Creating something unique for a business is must if competing in a fierce market. However, reception of an 'innovation' can be either good or bad.
And here, the House of Seafood at Punggol Point Road, Singapore, tasted the bitterness of its own innovation, after its arcade-style machine with a mechanical claw to catch live crabs sparked uproar online.
It started when a video was posted online, showing a pink machine containing live crabs, decorated with a picture of a smiling red crab under the phrase "Come and catch me". This video quickly went viral on Facebook after being shared thousands of times.
The machine is similar to those machines where people pick up soft toys. But in House of Seafood's version of the machine, customers pay SG$5 (US$3.7) to use a joystick to move the claw over the creatures before lowering it to try to grab one.
If successful, the customer can have the Sri Lankan crab cooked on the spot free of charge, choose to take it home, or kept it in the restaurant to eat on future visits.
Internet users condemned the game as cruel.
Among the many who commented about House of Seafood's' live crab claw machine, The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said the machine "causes unnecessary harm to the animals and it also encourages people to see animals as nothing more than objects to play with".
"Crabs are living creatures, not toys," it added.
Other commentators said that live animals should be treated with respect.
With the uproar, Singapore's Animal and Veterinary Service said that it was alerted to the case and was investigating.
CEO of House of Seafood Francis Ng said that the machine began its operation this October 2019.
"People think I torture them but we don't have any intention of doing that," he said. "The crabs are not being hurt."
Touted by the business as the first of its kind in Singapore, Ng explained that the machine's claw is covered with rubber plastic, and the area inside where the creature should be dropped after being 'clawed', is cushioned to prevent injury.
The machine is also meant to educate the public on how to identify male and female crabs.
Restaurants across Asia often keep live seafood in tanks for patrons to pick. And Ng said that a similar promotion at two restaurants he operates in China was a success.
But since it caused public concerns, Ng said that on the behalf of his restaurant, he has posted an apology on the restaurant chain's Facebook page. He also suspended the use of this $5,000 machine.
"We fully support the direction of SPCA (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) and are definitely against animal cruelty. Despite the measures to minimize discomfort to the crab, we note the feedback from the public and will cease the catching of the live animals in the machine completely in all House of Seafood outlets worldwide," Ng said.
“As the CEO, I take full responsibility for causing such unhappiness and I’m sincerely sorry for such an oversight,” he added.
He also said that he must have first gotten approval from the relevant authorities before launching the machine, but explained that he did not know who to approach.
“This is the first time we’re doing it in Singapore,” he said. "If it’s in China, I think don’t need approval. But in Singapore, I think need approval. So I needed to consult and I think they were too early in launching it.”
During the press conference, Ng and three of his staffs bowed for about 30 seconds in apology.
Despite this backlash, some people did like this live crab claw machine. On the comment section of the video post, those people suggest the restaurant to continue this concept. Ng said that his Punggol restaurant had spiked 20% since the public outcry, with many taking an interest in the machine.
To appeal both sides, the live crabs in the machine are replaced by boxes of ready-to-eat crab worth S$59.90 each. People can have a go at “catching” these boxes for S$5 a try.
