Cinema staff alleges Singaporean man displayed rudeness over outside food, drinks

A cinema worker recounts a tense encounter with a customer over outside food rules, triggering debate on customer behaviour and staff treatment.

PART of working in customer service involves dealing with people from various walks of life. Unfortunately, that includes difficult customers, whether they are locals or from abroad.

A cinema worker recently shared their negative experience with a Singaporean man who allegedly tried to sneak outside food and drinks into the theatre hall.

Shared on Reddit, the worker said they initially informed the man of the rule prohibiting such items in the cinema, which resulted in a drastic change in his attitude.

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“He started raising his voice, saying, ‘Singapore don’t have this kind of rule!’ and even went on about how Singapore has a ‘higher standard’ than Malaysia, so why is it so strict here?

“I kept it professional, told him it’s management policy, but he escalated — started cursing, talking down to me, saying I have no common sense. At that point I’m just thinking I’m getting paid to scan tickets, not debate national standards,” the post read.

The manager then sauntered over to the worker’s station and allegedly apologised to the customer instead, leaving the cinema staff confused and upset.

“I didn’t even raise my voice. I just followed the rules they told me to enforce.

“What’s the point of rules if staff get thrown under the bus the moment a customer complains?” the post added.

The worker later said the manager refunded the Singaporean’s ticket after the incident.

The post resonated with many, who not only criticised the cinema-goer but also some Singaporeans for allegedly displaying similar attitudes when visiting Malaysia.

“Malaysian working in Singapore here. In fact, all cinemas in Singapore do have this rule and there are way too many Singaporeans with this kind of attitude, especially when they travel to Malaysia and think everything is cheap and everyone should be ‘nice’ to them,” one user said.