Some queue for hours to get free croissants at Tiong Bahru Bakery, only to find redemption cards listed for $20 on Carousell
Singaporeans love a good deal and they won't mind spending a few hours of their time to line up for it.
So, when Tiong Bahru Bakery ran a limited-time promotion offering free croissants last Saturday (April 1), many started queueing at its various outlets.
The deal was straightforward — order a beverage, tell the staff you were there for the promotion and then get a stamp card that can be used to redeem up to two croissants per outlet on any given day. A croissant's retail price is $4.20.
While many members of the public tucked into their free pastries, there were others who tried their luck at making a quick buck by reselling these stamp cards on Carousell.
In a TikTok video posted the next day, one woman shared that she had gone all the way to Tiong Bahru Bakery only to find out that she had missed the 6pm cut off time for the promotion.
To rub salt into her wound, she found scalpers who were reselling the stamp cards on Carousell, pricing them between $12 and $20.
"The hustle never stops," she wrote in her video caption.
The woman also called out one scalper who wrote "retail price $30+" in his post description, remarking: "The audacity".
AsiaOne did a quick search on Carousell and confirmed that scalpers had listed the redemption cards for the above price range.
Long queues worth it?
Several people took to TikTok to show just how long the queues were on Saturday.
A video showed the queue outside the original Tiong Bahru Bakery outlet, where the line snaked past several shops and stretched along the main road.
[embed]https://www.tiktok.com/@mmmcandy_06/video/7216903535655456001[/embed]
In a separate video, a woman named Natasha Tan, shared that it was "more than an hour's wait".
She showed how the queue had extended out of an unspecified mall onto the main road.
"It was damn hot queuing in the sun but it's going to be worth the seven croissants," she said.
Although she collected her stamp card on the day itself, the woman did not manage to get her drink and had to pick it up it the next day.
The situation was no different at the bakery's outlet at Waterway Point, reported Stomp.
In fact, some customers said they were unable to enjoy the promotion as the queue had been "stopped".
"Wasted trip," said one disgruntled customer.
Another said: "Worst ever promo. You can't deliver then don't. You need to limit each order! Croissants run out before it even started. Very bad."
But not everyone had a terrible time with the queue.
One customer who visited the Scotts Square outlet said there was "good coordination" at the queue as well as "good control" of people dining in and getting takeaway.
In an Instagram post on Monday, Tiong Bahru Bakery said their bakeries "were packed like never before" during the promotion.
[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/CqkYMCzuv7C/[/embed]
"To everyone who made their way down to collect our croissant cards through the sun or slight drizzle, thank you for your patience, encouragement, and understanding," said the bakery.
They also reminded customers holding a stamp card to redeem the free croissants by April 30.
AsiaOne has contacted to Tiong Bahru Bakery for more information.
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