Penang Kopitiam Apologises For Shaming A Patron Who Didn't Order A Drink With His Food
It is reportedly compulsory for customers to pay RM1 if they do not order a drink at the coffeeshop.
By May Vin Ang — 22 Mar 2023, 03:06 PM
The owner of a coffeeshop in Penang has apologised for publicly shaming a customer for not ordering a drink while eating there
On Monday, 20 March, the owner of Seng Thor Coffee Shop in George Town, Penang called out the patron for being difficult on Facebook and chastised him for not paying the minimum price to eat there.
It is reportedly compulsory for customers to order a drink at the coffeeshop, or pay RM1 if they do not want to.
The owner said there are clear signs around the shop, informing customers of the rule.
"If he wants to be popular, we will give him a hand. He can see that there are signs that say we only make small profits despite the high turnover, so there is a minimum spend of one drink. But he didn't want to order a drink and told us that he wouldn't, no matter what we did.
"No matter, we will help him become famous on the Internet, so that his friends and family can see his 'lan' (sh-tty) attitude," wrote the coffeeshop owner in the post.
Unfortunately for him, the Facebook post backfired, as netizens criticised the coffeeshop owner for shaming a customer online
According to China Press, the coffeeshop owner, Lim, took down the post on the same day and immediately apologised for it.
Speaking to the Chinese daily, Lim explained that he was quick to anger because the customer was really disrespectful to him and his wife.
"If he did not want to order [a drink], he could have said it nicely and not ignore us like that," he said, adding that he also does not always impose the drink rule too strictly.
However, Lim admitted that putting a photo of the customer on social media was wrong.
"I know everybody's not happy with me for speaking badly about that old man, I sincerely apologise," he said in an interview with Sin Chew Daily.
The owner added that he has since taken down his Facebook page to prevent netizens from commenting about the issue
After receiving much backlash, Lim said some people have opened fake Facebook accounts bearing his shop's name and declaring that it would be closing down.
However, Lim said news of the closure is fake and his coffeeshop is open for business as usual.
