Four People Ordered 30 Plates, But No Order Was Refused
At Checkout: "It Is Hard When You Order 30 Plates Right Away"
A story has spread online about a customer who was told not to come back to a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant where they had gone to eat with family.
According to JTBC's "Case Chief" on the 3rd, a housewife in her 50s, referred to as A, visited a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant last weekend with her husband, younger brother, and mother when this incident occurred.
That day, A's younger brother ordered 20 plates of flounder sushi and 10 plates of salmon sushi, while A and her husband ate eel and tuna sushi that were placed on the conveyor belt.
A said, "We went to a conveyor-belt sushi place that we often visit with my mother, who only eats flounder sushi. It was the weekend, but we went early, so we were the first customers." She also explained that during the meal there was no sign of them making additional requests or raising any complaints.
The problem arose when they finished eating and stood in front of the cashier. After telling them the total amount, the owner said, "I would prefer if you did not come to our restaurant anymore."
Surprised, A asked, "What do you mean by that?" The owner replied, "It is hard when customers order 30 plates all at once as soon as they arrive, and if you order as many as 20 plates of only flounder sushi, there is nothing left for us."
When A protested, saying, "If you wanted us to eat other menu items as well, you could have just said so. How does it make sense to suddenly tell us not to come back?" the owner reportedly responded firmly, "From now on, please go somewhere else to eat."
A said, "I do not know if four people eating 30 plates is such an excessive amount," adding, "If the problem was that we only ate flounder sushi, could you not have just told us in advance to order some other kinds of sushi as well? I want to ask whether we were really 'problem' customers."
Attorney Park Jihoon, who appeared on the program, commented, "It seems to be the owner's unilateral view," and added, "The defining feature of a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant is that you pick up and eat what you want. This is the first time I have heard something like this. Is flounder really that unprofitable?" He went on, "The owner should have chosen some other way to deal with it, but openly got angry instead? It is hard to accept."
Online commenters reacted by saying things like, "If you are only going to eat flounder, it is more appropriate to go to a regular sushi restaurant," "We need to hear the owner's side as well," "Flounder is not even an especially expensive fish, so I do not understand the explanation that there is no profit," and "It is a strange restaurant if they tell customers not to come back."
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