Forum: Keeping coffee shops clean a challenge – no economies of scale or aid
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
I refer to the recent articles and discussions regarding cleanliness of coffee shops.
As a coffee shop operator managing a small set-up of four stalls – one drinks stall and three food stalls – I would like to offer a perspective from the ground.
It is important to recognise that there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and it is not fair to compare privately run coffee shops with government-operated hawker centres. Hawker centres managed by the National Environment Agency benefit from economies of scale and government support.
With 50 to 100 tenants in a typical hawker centre, it is financially sustainable to hire multiple dedicated cleaners to manage shared amenities such as toilets. The same logic applies to shopping malls, where the tenant-to-toilet ratio is also much higher.
In contrast, small coffee shops like mine face a different reality. We bear the cost of mortgage payments, employee salaries, and rising operational expenses – all without the benefits of scale. The cost of maintaining clean and functional toilets falls squarely on us, with limited resources.
What is often not visible to the public are the challenges we face on the ground. I have witnessed customers defecating on the toilet floor, discarding used diapers carelessly, and even attempting to flush a T-shirt down the toilet, causing a major blockage. There have also been cases of toilet paper and soap being misused or stolen – once, someone even stole the bidet head.
Calls for improved cleanliness are understandable and necessary. However, if higher standards are to be enforced across all food establishments, we must also address the structural differences in operating models. Without economies of scale, increased costs will inevitably be passed on to tenants and consumers.
I hope the authorities will take these considerations into account when creating policies and taking enforcement measures, and avoid a broad-brush approach that may unintentionally burden smaller operators.
A more nuanced and supportive approach – rather than broad comparisons – will help coffee shop operators meet cleanliness expectations more sustainably.
John Tan Yue Han
