“There is no reason to suffer like this.”

Regarding the issue of queuing for food, many readers have sent feedback to VietNamNet newspaper that we should not waste time just to satisfy our eating needs. According to this group of readers, in today’s life, there are many things to do, we have to “race” against time rather than queuing and waiting for hours just to eat a bowl of pho or buy a “hot-trend” drink.

HTV reader said that, in his personal opinion, he finds queuing to buy food too much. “In today’s society, every minute, every hour, every day is gold, silver, and diamonds. While there are idle people waiting in line for 30 minutes just to eat, even eating without a seat and having to stand to eat.

As for saying that because a restaurant or eatery is delicious, they are willing to queue, then those people live only for food. In other places, the quality of food may be a little worse but the quality of service is much better, so people choose poor service quality. So is it true that "only dying" for food? I sincerely apologize to everyone for this opinion, but we must change our behavior so that we serve society, not just waste time for food!", HTV reader emphasized.

Sharing the same point of view, reader Hien Le revealed that she does not like having to wait 30 minutes or hours just to eat a dish. Instead, this customer will find another similar restaurant or choose a suitable time, with few customers, to enjoy the dish. “Whether waiting for hours to enjoy a bowl of pho is "worth it" or not, probably depends on each person's time. I am a busy person all day with work, so the time spent teaching, playing with my children, and being with my relatives will be the top priority, instead of spending several hours just to eat a bowl of pho.”

According to reader C., waiting in line to eat is a “weird pleasure”. Because many people “can’t stand waiting for a few seconds at a red light, but are willing to wait for hours to eat and buy a bite to eat”.

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Many people think that queuing up to eat or buy food is a waste of time when diners have many other options for restaurants with the same dishes, the same prices, and even better service quality (Photo: Nhu Khanh)

Reader NK said: “When going out to eat nowadays, the space must be beautiful, cool, clean, the service must be fast, enthusiastic,… but sometimes it doesn’t even make the diners happy. Yet there are cramped places with poor service quality but many people still flock there just to wait for a delicious bite.”

Similarly, PL readers commented, why do we have to suffer waiting in line just to eat? Although objectively assessing that waiting in line to eat pho is not the same as waiting in line to “follow the trend” of young people, these are both habits and trends that waste time. Not to mention, in terms of economics, restaurants that serve by queuing will only retain customers who have plenty of time and lose revenue from other potential customer groups.

“I would rather wait for take-out than wait for others to finish eating before I can eat. I won’t eat and will make an appointment for another time. Not to mention that by the time it’s my turn, the food I want to eat might be gone,” reader Phuoc shared.

AT readers believe that food quality is not the most important factor. “For me, the criteria for choosing a restaurant in order of priority are as follows:

1. The restaurant space is clean and airy

2. Friendly owner and staff, enthusiastic service

3. Food quality

Therefore, I will not accept having to waste time waiting in line just to eat delicious food, there is no reason to suffer like that".

“Queueing is a culture of fairness”

Besides opinions that do not support queuing to eat, many readers also commented and shared with VietNamNet newspaper that this is a necessary action, demonstrating cultural beauty and fairness, while also bringing communication values ​​as well as positive signals to the local tourism industry.

Reader Thu Hien believes that queuing is a culture of fairness. Customers lining up one by one without rushing also helps the restaurant owner stay calm and serve everyone more attentively. Not only in Hanoi, in some countries such as Korea, Japan or the US, tourists still have to queue, sometimes waiting for several hours or booking several months in advance just to get a few minutes for a delicious meal.

Sharing the same view, reader The Hung shared that he had lined up many times just to eat a bowl of udon noodles in Tokyo, Japan. Explaining this, he said that not only was the food delicious, but the reasonable price and professional service were also plus points that made him not feel uncomfortable when having to wait for an hour to get a seat. He supports queuing to eat, because this is a way to show civilization and sophistication in culinary culture.

According to reader Le Thanh, we should support the culture of queuing when buying food. This is also a way to spread the beautiful image of Hanoi tourism to international friends, attracting them to the capital in particular and Vietnam in general.

“When I go to eat pho at Bat Dan or Au Trieu, I see many businessmen and bosses coming to eat pho. They have money and good taste. They still wait without complaining about wasting time,” commented a reader named Lan.

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Many young people do not hesitate to queue for hours to buy "trendy" drinks such as hand-pounded lemon tea, salted coffee, soursop tea,... (Photo: Kim Ngan)

Reader Dai Dao expressed his support for queuing, even if it was only for a short time for a delicious meal. “I also had to queue for breakfast in Japan, at first I found it strange and a bit frustrating, but then I saw that they did it methodically and scientifically: when customers queue to enter the restaurant for breakfast, the staff here asked how many people were there (1, 2, 3...), then they informed the staff inside to arrange the tables by groups of people and gave them a card to put on the table. Each group went to their table and freely left their coats, bags... without being crowded by others. When you finished eating, you went out and returned the card to the staff, then the previous table was arranged for another person, without any chaos or disorder. We need to learn from the Japanese about this.”

In addition, readers also emphasized that the problem is not only about queuing but also about price, service quality, etc. Many diners said that many restaurants and eateries are currently criticized for being messy, unhygienic and unsightly.

In addition to the objective reasons (small shop, crowded), another reason is because the sellers are not aware of respecting customers. They may think that "hundreds of sellers, ten thousand buyers" so there is no need to please customers. Not to mention the attitude of the diners, they only need delicious pho, everything else is not important so they can eat on plastic chairs, next to sewers, under the stairs, surrounded by trash, dust, ...

“We have gradually escaped poverty and backwardness. The need for a full meal has been replaced by delicious, clean, and hygienic food. It is necessary to change the way sellers and buyers evaluate a bowl of pho to improve the quality of life and for Hanoi to further develop tourism,” a reader shared.

The image of diners lining up to eat pho at some famous restaurants in Hanoi recently received mixed opinions. Many netizens said that it was "suffering and humiliating to eat", "it's not the subsidy period anymore, why do we have to wait for food". Besides, many opinions on the contrary said that, not only in Vietnam but also in developed countries around the world, tourists also have to line up to enjoy delicious dishes. Many restaurants and shops have become destinations that attract international visitors thanks to the image of queuing.

VietNamNet Travel section invites readers to share stories and opinions on the topic : Queuing for food: Civilization or 'humiliation'? to email [email protected] . Appropriate articles will be published according to editorial regulations.

Thanks a lot.

Phan Dau