Company Offers Actual Expense Compensation and 30,000 Won Gift Certificate
Blames Convenience Stores Citing Distribution Process
A consumer who suffered stomach upset after eating moldy bread complained to the company, but reportedly received a response close to being ungrateful.
According to Yonhap News on the 3rd, office worker Mr. A, who lives in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, purchased a cheese cream roll cake from Company B at a convenience store near his home on the 27th of last month. While eating it, he discovered blue mold growing in the white cream inside the bread. By then, his young daughter and he had already eaten three out of five pieces. The expiration date was until the 27th, the day Mr. A bought the bread.
Mr. A suffered from diarrhea and vomiting for three days starting early the next morning. He went to the convenience store to complain, and two days later, on the 29th of last month, he was contacted by the customer service representative of the product. The representative offered reimbursement for medical expenses based on receipts, a 30,000 won mobile gift certificate to purchase the company’s products, and some additional products from the company.
However, Mr. A considered the compensation proposal unreasonable given that he was unable to work due to the moldy bread and his health was affected. Moreover, since he no longer wanted to consume the company’s products, he did not want the gift certificate or physical bread as compensation. When asked by the company how much he wanted, he replied that it should be at least 100,000 won.
But the company cited internal regulations. They claimed the mold developed because the bread was not refrigerated during distribution and shifted responsibility to the convenience store. Angered, Mr. A said, "I don’t want compensation. I will post this incident on the internet," to which the company representative responded, "Go ahead. 100,000 won is a lot of money to us."
Mr. A was outraged that he was perceived as someone trying to extort money despite suffering health problems from the bread. He stated, "The company proposed medical expense reimbursement and gift certificates as if it was a generous offer," and added, "I don’t want compensation money; I just want a sincere apology. I hope the company is sternly reprimanded."
When media coverage began, the manufacturer said, "We asked for understanding as it was difficult to meet the customer’s request for compensation beyond our standards, but we apologize if the customer was hurt. We will thoroughly review our customer service procedures to prevent such misunderstandings in the future."
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