I went for a petrol top-up at Caltex Upper Serangoon just two days before the incident. I had asked for $50 worth of petrol because I wanted to get the free Caltex tissue box, even keying the numbers into the pump myself before the attendant came to assist me.
When I was in the shop about to pay, the attendant rushed in and told me, “Sorry sorry! I accidentally pumped too much. You wanted $30 right? I stopped the pump too late at $35. So sorry!”.
He was extremely worried that I would refuse to pay the $5 that he thought he over-pumped by. His colleague who was doing inventory nearby commented, “Remember ah, if you put more than what the customer wanted, you have to pay the difference from your pocket, be careful.”
In the end, I ask him to help me top up to $50 because that’s what I wanted, not $35. He went out to top up the difference.
I thought that was the end of story until the cashier pulled up the bill for my pump – S$ 49.50. The pump attendant did his maths wrong. There goes my free tissue box. (But fortunately, the Cashier who saw the whole exchange decided to just go ahead and give the tissue box to me. :D)
Yes – the attendant who served me that day was also an elderly. And yes, I drove a BMW (that cost the same price as the Toyota Prius that most private hire drivers own). If he had over-pumped instead of under-pumped, and there was a Kelly Teo standing in the queue behind me, I might be the one in the lime light.
Read about what the Caltex Tampines BMW driver had to say about the incident.
The reason why I brought up the story is simple – it is easy and in fact pretty common for miscommunication to occur between customers and the pump attendants. It is not a big matter. But I think that there should be better ways in which petrol stations can handle the compensation in cases where the attendants put in more petrol that what was required.
The bigger issue here is – should we be self-righteous and publicly shame people on the internet without proper fact checks?
It has been revealed by the Police that Freddy (the BMW driver in question) was completely innocent. He was on the way to a car dealer to sell his vehicle, hence he only asked for $10 worth of petrol because that was all he needed to reach his car dealer in Jurong. Imagine having to pay for more than $100 of petrol that you will not be using because of a miscommunication.
(I remembered only pumping $5 or $10 each time on the days leading up to the trading in of my previous vehicle too. There are valid reasons why drivers may ask for such a small amount.)
Despite his innocence, think about what Freddy is going through right now. His career is in jeopardy. People have been stalking and following him to his residential home, where his young son and wife stays. He is fearful of the personal safety of his family members. What have they done to deserve this?
And the worst part – despite the statement by the police – most people who heard about this incident would probably never know that he is innocent – simply because bad news travel faster than the good ones.
All these happened because someone decided to be self-righteous and posted what she thought happened on the internet, with uncensored photos and car plate number without knowing the facts.
Note that in the screenshot above, the license plate was censored. This was because Kelly had earlier posted an uncensored version and took it down before posting a new version when the whole matter went viral. The photos of Freddy and his car at the station circulating the internet came from Kelly’s original post.
Upon seeing her post, the whole internet went crazy without bothering to fact check.
People fight for the underdog – I really think that is commendable and this is what makes our online community so great.
But, what if the information people were acting on was wrong in the first place?
Now, I hate to sound like a government mouthpiece – but isn’t this why the entire fake news debate is relevant to us? A vast majority of our netizens are too used to taking stories at face value without questioning it. This means the masses can be swayed based on nothing but untruths and hot air. That is potentially a very powerful tools for people with ill intent to manipulate public opinions.
While the whole internet is demanding that Freddy apologize for ‘bullying’ the elderly attendant, now that the truth is out, where are all the calls for people who have stalked him and his family to apologize?
Did Kelly apologize to Freddy and his family?
No, her Facebook profile photo, which was previously a photo of herself, had turned into that of a flower. She had hidden herself.
There were previously a number of public posts speaking strongly about her bad experience at certain establishments on her profile, and they have all been removed now.
As of writing, no signs of apology on her Facebook profile.
At the end of the day, who are the ultimate winners in the whole debacle? No one, except perhaps for certain content sites that posted more than 5 articles on this one single incident without any fact checks, all for traffic and cold hard advertisement cash?
Yes, let’s speak up and fight for those who were bullied! But the next time we do that, let’s get our facts figured out first, shall we?
—
Declaration: I have no relation to Freddy or Kelly.
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View Comments
Agreed. Perhaps best to watch the pump attendant fill your car before going to make payment. Or just fill up on your own like what many in other countries do. It does feel like there is a sense of self-entitlement from drivers on fueling up here in Singapore, or is there?
no
Business is business.
If Caltex allows to take verbal instruction from customer, then benefits of doubts always have to be given to customers. If not, they have to set up a business protocol to take the verbal instruction that can be verified. Example asking the customer to write in words or asking customers to punch the dollar amount or set up a CCTV.
