To david: I don’t think the CASE staff make a habit out of surfing blogs for consumer complaints. View all comments by Veron

yes they did assure you that the taste would be the same, but for health issues, i think that that would be for the purchasers to consider.

if it were wrong for BCH to sell the burnt charred pieces of ba kwa, im sure CASE would have already prevented them from doing so. but as we can see, they havent, so obviously there must be some weird people out there who enjoy these kind of burnt charred ba kwa. so at the end of the day, if one WILLINGLY paid for the bakwa, whether or not under the influence of the salesperson, it would be pretty much his or her own problem.

oh im sorry if this offended you in any way. i just wanted to state my pov. SORRY AGAIN! :] View all comments by david

It’s one thing to sell “lower quality” stuff. But selling trash is a different thing altogether.

Shredded bak kwa that are burnt and black and charred and unhealthful and meant for the trash should not be sold to anyone in the first place, whether it’s 10 cents per packet or $26 (the actual price).

Sigh. View all comments by Veron

granted as with all things….there must be a trade off in terms of quality, price and aesthetics

the seller wants to maximise his sales….the buyer wants to minimise his cost….the trick is to find a meeting point…..

the seller thus lower the quality….the buyer settles for lower quality

if quality remains unchanged….who would want to pay a premium for no added advantage? View all comments by

Ask anyone WILL they knowing buy burnt pork?

Imagine:

If an unknown bak kwa stall in some basam malam display these burnt meat strips in a heap and sell them real cheap, like 1 kilo $2.00, and they weight it and sell it to you. Will you buy it? Seeing a heap of burnt meat strips.

But if it is a reknown company like Bee Cheng Hiang? Packaging it nicely and have their shop personnel explain to you, it’s the same thing but these are not cut nicely so we sell cheap. Will you buy then?

There is a point that we consumers will be more trusting when we buy from a reknown company, coz we THOUGHT they will not lower their standards and their reputation in order to earn some petty profits.

Honestly, I’m disgusted to read this. How much profit did Bee Cheng Hiang expect to milk from these little packets of burnt meat strips? They already have such long queues in their branches every Chinese New Year and such a large market share of the Bak Kwa industry but they will resort to these. Just for a few extra pennies? It’s not only the lack of social responsibility, they also lack self-respect and corporate pride. There are certain undermeans that are more suitable for small stall owners, and a large organisation should not resort to those. View all comments by Jennifer

Did anyone tomorrow tis? View all comments by DK

It looks like a Tomorrow-worthy post too.. View all comments by Aristocrat

It was my dad who bought it, so I don’t know how the process went. But that’s not the point at all.

The point is that Bee Cheng Hiang sold stuff that should not have been sold in the first place. Whether it was sold off-the-rack or packaged right there on the spot is irrelevant.

Since we’re on the topic of brands, my favorite is Kim Hua Guan, followed by Lim Chee Guan. But I’ve stopped eating meat (except for chicken and seafood). Therefore, no bak kwa for me this year. View all comments by Veron

erm, did they hand the packet to you and sort of hardsell it, or did you pick it up from the rack yourself? As a consumer, we really should look carefully before making payment, very much like checking the expiry date before buying canned food or cartoned milk.

Not trying to advertise for opposing brands, but usually I buy bak kwa from Lim Chee Guan and I personally see them put the slices into the plastic bag, and if that slice is not to my satisfaction (ie, too black) I’ll tell them to change to a nicer looking piece. View all comments by chillycraps

Also, ethics doesn’t figure much here in Singapore, sadly enough, but that’s generally true for most capitalist societies as well. Just look at all the health/diet/investment scams we have in newspapers like Today. View all comments by geekoid

But whether it’s CASE or NEA, that’s not the big issue here is it? View all comments by Veron

Veron, my read is that you’re more concerned about the second issue. Which, if that were so, what Anonymous wrote is correct, it is a problem for CASE rather than NEA. Here, consumers have a choice whether or not to purchase and/or eat it. That’s what I think Anonymous’s point is about - not whether BCH is right/wrong, but rather, take an approach that is more effective. So I don’t think he’s actually objecting to your boycott of BCH (neither am I) on ethical grounds.

Now, if BCH were running a factory that spews out black burnt crunchy bit smoke right into your apartment day after day, then NEA would be the relevant body to approach in this case. In fact, I think it might be within your legal right to order an air quality check at your premises if that were so. View all comments by geekoid

Thank YOU to all those who actually saw the point. I didn’t expect that it would be so few of you. View all comments by Veron