Caf? Owner Faces Backlash for Insulting Customer Over Drink Confusion
Video Viewed Over 60,000 Times, Sparks Online Criticism
A franchise cafe owner apologized, saying "I was thoughtless," after posting a video on social media belittling a customer who confused a drink, which sparked controversy.
On the 22nd, a video posted recently on the SNS of owner A, who runs a franchise cafe in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, spread across multiple online communities. A created and uploaded a video titled "Retinal Parasite Villain," showing a conversation between a female customer and himself.
A franchise cafe owner operating in Incheon recently posted a video belittling customers (left) and a handwritten apology on their SNS. Screenshot from an online community.
In the video, after receiving the drink, the customer asked, "Is this a vanilla latte?" and A replied, "Yes, you can take the order you placed." Then the customer asked again, "Isn't this an Americano?" showing confusion by saying, "It's different from what I know." A explained, "The bottom is white, right? That's milk, so it is a vanilla latte."
While posting this conversation with the customer, A included audio at the end of the video with abusive language, saying, "You son of a b**** with parasites crawling in your retina, what kind of Americano is this?"
The video was viewed over 60,000 times and spread widely through various SNS and online communities. Subsequently, netizens criticized that making a video belittling a customer and posting it on a public account was inappropriate. Comments included, "I don't understand if it was necessary to use abusive language," "Would anyone want to go to a coffee shop out of fear," "It ruins the brand image," and "The headquarters should take action." One netizen even stated they filed a complaint with the franchise headquarters.
As the controversy grew, A removed all posts including the video from SNS and posted a handwritten apology. A wrote, "I sincerely apologize for causing discomfort to many people due to the inappropriate SNS post," and "I deeply reflect on the fact that a post made with thoughtlessness could cause a great stir."
He added, "As a store owner, I will take responsibility for the brand and do my best to ensure that such an incident never happens again," and "I sincerely apologize once again to everyone who saw the post and to the customer involved, and ask for forgiveness."
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