This gentleman buy $10 of petrol. He give a verbal instruction which Caltex allowed. Attendant pump S$130 instead. It is words against words. Caltex has to prove the customers has given wrong instructions. If can't, benefits of doubts always belong to the customer.
Customer has the right to pay $10 and leave. To pity or not to pity the pump attendant is subjective to individual feeling. The customer need not pity the pump attendant if he feels he need not do it. The customer is not in the wrong.
Personally, I think it’s becos he’s only a pump attendant, that’s why he’s ‘bullied’. Imagine if it’s a surgeon, overcharged you after operating on you, will he still be able to just pay whatever he wants and walk away? The moment he leaves it to the pump attendant, it’s his agreement to let him do it for him, so he should just pay.
There's written proof and protocols to sign regarding medical treatment. Anyways, this should be a case where Carltex should look into - go revamp their sales system regarding this.
This does not make sense. So if you ordered a kopi through the coffeeshop auntie or uncle and he gives you a teh then you have to just accept it and pay?
Are you sure that the surgeon will not be under prosecution? Last time i heard that's what happened.
Freddy is being ostracized for his lack of conscience. The thing that separates a hunan from a beast. It's a valuable lesson for him and apparently for you too. It's not over rights.
The lesson that I learnt from this incident was:
1. The attendant owns up to his responsibility. He admitted the mistake and made necessary rectifications.
2. The BMW car driver took advantage of the situation. He could have paid it in full (and why shouldn't he?) seeing that he could afford it.
Arguably, this is about ethics and morals. The attendant was ethical. The driver was morally questionable.
So.. if i can afford $100 means i can throw $100 to the sea?..
It is NOT the same. Throwing $100 in the sea gets you $0 return. In this case he still got a full tank.
But he was trading in his car so it is as good as throwing it into the sea
He can always joke with the car company to increase his sales price by $100 because he pumped $100 by accident.
Uhh like what you said, it's a joke. How do you expect him to raise his price by $100 for something he didn't want?
what talking you?
Does he really? If he is really returning the car, what does having $100 of petrol do for him?
Who the fk are you to decide on his morals?
Then who are you to decide the writer's morals
Since when? Don't comment just for the sake of it, dimwit.
Say people say yourself
Who the fk are you
Ur mom
damn powerful response! i like!
Unlike your comments. It's a ethics and morals issue
Smlj, its self righteous ppl like you and Kelly that get others into trouble. Ethics and morals are different, you're not a saint, and the guy did no wrong.
This was something Caltex should have seen from the start. With a situation where a customer's words are against an employee's words, this sort of situation would have happened eventually.
Easy for you to say now
Er why was his car still parked at HDB after a day when the incident was posted? Didn't he said he was about to trade his car?
How you know when was the pic taken?
Totally agreed.
Just because he can afford it, doesn’t mean he has to pay for it. You have to know that every cents was earned through hard-work or rather, working.
Would it be fair if you were to pay extra just for someone’s careless/honest mistake?
Why should the driver be made to suffer the consequences of someone else's mistakes? He has no use for the extra $100+ petrol, so why shoud he be made to pay?
Lets say you specifically ordered one crab for youself at a restaurant but in return u received 5 pieces of crab which you cannot finish, will you pay for the extra even though u can afford it?
I admit online vigilantes have gone a lil overboard with the whole situation, but think about what Freddy has done to incur the further wrath of the public, when a simple police report would have solved the issue. He accused the attendant of being rude, when the public knowingly is on his/her side. So much for damage control?
His story about him wanting to trade in his vehicle thus the $10 petrol is also not verified. Sources have posted his car being at different locations on the exact same night that he did the petrol top up. From Tampines to Teck Whye to many other places..
I’m not siding anyone in this problem that’s been blown out of proportion, but I really do think Freddy should just issue a public apology to the kiosk attendant, case closed. Simple.
I think you should apologise to me as well, with such a retarded comment I had to take mc after reading this.
so powerful until take mc. how many days?
2 weeks
Hehehe...you are so funny! Brighten up my day! Muah hahahaha!
Another quick judgement trying to rule out the validity of Freddy trading in the car that afternoon. Yes, there were post of the car being spotted at various locations after the incident. Did anyone sighted Freddy driving it? Are you implying that the car can only driven by Freddy?
If you have been into 2nd hand car purchase before, you might have discovered that car dealers had to send the car to A workshop for checks, car grooming before displaying it at the shop to attract potential buyers.
Do you know that 2nd hand car agents can sell cars on consignment too while that car belongs to another car dealer? Do you know that there are car agents who drive cars to potential buyers for viewing?
This happened to me before, I just swallow the loss because I only needed a little fuel to get to JB to pump petrol and the attendant pumped full. I never made any noise. It's just money. The attendant are working hard for their pay. Yes I used to drive a BMW when this happened.
