Hunt for surgical masks: Buyers’ hopes dashed when Buzz stores withdraw sale an hour before it begins

SINGAPORE  — Scores of people who queued up to buy surgical masks at Buzz convenience stores on Thursday (20 Feb) were fed up when they realised that the stores had pulled the plug on the sale an hour before it was set to start at 3pm.

Buzz convenience stores are wholly owned by media company Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). The company told TODAY that the surgical masks were left over from a corporate order and it had intended to sell them. They were priced at S$35 for a box of 50 masks.

“After further internal deliberation, we made the decision to call off the sale recognising that this limited quantity was unlikely to meet all the market demand,” a spokesperson from SPH said, without specifying the quantity.

“In addition, we believe that the masks would be put to better use through donating them to charities whose beneficiaries would have more need for (them).

“We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused to those who had queued up at our outlets for the masks,” he added.

Before the intended sale, SPH-owned media outlets such as The New Paper free sheet and Chinese daily Lianhe Zaobao had published reports informing readers that they may head down to selected Buzz stores to buy a box of “V-isolation” masks each. 

The chain of stores also put up a notice on Facebook at around 10am on Thursday to say that it had limited quantities of masks and they were to be sold at 14 stores around the island, located mostly at bus interchanges or MRT stations.

Then four hours later, it put up another post to apologise, saying that the sale was called off because there was ”an error in judgement” and it was “a misguided attempt to meet public demand for masks”. It had decided instead to donate the masks to charities in need of the supplies.

Demand for masks here has not let up after stocks were wiped out from retail outlets and pharmacies when the Covid-19 coronavirus outbreak spread from Wuhan, China to Singapore at the end of January.

A 47-year-old IT specialist, who gave his name only as Mr Wan, told TODAY that he started queueing at 12.45pm at the Buzz outlet located in Chua Chu Kang bus interchange. 

People in line had waited for an hour only to be told that the masks were no longer on sale, he said.

“By then, there were 40 of us in the queue. I felt very disappointed and, at the same time, very angry. I felt that someone from Buzz should explain to us what had happened. Many elderly people came as early as noon to buy the mask.”

He also said that a staff member from the store did a headcount on the number of people present and commented that she had just 35 boxes of masks, which was not enough to meet demand.

In the end, those who went left empty handed and the disappointment was palpable.

Mr Paul Ashton, 42, a civil engineer based in Japan who visits Singapore once a month for business, told TODAY that he was elated when he learnt that there were masks available.

“Since masks are sold out in Japan, I was so overjoyed to hear that they were going to be sold at Buzz in Sim Lim Square. I told my wife in Japan, and she was very happy because we ran out of masks today and we have three small children,” he said.

As for Mr Wan, he said that he was hoping to get more masks to keep at home for emergencies. The only ones he has so far are the four pieces allotted by the Government earlier this month. 

"The government officials have said that we do not need to wear one unless we are sick. However, if we are sick, we have just four masks to use. And they cannot be recycled. Who can we ask for help? This was why I wanted to get a box, so that I can protect myself and my family."

Many other potential customers were taken aback by Buzz’s sudden decision to withdraw the sale, having helped to spread the news of the sale on social media. 

Madam Sammi Siek, 34, an assistant property manager, told TODAY that she had seen the advertisement by Buzz on Lianhe Zaobao and posted it on Facebook.

"My Facebook post has been shared almost 100 times. Can you imagine how many are in need? Many might have already gone down to the stores but ended up disappointed."

Mdm Siek added that she saw some women shouting at a worker manning the Buzz store at Boon Lay bus interchange. 

Miss Eugenia Liew, 27, a writer, said that staff members at the Punggol Walk outlet tried to give out complimentary drinks to people who turned up.

“I was pretty bummed, but I live nearby and didn’t waste any time queueing up, so it wasn’t a big deal. At the particular store, the staff was very friendly and I heard from others that they even gave out drinks to say sorry.

In general, the customers found Buzz’s last-minute decision to price the mask at $35 for 50 pieces and to stop the sale to be unsavoury. 

Mr Ashton said: “Buzz should not have tried to profit from selling these masks… It should have sold them at a regular price to support Singaporeans and visitors like myself. That would have also been an excellent promotion for its brand.”

To other customers such as Mr Wan, this incident goes to show the public’s uncertainty over the virus outbreak and the lack of masks in the market for mass users.

“I hope someone will take responsibility for the matter. There are many people like me who do not have enough masks at home. 

"I am very concerned about the number of people getting sick. I am not getting any news from the officials about getting more masks into Singapore or what their plan is."