What Happened In The Viral Customer-Staff Argument? We Spoke To The Restaurant To Find Out
A representative showed SAYS a photo of the customer apologising to the restaurant employee after the incident.
A video showing a heated exchange between a diner and a restaurant employee at a serving counter, reportedly over the language used during their conversation, has gone viral.
But what exactly happened?
In the 16-second video, the two parties are seen in a heated dispute at a Penang Road Famous TeoChew Chendul outlet in Penang. Initially, their conversation is unclear, but it soon becomes audible.
"I don't speak Malay, I only speak English," the customer can be heard saying, to which the employee responds, "This is Malaysia, you have to speak Malay."
The customer then retorts, "So what?" before slowly walking out of the frame.
Netizens are divided over the video, with some arguing that the customer should be able to speak the national language, while others believe the employee's response was unprofessional.
Some also speculated that the customer might be from Singapore, which could explain why he cannot speak Bahasa Melayu.
The video can be found below:
SAYS reached out to Penang Road Famous TeoChew Chendul, and a representative revealed that the incident has been resolved amicably
When asked what led to the dispute, the representative explained that the customer had wanted to change his order after receiving a bowl of asam laksa that did not include bunga kantan (torch ginger).
It is understood that the disagreement occurred during this exchange, which was then captured in the viral video.
Seeing the tense situation, a person stepped in to bridge the language gap.
The customer then requested to change his order to white curry mee and asked for it to be packed for takeaway.
When he returned about an hour later to collect his food, both parties exchanged apologies.
The representative showed SAYS a still-frame of the CCTV footage, where the customer can be seen pressing his hands together in an apparent gesture of apology.
Image via Provided to SAYS
In a statement shared with SAYS, the restaurant chain apologised for the incident
"Before it went viral, both the customer and our staff had already apologised to each other, and the matter was resolved amicably. As part of our due diligence, our management has reviewed the CCTV footage to ensure a fair understanding of the situation.
"While we acknowledge that this was a misunderstanding, we also recognise that in the food service industry, professionalism, and self-control are always essential. At the same time, we strongly believe that respect should be mutual, regardless of the situation.
"We sincerely apologise for any concerns this may have caused. Moving forward, we will continue to uphold our commitment to service excellence while fostering a respectful environment for both our customers and staff," the statement read.
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