No Reserved Room, Refund Demanded... Restaurant Refused Saying "Can't Kill a Rooster"

Rising Voices in Conflicting Positions
Police Arrived, So Ultimately No Refund Received

A story about a customer who requested a cancellation of a payment worth hundreds of thousands of won due to no available seats at a restaurant they had reserved in advance sparked public outrage. On the 3rd, an online community called 'BobaeDream' posted a thread titled 'Where can I get help for a restaurant refusing a refund?'.

The author, Mr. A, began by saying that he went on a trip to Geoje Island last month to celebrate his mother-in-law's 70th birthday. He continued, "There were 9 people in total, including 7 adults and 2 children, who stayed overnight on the 30th and planned to have dinner at a certain restaurant in Ulsan on the 31st." Since his brother-in-law's house is in Ulsan, he had made a phone reservation a week earlier on December 25. Just in case, he even called to confirm the day before the reservation. Mr. A explained, "The restaurant clearly said they would reserve a room."

The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo source=Pixabay]

After finishing their trip to Geoje Island, the group arrived at the Ulsan snow crab restaurant. Following the owner's explanation that they could choose the crab on the first floor, pay in advance, and then go to the room, they paid 750,000 won with a check card. The restaurant operated in a way where customers selected live seafood on the first floor, then paid a separate table setting fee upstairs to eat.

However, when they headed to the second-floor restaurant, all seats were already full. The third floor was also fully occupied, and the staff seemed unaware of the reservation for 9 people. Mr. A said, "Since we didn't know when seats would be available, I thought it wouldn't work, so I suggested canceling and going somewhere else." He added, "When I went back down to the first floor and asked the owner to cancel, he said, 'No refunds because the crabs are already killed,' and then walked away."

Mr. A, who requested a refund, and the restaurant owner who refused it had increasingly heated exchanges due to their conflicting positions. The photo is not related to the specific content of the article. [Photo by Pixabay]

The dispute between Mr. A, who demanded a refund, and the restaurant owner, who refused, escalated with raised voices. The owner admitted fault for not checking the upstairs situation at the time of payment but repeatedly insisted that the card cancellation was not possible. He also said that since it was uncertain when a room would be available, they should eat in the hall or take the crab to go. However, Mr. A could not hold a 70th birthday party in the noisy hall, and due to the conflicting positions, the police were eventually called.

The responding police officers were at a loss. Since this was not a criminal case, there was nothing the police could do. The owner told the police, "I don't think this is a matter for police intervention. I will resolve it with those people. If a fine comes later, I will pay it," and left the scene. In the end, the restaurant did not cancel the payment. Mr. A said, "Since they wouldn't cancel the card payment, we went somewhere else for a late dinner. My mother-in-law teared up, saying, 'I think this happened because of me.' Seeing her upset made me feel bad," he lamented.

Regarding the controversy, the restaurant told a domestic media outlet, "We had reserved a room, but the previous customers used it for a long time, causing problems." They added, "We prepared seats in the hall, asked them to wait a little, and also suggested takeout, but the customers stubbornly demanded a refund." They continued, "The crab the customer paid for is currently stored in the freezer," and said, "We plan to respond according to the law."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.