My 5 sen

Many people have said that in other countries, the consumer is king. In Malaysia however, consumers seem to be the victim.

I have been in the hospital since yesterday as my wife is warded. So yesterday evening, I walked to the nearby Ampang Point to look for something to eat. My wife wanted tuna sandwich as a snack, so I stopped by at the Dunkin' Donuts outlet there.

It was here that I realise that some outlets do not return the change as per printed on the receipt. If, for instance, you should be getting your change of 15 sen, you will only get 10 sen. These outlets would say that they do not have 5 sen in their cash register. So, the customer will be shortchanged by 5 sen. Small amount, I know, but this is downright cheating especially when the outlet did not even inform that they are unable to give the exact change. I am unsure whether it is a policy of this outlet not to inform their customers of this matter.

Is it difficult to stock up on 5 sen coins? Is it hard to inform the customer that you are unable to give the exact change? For customers who do not check the change they receive, they would probably just walk away without realising that they have been "cheated".

So, as consumers, we have to know our rights, even if it's only a change of 5 sen. It is your money after all, not the shop or outlet that you go to.