A post uploaded by restaurant owner Mr. A to an online community, in which he confirmed his short hair on Sunday in response to a refund request for a hair found in the food. Taken from the online community
By KTimes
A restaurant owner in Seoul’s Mapo district has caused a stir by refusing to refund a customer who claimed to have found a two-centimeter-long hair in his food. The owner backed up his denial by posting a selfie showing that his hair is three millimeters long.
The incident began when the customer, who had ordered food through a delivery app, demanded a refund, claiming that a one-inch-long hair was found in the meal.
The owner, who runs a tonkats (Japanese pork chops) restaurant, shared the story on an online community website for small business owners on Sunday.
He wrote: “The customer claimed he found a hair about 2 centimeters long and demanded a refund, which I refused because my hair is only 3 millimeters long.”
Along with the post, he shared a selfie showing his almost bald head in a style commonly referred to as a “bansak” (a buzz cut).
He added: “A similar incident happened about three years ago and I was completely taken aback. Since then, I have been wearing my hair at 3 millimeters. When the delivery app contacted me again and asked if a refund was really impossible, I said, ‘If the hair is longer than mine, I will refuse the refund. I can even send a picture of myself.'”
Although he said he would be willing to provide a review if contacted again, there was no further communication until the next day.
In a comment, he wrote: “I took a photo to send to the delivery app but so far I haven’t received a response. I will try calling tomorrow,” and shared his photo again.
It is unclear whether the refund request was pursued further.
The restaurant owner’s response was met with enthusiasm by other small business owners, many of whom expressed satisfaction, as some customers have been known to falsely claim that their food was filled with foreign objects in order to get their money back – a practice now known as “refund begging.”
Comments from other business owners included: “This is refreshing. I look forward to the sequel,” “I respect the owner’s attitude. Maybe I should go bald too,” “Well done. If all owners were this firm, the ‘refund beggars’ would disappear.”
However, some warned that the hair may not have come from the owner, but may have been introduced during the process of sourcing the ingredients.
Some reported similar experiences, saying, “Our staff all have short hair, but we once received a review claiming they found a long hair that turned out to be in the noodles” and “During manufacturing, hair can sometimes come out of the ingredients.”
This article from Hankook Ilbo, sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated using generative AI and edited by The Korea Times staff.
