Pioneer Hawker Centre

Customers came in and were greeted by an open-air seating with immovable seats. They chose seats nearer to the rotating fans, because of the hot tropical weather. They then saved their tables by leaving their belongings such as water bottles. However, they took their valuables (phones and wallets) together with them when they order food at the stalls.

Customers walked around for a while before choosing their food. Some customers made a beeline towards their stalls and looked like they are familiar with the menu. Customer-vendor interactions were mainly in Chinese, but vendors did understand English for the few who could not speak Chinese. Some customers chose by gesturing to the menu picture or item on display.

Vendors invited customers by smiling or talking to customers as soon as they walk by their stalls. However, some stalls did not need to do this as they apparently have a regular, constant flow of customers who might be frequent patrons. Some stalls were also closed for CNY, but some seemed to be closed for the reason that they specialize in providing suppers. Therefore, they are not open during the day and do not need to compete with other vendors then. At night, these stalls are available for the nearby university’s students to get supper from.

Image used: Ah Lian Bee Hoon, Pioneer Hawker Centre