Customer demanded a refund over one shrimp tempura's unusual color
Store owner responding collapsed from cerebral hemorrhage and died 3 weeks later
Repeated abuse of delivery app reviews for power harassment
6 out of 10 self-employed in the Seoul metropolitan area experienced 'star rating terrorism'
The store owner, who was under pressure, died three weeks after collapsing from a cerebral hemorrhage. / Photo by MBC 'News Desk' broadcast screen capture
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] "It is frustrating and unfair that my healthy mother spent her last moments like that."
The daughter of a man in his 50s who collapsed and died from a cerebral hemorrhage after being harassed by a customer demanding a refund for one shrimp tempura expressed her outrage. She claims that the store owner collapsed due to excessive abuse of power, yet neither the customer nor the delivery company is taking responsibility.
With the activation of delivery application (app) platforms, cases of excessive abuse of power have been repeatedly reported, sparking controversy. Customers who abuse their power are said to exploit the review system within the platform, making unreasonable demands while threatening to give the lowest rating.
Citizens are expressing anger at the abusive behavior of some malicious customers toward self-employed business owners. There are calls to improve the review system within delivery platforms, which are vulnerable to abuse.
◆Refund demands and rating attacks... Store owners bruised by abuse of power
A, the daughter of a 50-year-old gimbap shop owner who died in the so-called 'shrimp tempura refund abuse' incident, appealed on the 23rd in an interview with CBS Radio, saying, "My father was also shocked and collapsed," and "I am running the store alone to make a living, but it is very frustrating and unfair."
The incident occurred last month at a gimbap shop in Dongjak-gu, Seoul. At that time, a male customer in his 50s who received shrimp tempura and other items through the delivery app 'Coupang Eats' complained that "the color of the shrimp tempura was strange," received a refund of 2,000 won, and also filed a complaint with Coupang Eats to get a full refund for the food. The customer also carried out a 'rating attack' by leaving the lowest rating in the gimbap shop's review section within the delivery app.
The case of a store owner who collapsed and died from a cerebral hemorrhage while continuously receiving complaints from a customer demanding a refund for one shrimp tempura has sparked public outrage. / Photo by MBC News Desk Capture
Coupang Eats contacted the gimbap shop owner to ask for caution. At that time, the store owner said, "The male customer kept saying things like 'Don't live your life like that, did your parents teach you that?' and so on. I asked, 'Why bring parents into this... How old do you think I am?'" While expressing his frustration, he complained of a headache and collapsed, eventually passing away.
Regarding this incident, A said, "There were three calls from the customer and four from Coupang Eats," and "After my mother collapsed, my father personally contacted the customer, but that person said, 'Why are you saying that to me? You caused her to collapse, so why are you blaming me?' and expressed his frustration."
She added, "My mother had no abnormalities even during a health checkup this spring, but because of this incident, she was in a brain-dead state in the hospital and passed away three weeks later," expressing her grief, "It is so unfair that she spent her last moments like that."
◆6 out of 10 self-employed in the metropolitan area have experienced malicious abuse of power
This is not the first time some malicious customers have gone too far with their abuse of power. On the 7th, a mala tang shop owner in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, delivered new food after a customer complained that there was a problem with the food, but was subjected to so-called 'delivery beggar' abuse, where the returned delivery food container was almost empty.
There were also customers who demanded additional food not on the menu, saying they would eat with their children, or requested errands such as buying cigarettes or alcohol when delivering food.
These customers who engage in such malicious abuse are mostly known to exploit the star rating review system of delivery apps. Delivery apps have a review section where short one-line comments and star ratings are posted for registered restaurants, and this review information can greatly affect the restaurant's performance. This is because star rating reviews are the most intuitive standard for consumers searching for restaurants through delivery apps to evaluate the quality of the business.
According to the 'Delivery App Usage Survey' released on the 17th by the Justice Party's 6411 Livelihood Special Committee and the Justice Policy Research Institute, 63.3% of self-employed delivery app users in Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon reported suffering damage from rating attacks that gave the lowest star rating. This means that 6 out of 10 self-employed business owners in the metropolitan area have experienced malicious abuse of power.
◆"Consumers without conscience are increasing," "Evaluation system must be improved" Citizens' anger
Citizens are expressing anger at the abusive behavior of some consumers toward store owners.
B, a worker in their 20s, said, "Knowing that restaurant sales depend on star ratings, more consumers are deliberately abusing their power," and expressed frustration, "Shouldn't there be some moderation? It seems like there are more people without conscience."
There were also calls to improve the review system of delivery apps. C (31), an office worker, pointed out, "From the consumer's perspective, the star rating review, which can be registered quickly, has too much influence on restaurants," and said, "I think the platform needs to step in and solve these structural problems."
Civic groups urged improvements, saying that the star rating system of delivery apps is pressuring store owners.
On the 22nd, civic groups including the National Network for Realizing Economic Democracy held a press conference in front of Coupang headquarters in Songpa-gu, Seoul, stating, "Cases of damage caused by excessive consumer demands using reviews and star ratings as weapons, as well as false and malicious reviews, are increasing," and urged, "The protection of self-employed business owners' right to defense must be institutionally strengthened."
Meanwhile, Coupang Eats announced that it will prepare measures to protect store owners from malicious abuse of power.
In a statement released that day, Coupang Eats said, "We sincerely apologize to the store owners who have suffered from some users' abuse of power, unreasonable refund demands, and malicious reviews, as we were unable to provide appropriate support," and emphasized, "We will review the entire service, including customer consultations."
In this regard, Coupang Eats plans to improve the star rating review system by △ establishing a dedicated organization to protect store owners △ introducing a function that allows store owners to directly comment and explain on malicious reviews △ preventing exposure of malicious reviews.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
