Infuriating story of a 50-chicken herbal chicken no-show results in damage to small business owners' community

A post that describes suffering a no-show damage of 750,000 won due to a man who ordered 50 herbal chickens and then disappeared has sparked outrage.

On the 19th, a post titled "I got no-showed, 750,000 won" appeared in the small business owners' community 'I'm in Pain Because I'm a Boss.'

Business owner A, who has been running a health food restaurant for five years, revealed, "I never imagined I would write a post about something like this," and shared recent experiences of no-show damages.

According to A, around 5:44 PM on the 18th, a man called and asked, "Since it's a group order, I'm ordering a bit much, can you package it in one order?" He ordered 50 bowls of herbal chicken. The man stated that he would come to pick up the food at 7 PM on the 19th.

At that time, he requested, "Please make sure it's ready by 7 PM," and mentioned he needed to get approval from his company, asking for the business registration certificate.

A expressed, "I felt a strange vibe at this point. When I asked what kind of approval he was referring to, he said, 'Since it's a corporate order using a corporate card, I need to get approval from the company,'" adding, "It was my first experience like this, so I was hesitant. I told him, 'If that's the case, you can take a picture of your business card with your name, phone number, and company name visible and send it to me.'" He explained that he ended the call and sent a picture of his business card.

While preparing the food, A tried to call the man several times, but he did not answer and ultimately did not show up.

Repeated no-show damages and responses from small business owners

A lamented, "There are many large corporations and their partners in the area that often use corporate cards, and normally I don’t take a deposit for reservations, so I was complacent. Although money is money, I’m angry that I prepared diligently while having an uneasy feeling."

Furthermore, he said, "When I checked the community out of curiosity, I found many similar posts about damages," adding, "If I hadn't seen those posts, I might have waited for that customer until closing."

After the incident, A announced, "Starting tomorrow, I will ask for understanding from my existing customers and will take deposits," and revealed the phone number of the man who placed the no-show order.

Earlier, on the 12th, a small business owner operating a herbal chicken restaurant in Gwangju's Buk-gu faced a similar situation, where a man claiming to be a soldier requested 80 servings of herbal chicken and then also no-showed.

That business owner stated that the 80 servings of herbal chicken, which became difficult to sell, were donated to nearby elderly people.

Meanwhile, according to related laws, in cases of "no-show" that disrupt business intentionally, it can be punished as obstruction of duty by deception.

If the crime of obstructing duty is established, it can lead to up to 5 years of imprisonment or a fine of up to 15 million won. However, it is currently difficult to impose legal penalties due to the challenge of proving intent.

Image source: I'm in Pain Because I'm a Boss, illustrative photographs to help understand the article / gettyimagesbank