At Paikdabang's "1,000 Won Event," Customer Says, "I'll Pay for 200 Cups in Advance"

The Rise of "Advance Payment Customers" Amid Paikdabang Coffee Discounts
"I'll Pay in Advance, Please Record It in the Ledger and Print Only the Total Amount on the Receipt"

Theborn Korea, a restaurant franchise led by CEO Baek Jongwon, has been holding a series of discount events such as "Jajangmyeon for 3,900 won" and "Americano for 500 won." Amid these promotions, there have been multiple reports of customers at the Paikdabang coffee chain attempting to take advantage of the discounts by requesting advance payments.

According to Theborn Korea on June 9, Paikdabang sold iced cafe lattes for 1,000 won from June 5 to 7, and will sell Americanos for 500 won from June 10 to 12. During the three-day cafe latte discount event, numerous customer reviews were posted on social networking services (SNS) about their visits to Paikdabang.

Low-cost coffee specialty brand 'Paikdabang'. Theborn Korea

One netizen, referred to as A, posted about witnessing a customer trying to purchase 200 cups of iced cafe latte in advance. According to A, the customer said, "I'll pay 200,000 won in advance, so please record it in your ledger and make sure the receipt only shows the total amount." A commented, "Requesting advance payment for 200 cups at the discounted price?this is more like a bank than a cafe. Are you asking the owner to help you evade taxes? I'm amazed at the creativity of someone trying to invest in lattes."

Another netizen, B, also wrote, "I went to Paikdabang during the 1,000-won iced cafe latte promotion, and there was a customer arguing with the staff, insisting on paying 100,000 won in advance for 100 cups at 1,000 won each and demanding they record it in the ledger." Readers who saw these posts responded critically, saying, "How can advance payment make sense when the discount period is clearly stated?" "If that's allowed, I'd do advance payment and drink for life," "This is the worst kind of customer," "Discount events like this should be limited to one cup per person," "Let's at least have some basic decency," and "If you finish all the prepaid drinks within the promotion period, that's acceptable."

Meanwhile, Theborn Korea is offering up to 50% discounts or special promotional events on signature menu items at its brands, including Paikdabang and Hongkong Banjeom, on designated days until June 30. Details of the discounts can be found on Theborn Korea's official website and at each brand's stores. It is reported that this discount event was planned as part of a 30 billion won mutual growth support program to assist franchise owners who suffered due to ongoing controversies surrounding CEO Baek Jongwon and the company. All costs for the discounts are being covered by the headquarters.