This morning, I bought duck noodle soup for mom as breakfast.
Nothing unusual.
Except I noticed something new.
There's a new sign stating they are closed on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays, and Sundays.
LOL!
Why can't they just say they are opened on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays?
Before you think they are lazy hawkers, they have been here since the early days of Tanglin Halt.
People have been selling for over 40 years.
I think that's a nice reflection on the progress of ordinary citizens with the progress of Singapore over the years.
They have earned it.
Those of you in your 50s like me, do you remember most hawkers when we were in primary school never closed?
Of course the owner will rest for one day. But when he takes off, he will make sure his assistant/apprentice will take over for that day.
When you pay the same rent every month, a day off not earning money is like flushing money down the toilet right?
As our economic picture improves, we finally see hawkers taking 1 day off per week. (Money cannot earn finish one)
Slowly it tuned into 2 days off per week like most hawkers we see today. (Food courts don't count as most of them are chain stores/outlets run like fast food outlets)
I don't know about other HDB estates, but in mature (euphemism for old) HDB estate like Queenstown, there are quite a few hawkers that only open 4 days a week.
Just visit ABC market, Alexandra Village, Mei Ling Street, and of course the two Tanglin Halt Food Centres (10 storey and 16 storey).
Often these are first generation hawkers who have been plying their craft for 40 over years.
But a 3 day work week is rare amongst hawkers.
That's why I had to take a double-take this morning.
I'm happy for the duck noodle soup seller.
Its really a case of hungry eat; tired rest.
A lot of bei kambings in our financial freedom community over plan things.
Set goals that they neither have influence or control over...
Own self don't trust their own feet. Go round asking others what shoe size they should wear!? (How much money should I have to retire on? And yes, that's a dumb question!)
No, I'm not going to say if a Duck Noodle Seller could do it, so can you!
.
Smol,
ReplyDeleteHe's earned it, and lucky the hawker centre is under NEA and not some so-called social enterprise where hawkers have to adhere to X days open per week @ Y hrs per day.
Then again hope no overzealous young civil servant talk to him about "underutilising" govt property lol.
Hmm nowadays modern hawkers also overplan things ... if cannot hit 6-figure take home pay after 3 years, call it quits hoho. That's why all the artisanal cuisine in hawker centres 😁
Spur,
DeleteI hear you!
Remember the time when the public were complaining its hard to get a cab before the arrival of Uber and Grab?
If you're a civil servant and you only can think like a hammer, the "brilliant" solution is to mandate all nails to drive X amount of hours per day. If not...
Of course the better solution arrived by not working "harder", but having an app that matches supply and demand - and SURGE PRICING ;)
After being treated like that, is it any wonder taxi-drivers who value their "independence" have decided to switch to private car hires?
Yup, I've noticed attas coffee, attas burgers, attas this, attass that propping up in Queenstown hawker centres.
The most funny is one at Alexandra Village some years back that sells salads and grass for $6-$7 dollars? I mean at Shenton Way maybe got chance. But in mature HDB estate? I don't think they lasted more than 6 months?
The modern graduate hawkers are not into craftsmanship. Its a business! They're more into franchising, centralised kitchen, scalability, worldwide domination!
But at least they got it right - its better to sell shares than to buy shares ;)
Smol,
DeleteThe hammer of choice for civil servants used to be outsourcing, outsourcing, outsourcing. Still is, but more of private-public "partnerships".
When hawker centres get thrown up to the highest bidders offering to pay gahmen hundreds of K rental per month, it doesn't take a genius to predict consequences ... old hawkers getting priced or kicked out ... contractual working hours & KPI ... tripling of prices.
The newer hawkers face much higher stall rentals, even in NEA-controlled centres, as compared to existing fellow oldie hawkers whose rentals have been kept relatively low throughout the decades as a privilege.
Newbies may get rental rebates for 6-12 months under various hawkerpreneur programs, but ultimately they have to bring home at least a median wage else might as well go back to corporate life (or drive Grab).
Times are different .... in olden days becoming a hawker is NO choice! Today becoming a hawker is BY choice! 😂
Spur,
DeleteHow true.
Nowadays, being a hawker is dipping your toes in the F&B line.
Start small with big dreams. Go chase rainbows like Lao Lee encouraged ;)
You never know. One day we may have a Singapore version of McDonald's or Subway all over the world!
Hi SMOL,
ReplyDeleteLast time as a tuition 'hawker', I also work 7 days a week, morning till late night (1130pm is my latest). Then I changed and progressed from I work half days on weekends, to I have occasional leave on public holidays, to I don't work after 10pm to I work quarter day on Sun. I think I will also follow the life of those old hawkers and take 2 days off per week, until I only operate on mon, wed, fri lol
As you said, that's progress and regress. It's only regress when we haven't earned the right and started demanding this when I first started. Same same but different.
**that's progress and not regress
ReplyDeleteLP,
DeleteSame for me.
I started on the selling floor with 6 day workweek.
Then progressed to 5 day workweek after becoming a Buyer.
Went on sabbatical from fulltime work when I discovered I got enough.
Found it to boring after 1.9 years, returned back to the selling floor working weekends and public holidays.
Now I just work weekends only ;)
Just have to listen to our body and soul.
Hungry eat; tired rest.
I am also seeing more and more semi or quasi retired old hawkers working part-time and also more younger ones taking over.
ReplyDeleteCW,
DeleteYoung, got energy; no money. Work our ass off! I have a dream!
Old fogey, got money; less energy. Money cannot earn finish one. Can take it easier.
Young, don't work; just dream or plan and nothing else... Money lost can recover; time lost is forever gone...
Old fogey, still have to work because no choice... Its never that bullshit I fail to plan therefore I plan to fail so many snake oils and parrots try to smoke us.
P.S. Singapore not a bad place hor? No wonder so many foreign friends like to emigrate, study or work here!
Hi SMOL,
ReplyDeleteLol. You ah. Go and poke those over-planners.
Recently, a bei kambing asked what would happen if they transfer money from bank account A to bank account B and is there any significance for doing so.
As the moderator, I nonchalantly said "your money ends up in bank account B."
The crypto community laughed at the question asker. Hilarity ensues.
Unintelligent Nerd,
DeleteYou got potential to tell one-liner jokes! LOL!
Of course planning is good.
I just can't fathom those who used up 80% of the time allotted just for analysis and planning???
And leave the balance 20% time for actual implementation!?
Talk about setting themselves up to fail?
Still got cheek to parrot, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail."
Yeah, right...