Waiter Spills Soup on Pants... Controversy Over Demanding Compensation with Audacity

Waiter spills food on guest's pants while clearing table
To guest seeking compensation... "Don't whine, just report it"
"After discarding the pants, the store owner's attitude changed"

A story has sparked controversy after it was revealed that a restaurant employee spilled soup on a pair of pants worth about 100,000 won due to a mistake, but the employee showed no remorse and instead blamed others for the error.

Mr. A's pants stained with food.
[Photo by Online Community]

On the 16th, a post titled "A restaurant employee spilled soup on me. But they said, 'So what?'" was uploaded to an online community. As of 6 p.m. on the 16th, the post had garnered 20,900 views and 100 comments, becoming a hot topic. The author, Mr. A, who visited a restaurant in Sinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul for lunch, began by saying, "The staff told me they would clear the table, so I waited briefly, but I sat down in the table I was guided to in advance."

Soon after, employee Mr. B wiped the table, and during this process, food residue from the table splattered onto Mr. A’s pants. The pants Mr. A was wearing were worth about 100,000 won. Flustered, Mr. B wiped Mr. A’s pants with a dirty rag used for cleaning the table and muttered to himself, "Why did you sit down early instead of waiting to be seated properly?"

Mr. A expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "Instead of making such nonsense remarks, it’s polite to apologize first." Mr. B apologized, saying, "It’s my first day, so I didn’t know well." Mr. A requested, "Since the pants are light blue, the red soup stain won’t come out. Just ask for compensation." Mr. B, busy during lunchtime, only gave Mr. A his contact information.

After receiving a message from Mr. A demanding compensation, Mr. B replied in a tone telling him "Don't be so pushy."
[Photo by Online Community]

Later, Mr. A asked Mr. B to pay half the price of the pants. When Mr. A sent the purchase link of the pants to Mr. B via the contact information he received, Mr. B bluntly asked, "Did you wash it?" and said, "Try washing it, and if the stain doesn’t come out, I think it’s right for me to pay for the cleaning fee. Don’t take me lightly."

Mr. A retorted, "I visited during the company lunch break; where am I supposed to wash it? If I wash the pants, do I have to work wearing only my underwear?" Mr. B responded, "It was your fault for sitting down before the table was cleared," and added, "Everyone wears aprons, but you didn’t, and I hope people who don’t value their expensive pants like customers don’t visit the restaurant."

Angry at the employee’s attitude, Mr. A contacted the restaurant owner, Mr. C, and received a response that insurance would cover the damage. However, even after two months, there was no follow-up from Mr. C. Eventually, unable to endure the situation, Mr. A contacted Mr. C again, and only then did Mr. C say that if Mr. A sent the pants, they would hand them over to the insurance company for compensation. However, Mr. A had already discarded the stained pants. Mr. A claimed, "Mr. C was kind before, but as soon as I said I didn’t have the pants, his tone became somewhat sharp, saying, 'That’s what the insurance company said. I’m busy, so goodbye.'"

Mr. A said, "I felt really bad at the time. My hands still tremble," and added, "Since they said they would pay through insurance, I decided to accept it and even paid for the cleaning out of my own pocket." He lamented, "Including the cost of the jeans and cleaning, I paid a little over 100,000 won. It’s just so frustrating and infuriating."

Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "It would have been better if the lady had said something nice," "It’s a pity the pants were discarded before compensation," "The owner and employee didn’t handle the situation properly," and "They say a kind word can repay a thousand debts; if you spill soup on someone’s pants, you should apologize first."

However, many netizens also criticized Mr. A’s attitude. These netizens commented, "Why did you sit in a seat that wasn’t cleared when there were plenty of others?" "Throwing away the pants just because soup spilled on them is a bit much," "They told you to wait while they cleaned, so why did you sit down first?" and "You shouldn’t sit at a table that’s being cleaned."