Found a foreign object in pizza... "We'll give you a coupon instead of a refund"

VIPS Pizza Serves 'Bakery Sheet'
Complaint Made but "No Refund"
CJ Foodville Explains "Refund Processed Same Day"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Foreign substances were found in a pizza at the family restaurant 'VIPS,' operated by a major domestic corporation, but there were criticisms that the response from the store and headquarters was inadequate.

On the 6th, Yonhap News reported that office worker Mr. A, who lives in Daegu, discovered a foreign object while eating pizza at VIPS on the 4th. The store employee said the foreign object was a 'bakery sheet' placed to prevent the pizza from burning while baking in the oven. A bakery sheet is a type of paper used when using an oven.

Having lost his appetite, Mr. A eventually left his seat, and the store charged him for the entire meal without a proper apology regarding the foreign substance. When he asked if it was appropriate to charge money after finding an inedible foreign object in the food while paying by card, he was told, "Sorry, but refunds are not possible."

Mr. A said, "Since I ate a foreign substance due to the store's fault, I thought the store should have offered a refund first, but they did not, which made me feel bad." He added, "The store manager offered a meal discount coupon instead of a refund, but it felt like they were treating customers like beggars, which made me even more upset."

After eating the problematic pizza, he also showed symptoms of hives and received medical treatment. When Mr. A reported this issue to the VIPS customer center, they belatedly canceled the card payment approval and called him to apologize. The customer center representative proposed giving him 300,000 won instead of 50,000 won, which was the insurance compensation for the foreign substance in the food. However, after confirming that the pizza foreign substance was reported to the public health center, the customer center stated that the store would face administrative sanctions and that they had nothing more to discuss with Mr. A. Earlier, the Daegu Jung-gu Public Health Center conducted an on-site investigation following Mr. A's report and issued a corrective order to the problematic store on the 30th of last month.

CJ Foodville, which operates VIPS, stated regarding this incident, "The store confirmed the issue and immediately visited the table to apologize, and apologized again upon exit," adding, "The headquarters also contacted the customer several times to express our sincere apologies and processed the refund on the same day." Netizens who came across the news expressed various reactions such as "The store's response is very disappointing," "Customer service is third-rate," and "If there was a problem with the food, they should obviously refund."