"Even If You Buy 100 Cups of Coffee, I Still Can't Hold Your Luggage" — A Self-Employed Owner's Plea Before Closing the Business [What Do You Think?]

[Financial News]  A self-employed business owner preparing to close the business has spoken out about the difficulties caused by repeated requests unrelated to the business, such as storing luggage, charging mobile phones and allowing people to use the restroom.
The story became known through a post written by a self-employed business owner identified only as A on an online community last month on the 29th. The post began, "Because this is a neighborhood business district, people occasionally ask me to hold their luggage."
A said they operate a small store measuring about seven pyeong and no longer accept requests to store belongings after experiencing a lost-item incident in the past. Nevertheless, some customers continue asking A to hold their luggage, saying, "I'll be back soon" or "I live nearby."
A lamented, "Even if they bought 100 cups of coffee, I can't hold their luggage because there has already been a lost-item incident," adding, "The issue isn't the 2,000 won I would earn. Based on my experience, I don't even want to worry about matters unrelated to running the business." A continued, "Whenever I do someone a favor, it seems to cause trouble 99% of the time."
A said such requests had become more frequent after nearby stores closed one after another. "All the businesses around me have shut down, and now I'm left standing alone, so all kinds of troublesome customers are coming in," A complained. "I'm scheduled to close the business early next year and want to finish quietly without any incidents or accidents, but these troublesome customers keep showing up."
People who read the story shared similar experiences. One commenter wrote, "Whether it's asking to charge a phone for a moment, store luggage, use the restroom, look at something on a phone application, or give directions, it may seem harsh to refuse, but refusing is the right thing to do. It wasn't like this at first, but it gradually got worse." Another commenter wrote, "I never agree to these kinds of requests that people make so casually while I'm running my business."


[email protected] Han Seung-gon Reporter