10/17/2020

NTUC Fairprice - Are pioneer generations senior citizens?

 A few years back I witnessed a very frustrating incident inside a NTUC Fairprice outlet. The auntie cashier looking nonchalant, smug and aloof, was watching over a few pioneer uncles and aunties looking lost, not knowing what to do, all because they did not have a seniors identity card. All they had were pioneers cards issued by the govt. They had no clue what was a seniors card. NTUC surely did not issue any seniors cards, and so did the govt. The only seniors identity card was issued by SMRT.

You see, NTUC Fairprice had announced giving discounts to senior citizens above 60 years and pioneers on different days. Apparently the cashiers were instructed that on days when discounts were given to the seniors customers, the seniors must produce senior identity cards to qualify for the discounts.  These cards are only issued by SMRT, not NTUC Fairprice. And on days when discounts were given to pioneer citizens, pioneers would have to produce their pioneers cards to qualify. 

The qualifying age for seniors cards by SMRT is 60 years. NTUC did not issue senior cards and depends on SMRT senior cards as proof of age. At that time, the youngest pioneers were 68 years! For days when discounts were given to pioneers, senior card holders would not qualify. On days when discounts were given to seniors, isn't it only natural for pioneers to qualify as they are much older than the seniors? No, this is not the case in NTUC Fairprice.

The problem was the instruction to show the respective cards, seniors or pioneers cards for discounts on the respective days. So on seniors discount days, must show senior cards. Pioneers cards not acceptable on seniors days. And not all pioneers have senior cards issued by SMRT unless they applied for it. 

This was why the above incident took place.  The unthinking and refusing to think cashiers would only give discounts if seniors cards are produced. Pioneers not recognised as seniors! No senior cards no discount. The pioneers uncles and aunties could not believe it but could not do anything and walked away angry and frustrated. What to do? Boh pian. The unthinking cashiers would not budge. That was what they were told to do. Dunno which idiot gave them the stupid instruction.

To many unemployed and retired seniors, saving a few cents is important and meaningful to them. You can imagine the aghast when told they would not be given the discount without showing a seniors card and their pioneers cards not recognised as seniors. And the equally unthinking cashiers just stood there looking at the lost looks of the pioneers unable to produce a senior card with an arrogant grin.

I wrote to NTUC after witnessing the stupidity of the cashier or was it the stupidity of NTUC Fairprice, for not getting this right, that pioneers are older than seniors and on seniors days, producing pioneers cards should be good enough as proof that they are older than the seniors. NTUC replied that they had sorted this out and pioneers cards would suffice and be acceptable on seniors days. The said NTUC Fairprice outlet was told and this was no longer an issue. But...it seemed that they only told this NTUC outlet and not others.

A few weeks back, in another NTUC Fairprice outlet, right next to the said outlet, had the same problem. The cashier demanded for my seniors card, pioneers card not acceptable to qualify for seniors discount. Not that I needed to save the few cents. But many illiterate pioneer uncles and aunties would be rudely refused the savings when they needed most by these unthinking cashiers. This time it was a young girl. I can expect the older auntie cashiers that might not have much education to act this way. But young and educated cashiers should know what is the purpose of producing a card to verify the age and pioneer generation uncles and aunties are much older than seniors cards holders, now youngest is 71 years. I explained this to the young cashier, but still she insisted on the seniors card, meaning that it was the instruction given to her. So have to obey like all daft Singaporeans.

I told the cashier not to perpetuate this silly procedure and to raise it up with her supervisors. Yesterday it happened again, demanding for seniors cards, and pioneers cards not accepted as proof of age. Fortunately another cashier reluctantly said it was ok to accept pioneer cards, not that they had been instructed to accept pioneers cards as proof of seniority. It was just her initiative/flexibility. I told them that this is the reason why daft Singaporeans would eventually be replaced by thinking and street smart foreigners. Our daft Singaporeans, including the young, are taught not to think, just follow the rules. Or is it the culture that is promoted in the island, kiasu, kiasi and kia cheng hu. Cheng hu or authority said so, just follow? Don't ask, don't question, don't think?

NTUC Fairprice, if you are reading this, please do the necessary and stop this ridiculous rule. In the first place you don't even issue seniors cards. You depend on SMRT seniors cards to verify the age. Why can't pioneers cards be good enough to verify the age of seniors when they are more senior than the senior card holders?

