the chicken,” he said.
This meant that they had charged him 91 cents for each piece of tiny chicken.
Reported to authorities
He then said that he has made a report to the Ministry of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs against the restaurant due to their food prices which do not make sense.
“I hope that they are able to take action against this restaurant which is taking advantage of consumers. The problem is that every time their cashier changes, the prices also change and so it is not consistent. Honestly I don’t mind paying it but it has to be justified,” he said.
Netizens were shocked
The video has gone viral and currently sits on over 387,100 views and 15,500 likes. Plenty of users expressed their shock after discovering how much Vishnu paid for his food.
“Those small pieces of chicken amounted to RM11. Wow, they must really be profiting,” commented a user.
Another user jokingly asked Vishnu to check if the chicken contained gold to justify its pricing.
“A fresh whole chicken is RM15,” stated one user in disbelief.
Some users pointed out the price of the rice. “That amount of rice is RM3.50… a kilo of rice is only RM2.60.”
Meanwhile a few users who have dined at the same restaurant shared similar sentiments.
“Yeah that shop is always like that bro,” commented one user.
Conversation with the owner
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, Vishnu shared that after his video had gone viral, the owner had confronted him and accused him of “killing his business and seeking cheap publicity through TikTok.”
The owner allegedly told him, “If you think it’s expensive here you can cook and eat at home. You can eat at other restaurants. There are better shops out there.”
Have you ever experienced something similar? Let us know in the comments.
Also read: Malaysian Buys Nasi Campur at Mamak with Small Portions, Ends Up Paying RM45
