Need for proper public display of food prices

All Island Canteen Owners’ Association Head Asela Sampath who is somewhat a permanent fixture in the Sri Lanka media providing click bait sound bites and is more a source of entertainment than any serious news, has, for a change, made a worthy request from his Association’s members regarding the public display of prices of their goods.

The announcement that canteen and hotel owners must display the list of all revised prices in front of their shop was made by Asela Sampath following the latest downward revision of LP gas prices on Tuesday. 

He said that the Trade Minister has made it mandatory for the price list of food items to be displayed in a manner where consumers can see it clearly so that they can make an informed choice based on the prices of items that each canteen or hotel offers.

This is a useful and important move where the public is concerned as the increase in food prices has impacted most people particularly those who depend on canteens and hotels for their daily meals, snacks, and tea.

As things stand now, a few places have on display inside their sale outlets the prices of food and drinks that they sell while at most places, one only finds out the price when they are given the bill, unless one specifically asks the price before purchasing or ordering an item.

Consumers are aware that the prices they pay will vary according to the service they get at an outlet, seating facilities, cleanliness, etc. but having prices displayed outside is useful to the consumers as they can make a choice without going inside and checking prices and then having to leave if they find the prices not according to their preference.

This is true of even upmarket restaurants in the country as customers usually become aware of the prices only once seated inside a restaurant and start flipping through the pages of the menu.

Many Sri Lankans of today have either travelled overseas themselves or have close relatives and friends who live overseas and hence are aware of how things work in more developed parts of the world. One thing some may know from personal experience or have heard is that hotels and restaurants in those countries have on public display prices of the items that are on sale. While in smaller eateries, the prices may be written on a blackboard, bigger businesses have the menu on public display so that customers can check it out before deciding where they would sit down for a meal. 

This not only serves the customers better, but food outlets also have the opportunity to entice more people by offering items at a competitive rate. In other words, it is a fairer system that would benefit both the consumers and the canteen/hotel/restaurant owners with a little competition leading to a better service and better-quality food/drinks.

In Sri Lanka, the Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) is entrusted with protecting the interest of consumers and ensuring fair market competition but its intervention is rarely seen when the public is burdened with unfairly high prices, especially of food items. CAA intervention happens mostly based on complaints by the public and rarely on its own accord and hence consumer rights are mostly ignored.

With more and more Sri Lankans eating out, the CAA has a pivotal role to play in ensuring that consumers get the opportunity to make a better-informed choice when choosing a place to eat out. Public display of prices of items on offer in canteens/hotels/restaurants will provide more transparency and give the consumer the opportunity to make the choice that is best suited to their purses.