Stupidity has no cure is becoming a national disease in Singapore. And poor illiterate pioneers are the victims of this stupidity in NTUC Fairprice outlets. Oops, even the young are taught to be stupid and unthinking. Please remember, you may be earning millions and a few cents are nothing to you. Spare a thought to the numerous retired and unemployed uncles and aunties when a few cents count and matter to them.

PS. Or is it the intention of NTUC Fairprice to give discounts only to seniors and not to pioneers on seniors days as pioneers are not seniors?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

ROFL Ha Ha Ha.

Singaporeans cannot become smarter until PAP is voted out.
But PAP cannot be voted out until someboLEE die.

So no choice.
Every election I vote Opposition.
And wait for someboLEE to die.

KT said...

Fairprice should not go on and confuse our uncles and aunties (or senior citizens) and also, PG citizens by insisting on different cards. To the many retired elderly and senior citizens of the poor class, every cent counts, event a discount. The rich class seniors (e.g. millionaire politicians or businessmen) I believe they can't be bothered using those mentioned cards to save a few cents. The highly educated policy makers and businessmen knows how to make profits out of the poor. The rich seniors can buy more in order to get a good discount, but the poor seniors usually buy a few items, but only manage to save a miserable few cents on discounts.

Anonymous said...

NTUC can also be called CUNT, which means Commercialised Until Not Trusted.

Anonymous said...

i find all these discounts for seniors and Merdeka Gen are more PR than anything.

Many of the merchandise you find in NTUC Fairprice are more expensive than are available in some mom and pop shops and smaller supermarts unless they have specials. And as indicated in this article requires one to produce the qualified concession cards before you can even a miserable 3% discount. Even one's IC which is a more legal proof of one's age is not acceptable.

Take one item of the many that I discovered. The Maggie tomato sauce 320gm retailing at $1.45. If you qualified for discount on certain days, you pay $1.40. At Dayou supermart in Chinatown, it is selling at $1.10. You already get a bigger discount than the special discount at NTUC. Or the Kong Guan biscuits which sells for $2.20 before the current special price at $1.70 when my neighbourhood provision shop has all along been selling at $1.70.
And NTUC pitches themselves as a cooperative.

You will be surprised how much you can save if you have the time to shop around.

SSO said...

FairPrice is no more fair. It is a big fish that eats the small fishes.

FairPrice is highly priced. It started as a poor-people and members cooperative. But today, it has become a very greedy hughly-priced profiteering commercial giant, exploiting the masses.
Whatever miserly discounts it gives to the seniors are pittance. Just to show the public that it is doing something for the seniors. In fact, it is an outright insult to the intelligence of the public. Giving a miserly 2% or 3% discount and restricted to Monday and Wednesday for Pioneers, and Tuesday for Seniors, because the business are not so good on these three days.

What a miserly and calculatively targeted kindness is this!
Same like the Mr Stooge of the Christmas Carol movie!


SSO said...

Amos Yee got arrested and charged with child pornography by the police in the US, after getting asylum and stayed there for the last 3 years.

If found guilty and convicted, his asylum status will be revoked and he will have to come back to Singapore and get his nice and juicy desserts for deserting National Service.

The question is: Would Singapore govt allow such a person to come back. Wouldn't it be better that he be sent to India to join the famous Indian Rapists?

Anonymous said...


Virgo said:

"Actually NTUC started out in the 70s trying to give our Poorer Singaporeans at that time a more economic prices than those at other outlets."

The predecessor to NTUC was SILO "supermarket" until the infamous thing happened and was closed. Both are Unions linked.

We bought essentials at the mini mart in the army camp days back then.

Anonymous said...

Just
do not understand why Sinkies cannot buy their goods from other retailers.
Most
baffling is why the ldentity Card which bears the Date of Birth cannot be used as proof of age.
Sinkies
are indeed very sick in the Heart and Mind.
Lamentable
and sad that from top to bottom,
all are abnormal.

SSO said...

Donald Trump Killed The US Tech's Golden Goose

It's easy to understand why the US President Donald Trump has cut off Chinese access to vital US technologies badly needed by China to build the world's most advanced integrated circuits - the G5 system. It has in effect immediately checked and stopped China's advances in semiconductors and other fields, and therefore, China's overall technological progress.

However, the long-term effect of Trump's animosity and aggression against China have inadvertently and inevitably spurred on Chinese minds inside China to focus all their energy and strength on the urgent need to build China's own domestic semiconductor supply chain and develop other areas of technology that can and must surpass all those in the US and the world.

For example, Huawei has already came out with its own HMS to replace Google's GMS, as Google has banned Huawei from using the Google's GMS, that is needed by all mobile phones in order for them to function more effectively and efficiently.

