Singaporeans explain to foreigner that kopi uncles are not rude, just straightforward

SINGAPORE: A man who has been living and working in Singapore for around 10 years said that after being away for a while, it can take some time to adjust, especially with behaviour that can be perceived as less than friendly.

Hey, we get it. There are substantial differences between cultures, and we don’t always know what our expectations are when it comes to how people act or react.

A TikToker who goes by @certified_gmo appears to shuttle back and forth between Bangkok and Singapore.

In a recent video, he said that in Thailand, when he visits a coffee shop, he’s greeted with “Sawadee ka,” and then questions about how he’s been, especially when it’s been a while since he last visited.

In Singapore, meanwhile, when he saw a local kopi uncle after having been away for three weeks, after he greeted the uncle, he received a rather gruff reply of “What do you want?” He chuckled at the end of his video and wrote in the caption of his post, “Kopi uncle was disgusted to see me again.”

Nevertheless, he said at the beginning that he loves Singapore.

Commenters on his post, however, endeavoured to explain that it wasn’t personal, but rather, it’s just the way things are with some uncles and aunties who work in coffee shops.

"They are more straightforward and dislike small talk. Hence, it might come off as rude, but really they just want to get their job done,” one wrote.

In reply to this, one wrote, “Exactly! Time is money after all.”

“That’s just how we talk. It’s not evil,” another commenter wrote.

“Most uncle n auntie hawkers’ daily spoken language is likely their dialect n hence have limited English vocab/grammar. ‘What do u want’ is likely translated from ‘what would you like to order’. Just like ‘big is cheaper’ is actually saying the ‘bigger one is more economical,’” explained another.

One reminded him that the hawker life is not easy, with its long hours and, at times, low profits, coming at a period in their lives when they get tired more easily as they’re older.

A Canadian-Singaporean TikTok user added, “The context is that Singapore is built on the culture of sentimentality and friendliness is seen as weak or fake… And we have ‘no time’ for that - so let’s ‘be real’. It’s ingrained from the ideology that whatever we have is built on three generations of hard work… Think of it like New York, the warmth is just underneath all the crassness, definitely worth the digging, and I hope it gets sooo much better for you."

In a comment, @certified_gmo said that he would be getting a coffee from the uncle again the next day. /TISG

Read also: European tourist says Singapore was the ‘rudest place’ they visited in Asia