Refusing a Homeless Person Demanding Free Food
Customer Criticizes, "How Much Does Meat Cost?"
Yet Complains, "Oh, The Smell" Themselves
A story has gone viral about a customer who criticized a self-employed business owner for not giving food to a homeless person who was asking for a free meal, but then scolded the homeless person for "smelling bad" when passing by.
On the 6th, a post titled "Is a restaurant stingy if they don't give food to a homeless person?" was uploaded to an online community. The author, Mr. A, who identified himself as a self-employed owner of a Korean BBQ restaurant, said, "My restaurant opens at 6 p.m. As usual, I arrived at work around 1 or 2 p.m. to clean the restaurant and prepare side dishes, focusing on getting ready for customers. Around 4 p.m., a man in his 50s or 60s, looking shabby and smelling bad, suddenly entered the restaurant and demanded, 'I'm hungry, so prepare a meal for me,'” he began.
Hearing Mr. B's request, Mr. A was somewhat taken aback but thought, "He must be really hungry," and put aside his work to prepare a generous meal with vegetable side dishes, soybean paste stew, and hairtail fish. However, despite Mr. A's efforts, Mr. B requested, "Give me meat." Mr. A politely refused, saying, "The charcoal grill is not lit before the restaurant opens, so I can't grill meat right now. We light the charcoal about 20 minutes before opening. My daughter is so busy that she just drinks water and eats kimchi at home. Considering this, I have already prepared enough food without charging money." Mr. B then angrily shouted, "How can a Korean BBQ restaurant not grill meat?" and added three bowls of rice before leaving the restaurant without saying goodbye.
Nearby shop owners advised Mr. A, "(Mr. B) is physically and mentally sound, but since he lives by begging, eating, and sleeping on the streets without working, never let him into your store," and warned, "If you let him in, customers will see it as unsanitary and dislike it. If the owner looks naive, he will come every day, so be careful," they said.
However, a few days later, Mr. B returned to Mr. A's restaurant. Like before, he sat at an empty table and said, "I'm so hungry, please let me have a meal," as if he had left it in trust. But Mr. A firmly refused and chased him away. Then, a mother and daughter dining at a nearby table mocked Mr. A, saying, "You are too stingy, sir. Meat doesn't cost that much. How rich do you want to get by saving that?"
Mr. A's daughter, who was helping with serving, confronted the mother and daughter, asking, "If this man keeps asking for meat at our restaurant, will you pay for the customers' meals in the future?" The mother and daughter insulted the daughter, saying, "You speak so annoyingly," and as they left the restaurant, they said, "I hope you become rich," continuing to criticize Mr. A until they left.
Mr. A said, "I heard the mother passing near the table where the man was sitting say, 'Oh my, what is that smell?'" He added, "She frowned because of the smell herself, yet I don't understand how she can so easily say to let the homeless person into the restaurant." He continued, "I'm not a charity organization. I'm clearly running a business. Is it natural to accept all homeless people into the business premises and grill meat for free?" He lamented, "They never think about buying food with their own money but only demand sacrifice from others." He also added, "Anyone can pretend to be kind with words. Many people do meaningless volunteer work."
Netizens who read the story responded with comments such as, "That homeless person will probably keep coming to Mr. A's restaurant," "There are too many people who only talk big," "The mother and daughter are more annoying than the homeless person," "Giving is up to the giver's heart," "He's physically and mentally sound, so why bother preparing food for him," "They should have refused from the start," and "If you feel sorry, pay for the homeless person's meal yourself," among others.
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