Making noise resulting in the attendant taking the loss instead is not right. It's never morally right, on the other hand not criminally wrong.
So people has the right to comment and continuously reprimand the person until another sensational news comes along.
Anyone decent will know that if you ordered one kopi, 5 kopi were delivered, then drank all 5 kopi but demanded to pay for one kopi, and happily let old uncle waiter pay for 4 is wrong. Not the heartless selfish type though.
In this case though, he would walk away after drinking one kopi and abandon the remainder if any. Anyone reasonable will not begrudge him not paying for what he did not use.
the kopi analogy is silly. Imagine you are alone in the coffeeshop and you want only one cup of coffee
but the guy brings you 13 cups, insisting that you ordered 13. do you
1. pay for 13 cups anyway (since you can afford it) but throw it all away since you have to go and can’t stay to drink it all?
2. return the cups and say plse pass it on to other customers, i just want one cup
3. say sorry but i clearly ordered one cup. how can you expect me to drink it all?
Now imagine halfway while you are still negotiating with the waiter, he says nevermind I pay. what do you do?
and finally, some kaypoh screenshot you and assumes you bullied the waiter.
maybe there is a good solution where everyone wins, (siphon the oil out etc) but note this: the attendant himself said he’ll pay for it. no one forced him to. in a situation like this, Caltex must have some SOP to deal, not the customer.
come on, the guy fears for his family and cannot so his job, do we still need to send more negative vibes his way?
Cannot siphon la, contaminated already. What if he use different grade petrol before???
usually these liberal lgbt supporters don't follow logic
Nice!
i remember once there was a coffee shop server brought one cup of kopi 0 to me, and then later another server came with another one.
He was surprised that the other server has served me already and he was actually called by the lady in charge at counter of the coffee shop who on seeing me asked him to bring a cup to me.
Since there was a mistake, I decided to accept it and pay for the second cup, too. The two servers are actually very old elderly.
They walked up and down in the refreshment area outside of the coffee shop from 6.30 am to 3 pm, bringing coffees and clearing the cups and cleaning up the table as well.
It is indeed a tiresome job for them.
Therefore I urge people not to be too stingy and harsh on them. Your day of their age will come sooner or later.
Forget about the papist which never been known to gifting of their high pay to the poor. You all should do it as you will be rewarded by God.
We should blame the papist for paying themselves rich and hence developed a rich gusto behaviors in this sobering rich-poor gap society.
We should ask the papist to cut their pay and bonus by half and gave it to these poor elderly working until their legs became swellings from tiredness and their stressed up brain until they forgot who ordered what.
An inclusive society should start with the papist instead. They should come down to the coffee shop to experience their long day of hard tasks with their miserly pay.
There should be a minimum pay for them like what the security guards and table cleaners have enacted by the MOM to guard against "pay bullying" by contractor and employer.
Two months ago, i even gave the two old lady servers with a S$100 ang pow each.
I came to give them when came to know from some people that at the year end they never get 13th month salary and they never get 3 months bonus which is for civil servants or 9 months bonus which his for minister, which will they will automatically get them at 2 times a year - December and June - at every year.
No, you mean anyone who has no brain.
They absolutely do have the right to comment and continuously reprimand the person. Do they have the right however to put him in danger by releasing his personal information, address, phone number, etc to the public? The people who did that were reckless, unrestrained and dangerous to the community.
^
Very apt article. These are the exact sentiments I have everytime I am out in public. "What if I do something that appears immoral or wrong to others and I get shamed online for it?". Too many idiots out there who think they're heros for bringing down others online, WITHOUT fact checking.
Why can't petrol station let customer to key in the exact amount they want from the panel? Why have to go through a human that can introduce human error.
Did you put into consideration that he was spotted in SO MANY locations after the incident? can $10 get him to so many places? i dont think so?
you gong simi jiao wei? All talk without proof nia
no body likes to be wrongly judged. So while we should all be careful not to spread fake news and to apply discretion, and this could be one instance, there were others who witnessed the same "cheat" at other places. so I guess you can't really pin it on Kelly
then blame you? smlj
Kelly should have written in privately to Caltex. There was no need to publicly post the comment online for all to see.
he can go many places he like, when not enough petrol he can top up another 5 or 10 dollars until he hand over vehicle to the dealer. who are you to judge people decision. you think people don't know how to calculate their usage for their petrol? A BMW leh although is an old model. Dont talk big when things not happen to you. many people came across this when you ask to top up 15 and in the end became 50 becuse the attendant hear wrongly. why must I pay the difference. just because you drive a bigger car doesn't means you must always top up that much.
Agree. Self righteous people think they are so morally upright to vilify the actions of others online.