Singapore Kindness Movement sets up Kindness Café in May and June to promote simple acts of kindness
Singapore, 9 June 2014 – The bustling crowd at Raffles Place today enjoyed their mid-day cuppa at specially discounted prices simply by showing some courtesy to the servers at a special pop-up café.
The unique Kindness Café is a part of the Singapore Kindness Movement (SKM)’s Kindness Day SG 2014 celebrations. Patrons receive their coffee fix at discounted prices when the order is placed with accompanying kindness. The mobile café aims to promote kindness through simple acts of courtesy. This is particularly pertinent to the service industry where mutual respect and courtesy between service staff and customers can foster a more positive service culture in Singapore.
The Kindness Café was launched earlier on 26 May at Republic Polytechnic, and next set up shop at One Raffles Place from 9 to 11 June. Its final location will be at the National Library Board Atrium on 14 and 15 June 2014.
The Kindness Café operates on a simple system:
The more courteous the order, the more discounted the price of the coffee. For example:
- “One coffee” – $5.00
- “One coffee, please” – $4.00
- “Good afternoon! One coffee, please. Thank you” – $2.00
Each customer receives a fortune cookie with a kindness message embedded on a slip of paper to go with the coffee.
The first 100 customers for each day who express extra graciousness are also given a complimentary bread loaf each contributed by SKM’s partner Gardenia.
To further spread the kindness message, members of the public are encouraged to contribute uplifting messages for other patrons to read on one of the café’s designated walls. They can also share photos of the café on social media platforms with the hashtag #kindnesscafe.
Dr. William Wan, General Secretary of the Singapore Kindness Movement, said, “One smile or greeting at a time, we can brighten the lives of others every day. Let’s go back to the basics of thoughtfulness, consideration, and helpfulness so as to spread more positivity and goodwill around. It’s easy to smile and acknowledge people who share our common space every day, and it will make a huge difference to others.”
Customer Mr. Nova Heng said, “While it was nice that I could buy some coffee at a cheaper price just by being more courteous, this experience also reminds me how as a customer, I can help make a service transaction more pleasant for everyone involved.”
The concept behind the Kindness Café is adapted from a similar idea in Nice, France where customers are charged extra for being ungracious whilst placing orders. To date, more than 350 cups of coffee have been sold at the Kindness Café.
What do you think about the initiative by SKM? Drop us a comment below the post to share your thoughts.
Photos by the Singapore Kindness Movement
