"Pay 2,000 Won Just to Use the Restroom? Too Much" — Cafe Menu Board Sparks Heated Debate

"An Understandable Decision" vs. "Too Harsh": Opinions Divided
"Many People Only Use the Restroom and Leave"

Screenshot of online community

Controversy has arisen after a café owner added a "restroom use without placing an order" item to the menu board. The debate centers around the café owner's position that it is reasonable to charge people who use the restroom without ordering a drink, while others argue that this decision is excessive.

Recently, social networking services (SNS) featured a post and photo titled, "A new menu item at a café has been introduced." The author explained, "A restroom use menu has been created to avoid uncomfortable confrontations."

The photo appears to show a self-service kiosk, with the phrase "Restroom use without placing an order (1 person, 1 time)" displayed. The price is 2,000 won.

Online commenters speculated that the decision was made because many people pretend they will order but only use the restroom and leave. A user identified as Mr. A, who said he runs a café, commented, "I've often seen people leave their bags at a table as if they are about to order, use only the restroom, and then quietly leave. I can relate to the café owner in the photo."

However, some opinions pointed out that "the usage fee is excessive" and "it's too harsh."

Restroom usage fee 5,000 won... "Pororo drinks not allowed, only coffee" — Store owner reports customer for business obstruction

In December of last year, there was also a case where someone used the restroom at a café without ordering a drink and was reported by the store owner for obstruction of business. Inside the café, a sign read "Restroom usage fee 5,000 won," but the customer did not notice it and used only the restroom.

After realizing the situation, the customer apologized to the café owner, saying, "I'm sorry for using the restroom in a hurry without saying anything." The customer added, "It's cold out and my child is waiting outside, so I'll be sure to make a purchase next time." However, the owner blocked the customer from leaving, and when some time passed without resolution, the customer's wife entered the café. After hearing the situation, the wife said, "Let's just quickly buy a Pororo drink and leave since our child is waiting outside." The Pororo drink sold at the store was priced at 1,400 won, which was cheaper than coffee.

However, the owner insisted, "Pororo drinks are not allowed," and demanded, "You must order coffee at the kiosk." The couple protested, "Whether we buy a Pororo drink or coffee is our choice, and the moment we buy a drink, we become customers, don't we?" The café owner replied, "No, that's not allowed. Our shop policy is that you must buy coffee." The customer said, "From that moment, any guilt I felt for using the restroom for free disappeared and I started feeling angry. My wife was also upset and raised her voice, saying, 'How can that be?' and we argued for about two minutes."

Afterward, the café owner said, "If you continue speaking even one more word, I will call the police for obstruction of business," and claimed to have reported them to the police on the spot. The police responded to the report and determined that the couple had not committed any obstruction of business. They also concluded that using the restroom was neither illegal nor punishable.

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