Dine-in customer upset by 10-cent BCRS charge at dim sum restaurant: Who pays and who returns the can?
A diner was unhappy that a restaurant charged him a 10-cent deposit under the Beverage Container Return Scheme (BCRS) for a can of Coca-Cola.
Stomper G said he visited Dim Sum Place at North Bridge Road on the night of July 19.
He shared with Stomp a photo of his $112.55 bill, which included a can of Coke Zero that cost $3.80.
However, G was baffled that he was also charged a 10-cent BCRS deposit for the canned beverage.
Confused, he asked the eatery’s cashier “what the deposit is for” and was told it was for the canned drink.
“The staff said it is our duty and obligation to return the can to a Return Right machine to be able to collect back the 10 cents,” G recounted.
“It was so absurd of them to compare it to FairPrice’s policy of charging five cents for a plastic bag that you bring home to carry the goods that you bought.”
G told Stomp that he was unable to make sense of what he was told.
“In this case, the restaurant is asking us to bring out all of our empty cans and look for a Return Right machine to collect back the 10 cents,” he said. “Who in their right mind will do that?”
The Stomper also claimed: “If we do not do it, the restaurant can deposit the cans themselves and collect the 10 cents for themselves.
“Furthermore, they insisted that this is mandated by the government even though I haven’t heard about it anywhere.”
G posed the following questions and asked to be corrected if he is wrong:
- “Is there really such a law passed?”
- “Is it legal to collect money and ask your customer to collect it back from the machine?”
Restaurant clarifies its policy, which is ‘in accordance with guidelines’
In response to a Stomp query, Dim Sum Place said it implemented the $0.10 charge as soon as it received canned beverages bearing the BCRS deposit mark from its suppliers.
The restaurant has adopted the option of selling the beverage together with its container, which is in accordance with the BCRS guidelines for F&B operators, said a spokesperson for Dim Sum Place.
“As such, a separate item key, “$0.10 BCRS Deposit”, is clearly displayed on the receipt to indicate this refundable deposit charged to customers,” the spokesperson explained.
“To help our customers understand this initiative when we implemented the deposit charge, an A4 Straits Times article with the article QR link and a BCRS $0.10 Deposit Charge poster is displayed in all our outlets.”
The spokesperson also said it appears that the restaurant’s staff “may not have communicated clearly” to the Stomper.
“We will reinforce on our staff training to ensure our team is able to explain the BCRS deposit scheme accurately and address any customer queries effectively,” the spokesperson added.
“We appreciate the opportunity to clarify our implementation of this BCRS initiative and will be committed to provide a transparent and positive experience for our customers.”
Who absorbs 10-cent deposit?
According to the BCRS website, participating Return Right F&B operators “can make it easy for (their) customers by handling the return of the containers — while continuing business-as-usual for dine-in”.
This means that they can:
- Serve beverages in cups or glasses, without the containers; or
- With containers, and collect the empty containers from customers.
The 10-cent deposit remains with the F&B operator and is “not to be charged to customers”.
For Non-Return Right restaurants and food shops that are under not the scheme, it depends on whether the beverage is sold with or without the container.
If a F&B establishment sells the beverage with the container, the customer pays the 10-cent deposit and keeps the container. The onus is on the consumer to return the container at a Return Right machine and claim the 10-cent deposit.
If the beverage is sold without the container, the F&B establishment must not charge the customer the 10-cent deposit and may return the container at a Return Right machine to claim the deposit.
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