"Customer Eats Only the Raw Fish Toppings, Then Demands a Refund Because the Rice Was Cold"—The 'Most Outrageous Sushi Incident' That Angered a Small-Business Owner

[Financial News] A story about a customer who demanded a refund, claiming the delivered sushi was cold, then returned the food after eating only the raw fish toppings has resurfaced online, sparking public outrage.
Yonhap News TV reported on the 8th that a post titled "The customer who ate all the raw fish after asking for a refund because the sushi was cold" had been shared across various online communities and social media platforms.
Person A, who wrote the post, began by saying, "At around 9:30 p.m., we received a delivery order worth about 40,000 won through a delivery platform. It took approximately 30 minutes for the delivery to arrive."
Person A continued, "The customer's request said, 'Ring the bell and leave it in front of the door.' The delivery driver rang the bell, but there was no sign of anyone inside, so he rang it two or three more times and even left a text message."
However, the customer demanded a refund, saying, "I didn't hear the doorbell, and the sushi was left out for about 15 minutes, so it became cold and I couldn't eat it."
Person A said, "Although it was absurd, I told the customer we would cancel the card payment and issue a refund, and asked them not to eat the food but to leave it in front of the door so we could collect it."
However, when the food was collected and inspected, only the raw fish toppings on the sushi had been eaten, leaving the rice behind. There were also signs that some of the soba noodles and udon had been eaten.
Person A called the customer the next day, but received no answer. The owner then sent a text message saying, "I have determined that a refund will be difficult. Please check this and contact me."
The customer responded, "I could not hear the doorbell at all. I requested a refund because the sushi rice had become so cold while it was left outside that I simply could not eat it. Asking for the sushi rice in delivered food to be kept at a certain temperature may be unreasonable, but it was far below a temperature that would be considered normal." The customer added, "I would like to ask the owner in return whether eating a few pieces of raw fish, some udon, and a little soba is worth 40,000 won."
Person A replied, "I processed the refund and said I would collect the food, so why did you eat it? Is this something that makes sense?" The owner continued, "I could understand if you had eaten only part of it, but if you ate 90 percent of the sushi toppings and then asked for the order to be canceled, who would understand that?"
The post first attracted attention and public outrage in online communities in 2024, and has now resurfaced.
People who came across the story responded, "If you wanted a refund, you shouldn't have eaten it," "It's truly chilling to see someone boldly return something so unreasonable and send a message like that with such confidence," "I really don't understand," and "Small-business owners must have a hard time," among other comments.
[email protected] Kim Su-yeon Reporter