"Soon They Will Make You Do the Dishes"…Controversial Restaurant 'Forcing Table Wiping Etiquette'

Increase in Self-Service Restaurants Due to Rising Labor and Food Material Costs
Domestic Kiosk Operations More Than Double in 3 Years

A restaurant that asked customers to wipe the table after finishing their meal has become a hot topic online.

On the 10th, a post titled "Do restaurants these days expect customers to wipe the table too?" was uploaded on an online community along with a photo of a notice posted in a restaurant.

On a restaurant table, there is a wet tissue with the phrase "Please finish with manners for the next customer."
[Photo by Online Community]

The photo showed a box of wet wipes on the table, with a message on the box saying, "Please finish with manners for the next customer," and "The next customer will sit in the seat you occupied. May the seat you stayed in also be beautiful." It appeared to explain that the wet wipes were intended for wiping the table, not for wiping hands.

Most netizens who saw the post reacted with disbelief. Comments included negative remarks such as, "Next, they might ask customers to do the dishes for the next guest," and "If customers do all that, the food should at least be cheaper."

There were also opinions that this could be understood if it was a cheap self-service restaurant. In places like Korean buffet or food courts where customers serve themselves and bring their dishes to the return area, it might be expected that customers clean the tables.

Recently, with labor costs and food material prices rising significantly, more stores have customers place orders and make payments themselves. As kiosks become widespread, concerns about elderly people being excluded have been raised, and debates about 'self-service' are expected to continue for some time.

In the United States, there was controversy over kiosks asking for tips, with complaints that increased labor costs are being passed on by shifting work onto customers.

According to the Ministry of Science and ICT, the number of kiosks operating domestically increased from 189,951 units in 2019 to 454,741 units last year, more than doubling in three years. Among these, the food service sector, including cafes and restaurants, surged about 16 times from 5,479 units to 87,341 units during the same period.

Large marts such as E-Mart, Homeplus, and Lotte Mart, as well as lifestyle stores like Daiso, are also introducing unmanned checkout counters. Self-service gas stations, where consumers pump their own fuel, are gradually increasing as well; as of the end of last month, more than half (5,606 stations, 52%) of the 10,865 gas stations nationwide were self-service stations.