Foreign Diner Disputes Tom Yum Bill in Phuket

Crooked customers....crooked restaurant owners.....pity.

When are they going to go home ? Phuket has been off my travel list for 2 years.

One of the oldest tricks in the book. Gypsies used to do that in San Francisco to get a free meal.

A whole slew of 'em would come in and claim the hair in the dish trick after they ate their asses off.

I was in a well known restaurant in Rawai a few years ago. We complained that the Tom Yum Pla was inedible because the fish was old. Complained 2-3 times. They never took the soup away or off the bill. We ate the rest of the food, did not eat the soup and paid the bill. It wasn't worth the time, money or aggravation to complain anymore. We didn't go back, but that's another story.

Guy was scamming. You don't eat everything and then complain.

CCTV now in all restaurants?

How did humans ever last long enough to evolve into scammers like this? Humans were not 'hunter/gatherers' so much as scavenger/gathers, often stealing kills from leopards... you can bet some insects, hairs, god knows what were in the food we ate for a few million years....

***** but to bring us up to date regarding 'clean' food, some numbers of what is okay

US Food & Drug administration regulations regarding "Title 21, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 110.110 allows the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to establish maximum levels of natural or unavoidable defects in foods for human use that present no health hazard."

for instance, noodles allow" Average of 225 insect fragments or more per 225 grams in 6 or more subsamples; Average of 4.5 rodent hairs or more per 225 grams in 6 or more subsamples."

peanut butter: Average of 30 or more insect fragments per 100 grams

wheat flour : Average of 75 or more insect fragments per 50 grams

https://www.fda.gov/food/current-good-manufacturing-practices-cgmps-food-and-dietary-supplements/food-defect-levels-handbook

Coffee Beans: Up to 10 milligrams or more of animal waste per pound.

Accidentally eating a stray hair is not a health hazard. Hair is composed of keratin, a chemically inactive protein. While a strand may briefly carry trace bacteria, swallowing a single hair will not cause illness. The protein itself cannot be digested and will simply pass through your system.

Maybe restaurant should have asked customer for hair sample and also offending bit of hair. Tell woman hair will be sent to lab for DNA comparison. If identical, customer will be taken to court for fraud. Ask for $100 deposit for testing, and if no match, will get money back.

20 minutes ago, brfsa2 said:

I heard from restaurant owner this is a normal tactic from Israelis that want to eat for free, they even drop hair on the food in purpose.

Why fabricate and post a false statement? Are you this full of hate that you are unable to control your ignorance?

54 minutes ago, LALes said:

One of the oldest tricks in the book. Gypsies used to do that in San Francisco to get a free meal.

A whole slew of 'em would come in and claim the hair in the dish trick after they ate their asses off.

Why would there be gypsies in San Francisco, and why would you think that they would get a free meal from finding a hair?

It doesn't happen. Restaurants don't give free meals because of a hair. They will exchange the food item.

This is just nonsense.

1 hour ago, Searat7 said:

When are they going to go home ? Phuket has been off my travel list for 2 years.

I guess we have to wait until the ruble takes a serious dive. But then Phuket, with a bunch of bankrupt Russians is gonna be chaos.

1 hour ago, Srikcir said:

CCTV now in all restaurants?

Along with DNA swap before ordering. JIC

Enough evidence there to do a DNA test. Consequences....oh sorry, TIT.

In normal circumstances they would change the dish, if it were me, for a single hair I wouldn't even complain.

You can't finish a meal and then find an excuse to complain, that is just straightforward cheating.

52 minutes ago, Luuk Chaai said:

we had lunch at a "famous corner restaurant in Hua Hin.... wife found a roach in the food...

told her she was lucky it was the whole thing and not the uneaten half ! ..... waiter removed the price of the dish from the bill

We had similar in Kalasin when my family came, the shame was, it was me who recommended the place!

Same result, they apologised and knocked the dish off the bill.

I know the owner, so we both laughed and dismissed it, saving us all face.

When my wife is cooking, she wears a white chef’s cap - no problems since.

Checked AI and Internet.

There is virtually zero risk of a hair strand causing any medical problems. It will pass through your digestive system and pass. (If this customer was concerned why was the remaining portion of the food now magically safe to Eat?)

The concern is the belief that a kitchen is less hygienic than standard. #For some reason through generations we are taught to overreact and almost gag.

For long stay foreigners in Thailand

My experience with restaurants in Thailand is depending on the food issue an appropriate level of concern or response is warranted. Take a photo. Alert the staff, if it's a higher level sanitary problem, return the dish or have it removed with your request (A new dish to be made, partial payment, or remove from bill). The photo is to better understand the issue if an outside mediator is needed (Police, Restaurant Manager or Owner).

Lower level concerns. Use digression with knowledge of Thai Society and notify the staff while abiding by the (stay calm, quiet voice, choose appropriate words [Saving Face] and use the Translation App for better understanding.)

Ah, the good ol´ hair in the soup trick.😂😂😂

She should have deducted the hair from the bill.

4 hours ago, howerde said:

Well at least it's not a pubic hair, count yourself lucky

Could be a Japanese pubic hair.

That reminds me of the old gag, a person told a waitress that he had found a hair in his soup. The waitress told him to keep his voice down otherwise every body will want one.