Act of friendship betrayed as eatery owner pre-orders huge amounts of food and most expensive dishes for group of pals. Enormous bill shocks group of diners and causes a fierce backlash on restaurant review sites. — SCMP
A woman in China who tried to support a friend by going to their restaurant was left bitterly disappointed after being ripped off by a pre-ordered meal which came to a whopping 7,472 yuan (RM4,835 or US$1,000).
The fleecing of a friend, which was reported by White Deer Video, has triggered outrage on mainland social media.
The woman, surnamed Chen, stung by the restaurant tab is from the city of Shenzhen in Guangdong province, in southeastern China.
Chen was planning to dine with a group of friends, one of whom owned an eatery, so she plumped for his place out of a sense of friendship.
According to an online menu, the average price was 420 yuan (RM271) per person which Chen considered acceptable.
On arrival she was surprised to find that a full meal, composed of 11 dishes, a bottle of red wine, snacks and fruit, had been pre-ordered for the group.
“I thought that if he had ordered, we could just go along with it. After all, he knows what dishes are delicious,” said Chen.
However, much to her astonishment, at the end of the meal she was presented with a bill for 7,472 yuan (RM4,835) which included a service fee of 700 yuan (RM452).
The receipt revealed that of the pre-ordered dishes, conch and sea cucumber were the most expensive, priced at 1,760 yuan (RM1,139) and 2,112 yuan (RM1,366), respectively.
Other common dishes were also exorbitantly priced – yam at 98 yuan (RM63), boiled eggplant at 128 yuan (RM82) and Chiu Chow fried meat cake at 238 yuan (RM154).
The price of the fried meat cake caused one online observer to exclaim: “Was it dragon meat they were frying?”
Chen was also unhappy with the lack of service, saying: “We had to pour the red wine ourselves.”
The disgruntled diner went on: “This friend is so deceitful. I wanted to support his business, but he slaughtered me like a sheep.”
Her experience resonating with many online victims of similar rip-offs has gone viral on social media.
Despite the restaurant friend refunding her 3,000 yuan (RM1,941) via WeChat, the online backlash was fierce.
On Dianping, one of China’s most prominent platforms for crowd-sourced reviews on catering services, negative reviews and rates flooded in.
Some people even posted the photo of the receipt and demanded an explanation from the restaurant owner.
“If this is how he treats his friends, imagine how he treats regular customers,” said one.
Another online observer said: “Six women were pre-ordered more than 10 dishes. Even if we overlook the fact that he intentionally ordered pricey dishes, the size of the order itself already indicates that he is not a kind person.”
Another person agreed: “She treats him as a friend, but he treats her as a dupe.” – South China Morning Post
