Here’s an incident that left me so astounded that I threw all my evening plans out the window so I could rush home to blog about it.

Kind of.

I was at Square 2 Shopping Mall in search of the best cupcakes I’ve eaten in my life. (Some months ago, a friend had bought me some and left me wanting for more.)

It didn’t take much effort for me to find the little outlet. A sign was displayed on the counter, proclaiming: “Buy 5 Get 1 Free!”

That was great, because the cupcakes cost $2 each (an outrageous price for their tiny size, but totally worth it because they’re melt-in-your-mouth good).

I chose three flavours and told the girl at the counter I wanted two each.

She took the six cupcakes out and placed them on a tray. That was when I discovered there was another flavour I just had to try. So I ignored my wallet’s protestations and upped my order.

“Two more of the Nutella, please,” I said.

So now I had eight cupcakes on the tray, waiting to be packed.

This was where I received my first clue that the counter girl was clueless.

While packing my cupcakes, she said, “Do you want to get nine pieces? The box is made for nine pieces so it will pack nicely and the cupcakes won’t slide around and crush each other.”

I considered the suggestion. I also considered upping my order to 12 pieces so I could get two free. Might as well, since I was already getting so many, you know.

I asked the lady, “If I get 12 pieces, how are you going to pack them?”

“Six in one box lor,” she explained, as if I were dumb.

“This same box?”

“Yah.”

“Won’t they slide around even more, then?”

I wanted to go on to say that the “buy 5 get 1 free” promo isn’t very good if they persuade people to get nine pieces to fill up one box, just to prevent the cupcakes from getting smashed around. Because, then, customers can never get the best deal by buying in multiples of six.

But I wasn’t in an argumentative mood, so I held my tongue and waited for her answer.

“Er… I can pack for you in the small box.” (Small boxes hold two cupcakes each.)

Not a very good solution, but a solution, nonetheless. I went on to consider the state of my wallet, which was now giving me dark looks as I contemplated using its contents to acquire even more cupcakes.

“Hmm. I have eight pieces now. Means, I get one free, right?”

“Right.”

“How much does my order cost now?” (Sometimes I’m just lazy to do mental calculations.)

“You have eight pieces. It’s $2 each.” (Seems I have met my match in laziness.)

Sighing inwardly, I did my own mental calculation.

“My order is $14 because I have a free one, right?”

“Right.”

I thought about it more. Adding one more cupcake just to fill up the box was a bit silly. Getting 12 pieces was a bit excessive.

“I’ll just get these eight, thanks.”

So, the girl finished packing my cupcakes and went over to the cash register to ring up my order. A few button presses later, the cash register displayed “$16”.

The girl said, “$16.”

I stared at her wondering if she was stupid or just forgetful. I took out $15 and held it out to her, thinking that would jog her memory.

A look of confusion crossed her face as she looked at my $15.

“It’s $16,” she repeated.

I continued staring at her, weighing the pros and cons of being rude (funny but bad karma) and being nice (good karma but boring).

“Er…,” I said, while I thought about it.

The girl felt that she had to fill in the conversational gap. “You bought eight pieces. It’s $2 each so it’s $16.”

Faced with such infallible logic, I had no choice but to play my trump card.

I looked over again at the big sign placed prominently on the counter which screamed, “Buy 5 Get 1 Free!”

Then I turned back to her and asked, “Don’t I get one free?”

“Ah?” she looked surprised.

I waited.

Her colleague came over to investigate the holdup. The girl looked at her colleague pleadingly, as if she thought she was serving a moron and needed help.

Both of them had a short discussion in Malay. I didn’t understand any of it but it was clear that her assertive colleague had more of a clue.

The original girl then had a light bulb moment as she said, “Oh!” She turned to me and accepted my $15.

“Here’s your $1 change. Thank you!” she smiled brightly, as if she hadn’t just done the most moronic thing ever.

Oh, well. At least she was sort of friendly.

I didn’t play my rude card, either. I smiled back at her with genunie warmth and said thank you. That had better earn me some karma points.

Anyway, the outlet is called Angelz Cup and is located at Square 2 (beside Novena Square and Novena MRT station). It’s on the fourth floor, just outside NTUC Fairprice.

Try it if you’re around the area. They’re all chocolate based (I think) but they come in exciting flavours like Nutella, Cream Cheese, Peanut Butter, Oreos, Butterscotch and Mocha. I’ve only tried two flavours so far but they’re both great.