The Coffee Academics (Raffles City)

Decent brunch but only worth it with Burpple Beyond. Bulletproof coffee is great!

Decent brunch but only worth it with Burpple Beyond. Bulletproof coffee is great!

TLDR: we were specifically told we could redeem 2 vouchers when we ordered, but when we paid they told us we could only redeem 1 voucher and it is OUR responsibility as Burpple users to know this so it is entirely our fault.

3 of us went to the Raffles City outlet for dinner on 6 Dec, because TCA was on the Burpple Beyond app, which allows up to 4 redemptions of 1 for 1 vouchers at one restaurant. We initially wanted to get just 3 mains and redeem one voucher, but ultimately decided to redeem two vouchers and order 4 mains to share. When the waiter took our orders, we told him we wanted 4 mains, and asked if we could redeem two vouchers, to which he replied yes. We then specifically asked if we could redeem two at the same time, just to make sure, and he said yes. He then presented the bill to us even before the food came and told us to check our orders (which we thought was a bit odd), and at that point we actually asked about Burpple again because the bill showed no discounts, and he clarified that the voucher redemptions and discounts will be made at the cashier when we make payments afterwards.

When we went to make payment, a different staff at the cashier told us we could only redeem one voucher, as Burpple t&c states that you can only redeem one voucher per two pax, and seeing that we have 3 people, we are not allowed to redeem two vouchers. I told her that we were not informed of that when we ordered, to which she replied that “this is Burpple’s rules which is clearly written under their t&c*, so it is your responsibility as a Burpple user to know it, it is not our responsibility to tell you”.

There were 3 of us and we ordered 4 mains. I am not sure about others, but to me it is pretty obvious that we intended to redeem 2 vouchers. AND we specifically asked if we could redeem two vouchers to which their staff said yes. I tried to reason with the cashier who up to this point had just been emotionlessly repeating to us “this is not our rules, it is burpple’s rules so it is not our responsibility to tell you”.

She then went to call her manager who basically repeated the same thing to us, and told us that if she made this exception for us she would have to start doing it for everybody ---- which led me to think that we are not the only ones who are unaware of this t&c, yet the restaurant still did not make any effort to remind their customers of this particular t&c like a decent restaurant would, and I would like to emphasize again that we DOUBLE CONFIRMED whether we could use two vouchers. Their staff did not tell us back then that ‘it is our responsibility to know the t&c”, he told us yes we could use two vouchers. As a customer I just feel that I have been scammed into ordering an extra meal ---- we would have gotten just 3 mains if they informed us when we ordered, we couldn’t even finish the 4 mains we ordered.

I do not want to accuse TCA for deliberately lying to us as the staff who served us could be newly hired / genuinely unaware of this t&c (because who reads every word of the fine prints), and everyone makes mistakes, however this was really bad handling ---- making the customer pay even though they were the ones who misled us, and they didn’t even attempt to look empathetic lest apologetic, in fact the whole exchange was just the cashier and her manager plainly telling us it was entirely our fault so they will not do anything about it.

It was a very unpleasant experience and I certainly would not return again.

*FYI, on the Burpple app redemption pages for all the restaurants, it is actually highlighted in bullet form the major t&c they want you to take note, eg. Vouchers cannot be redeemed on weekends, or only restricted to burpple set menus etc. This particular clause about only allowing one voucher per two pax is not on that page, and you actually need to click the link that says “rules of use” in the fine print which will lead you to another long and wordy t&c to find it. I have lost count how many redemptions I have made on Burpple Beyond, and I have never ran into this problem. Other restaurants always made an effort to highlight any terms and conditions before taking orders to avoid this kind of conflicts.

My first experience with impossible meat and I must say, it does taste really close to real meat! I enjoyed the pasta thoroughly and finished everything. We used the entertainer 50% off, quite worth it.

Am really pleased that the updated BB deal includes the all-day breakfast selection! This hearty breakfast set ($25++) features a large spread. The sourdough was crisp and light, pairing well with the dense sausage and salty prosciutto ham. It also came with baked beans, sautéed mushrooms and eggs (of your choice) flavoured with truffle! Plus points for the addition of halloumi cheese, which definitely ups its flavour profile :-)

A little on the denser side, these pancakes ($18++) were served with fresh fruits and bits of pistachio. Highlight of this dish was definitely the intense espresso butter, homemade caramel and a lightly whipped cream!