SINGAPORE: Last month, a video from a stall holder from the Mee Toh School canteen went viral when it showed a young boy ordering food and the vendor, 27-year-old Rayner Tan, endeavored to teach him manners.
While the video has since been taken down from Mr Tan’s TikTok account, what’s posted on the internet stays on the internet, and it has since been uploaded on other platforms.
Most commenters praised the way Mr Tan taught the boy what are, as his video says, “life lessons.” He can be seen telling the child gently to pass his payment properly and not to shout, and engaging with the child about the food he ordered.
The boy seemed to take the correction well, agreeing not to shout, handing his payment over properly, and communicating what kind of food he wanted.
As Mr Tan noted, “Respect is mutual… no hard feelings.”
However, the hard feelings may have come from others who watched the video. The vendor, who just started his stall in August, announced on Tuesday (Nov 18) that he will not be continuing his lease next year.
Initially, he said in the video that he had been “obligated” to remove the viral video, along with others, in spite of commendations of his work. According to a Mothership report, someone had complained to the school about the video and asked for it to be taken down, and added that dealing with parents and the authorities has been difficult.
@veg.eng Edited* Starting school canteen stall at 27 due to many reasons we will not be continuing our lease end of journey on 18th Nov Stay tuned for updates! #explore #viral #fyp #reel #live
In an edited version of the video, he also acknowledged that the venture had been unsustainable. Mr Tan thanked the people who have been supportive of him and his stall, adding that he will update followers as to their future plans.
In response to his announcement, many commenters expressed dismay and again praised Mr Tan for having taught the children good manners.
“Bro taught kids manners better than parents do,” one wrote.
“I would insist that my child patronise the stall every day. The videos are very healthy. He insists kids talk politely, handle money with respect, and gives them reminders on healthy habits. These are values lost when KPIs and inflexible policies are dealt out as golden rules,” chimed in another.
“If you don’t teach your kids manners, society eventually will—and it won’t be as gentle. Thankfully, this guy is doing it nicely and yet…,” a commenter left their thought unfinished.
On Mr Tan’s TikTok account, a woman wrote, “As a parent, I will tell you this. YOU DID THE RIGHT THING!”
“What the heck is wrong with people nowadays?? He’s not scolding the children, tho, he’s teaching them manners (needed) in life, politeness and all .. why would parents feel uncomfortable with that??,” asked another.
A Facebook user explained, however, that “MOE prohibits recording videos on school premises without permission. It is on their website. Simple as that.” /TISG
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