Now, not t only would Trump's evil intent make China self-sufficient, it would also shut out US suppliers from the most lucrative market in the world for their products that they are ever likely going to see.

Donald Trump has indeed done for China and the Chinese people what Xi Jinping alone could not have been able to do. And at the same time, he has killed the US technology's golden goose that has been laying the golden eggs for so many years.


Moral of the story:

A tiny heart can only see the immediate gains but unable to see the long-term effects of their own self-centred actions.

This is similar to suing someone for defamation to attain immediate gains but tarnished his own legacy in the long-run.

Or, commonly known as, "Penny wise, Pound foolish".

Anonymous said...

So rich yet so poor, ex-PM must be having sleepless nights these days. Promised all Singaporeans the Swiss Standards of Living but failed to deliver after 14 years in the seat of PM. But a small group of elites, like his own son Dr Goh Jin Hian, could have reached the Swiss Standards of Living.

Abstract from The Independent:

In the latest development concerning Dr Goh Jin Hian, the New Silkroutes Group announced late on Thursday night (Oct 15) that he had resigned as its chairman.

The company said Dr Goh and Mr William Teo Thiam Chuan, who had served as finance director, had both stepped down effective immediately, though they are now assisting the Commercial Affairs Department (CAD) with investigations.

Dr Goh’s role as non-independent and non-executive Chairman had been announced earlier this year after having been with the company since July 2015.

In separate filings with the Singapore Exchange on Thursday night (Oct 15), the New Silkroutes Group, a healthcare company, said Dr Goh tendered his resignation “to devote more time to his personal affairs” and that Mr Teo was resigning “to focus on personal matters and to pursue other interests”.


According to the straitstimes.com, the firm announced on Sept 30 that both men were under investigation by CAD due to a possible offence under the Securities and Futures Act. The offence concerns “false trading and market rigging in view of past share buy-backs and acquisitions of shares”.

On Oct 6, it was announced that Dr Goh had also resigned as Chairman of the Cordlife Group following news that he had been served with an unrelated lawsuit by Inter-Pacific Petroleum’s (IPP) judicial managers due to US$156 million (S$212.6 million) in losses stemming from an alleged breach of Director’s duties.

Cordlife had said last week that Dr Goh would stay on as an independent Director. However, in a filing with the Singapore Exchange, also on Thursday night, the company announced that he had resigned as an independent Director with immediate effect.

On Oct 5, it was reported that Dr Goh was being sued by the Judicial Managers of IPP. The suit had been filed late in the evening of Oct 2 in the High Court by LVM Law Chambers, the legal representatives of Deloitte & Touche, IPP’s Judicial Managers.

Deloitte & Touche are seeking to recover the said amount, plus interest, alleging that the funds were used in “non-existent or sham transactions” between June and July last year.

Last month, the judicial managers investigating IPP, a shuttered Singapore bunker supplier and bunker craft operator, submitted a filing to the High Court asking for more time to consider whether to take Dr Goh to court.

TISG reported on Sept 17 that IPP began to go under after the crew of a vessel chartered by the firm was charged over bunkering malpractices. The crew had tampered with a mass flowmeter, illegally using magnets to increase its readings to claim that it had delivered more fuel during bunkering operations than it was actually carrying.

IPP’s bunker craft operator licence was temporarily suspended by the Maritime and Port Authority (MPA) last June.
Dr Goh, an IPP Director at the time, called MPA’s move “premature” and stated that the authority should have “discussed the incident with us giving us a chance to review the facts”.

On Aug 16, IPP and its parent company Inter-Pacific Group Pte Ltd filed for judicial management at the High Court and appointed Deloitte & Touche LLP as their Judicial Managers.

Dr Goh left IPP four days later, after having been at the firm since June 2011.

Anonymous said...

Karma will expose the fake leaders from the real ones.

Those who care so dearly about name and came will one day suffer for their name and fame.

When the time is ripe, the masses will know the fakes, who have been pretending to be good to the masses but actually they are the ones who exploit the masses.

That's why there are revolutions all the time in the history of man-unkind.

Anonymous said...

The king of Thailand has now been exposed. And the Thai people are rising up against him and his military government.

Thailand has become the Land of Slaves instead of the Land of Smiles. Most of the time ruled by military coups and military junta.

Only a brief period of democratic government.

Anonymous said...

Heard of Ho Ching's brother linked to GCT's Son?

More juices oozing out?


Anonymous said...

How
long will Sin last ?