Thai restaurant praised for honesty - customer sought after he overpaid by TEN TIMES

[webfact]

Picture: Thai Rath

 

Thai Rath reported on a Facebook post by the owner of a "Khao Tom" restaurant in downtown Khon Kaen in north eastern Thailand who were trying to contact a customer.

 

The Pe Tee shop in Nai Muang sub-district received a transfer of 4,420 baht for a 442 baht meal.

 

They asked for "Udomsak" to come forward saying that he had dined at their shop last Saturday at 6pm showing a picture of where he was sitting.

 

Netizens were quick to praise the shop for their wonderful honesty. 

 

Though others suggested they should contact the bank who could talk to their customer directly about the overpayment. 

 

It appeared he had added a zero to his transfer without realizing it. 

 

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[ezzra]

Highly unusual act of honesty for a Thai business and in general et'al.. still, what should be, in a normal world, an act of a matter of course, now it's viewed as an extra kind behaviour...

[richard_smith237]

I guess its fairly easy to do when typing out the number then not double-checking the amount - complacency will naturally develop when cashless payment is the norm.

 

Props to the restaurant for attempting to contact the customer. 

 

Could they not also just contact the Bank to refund the 3978 baht to the customers account ?

[Mavideol]

so now they are using the restaurants instead of the typical honest cab/taxi drivers who use to return bags full of cash

[dyertribe]

It's not the customers mistake ... when has a restaurant ever let you type in your own amount? The Cashier would have typed the amount and the customer probably did not notice the extra 0 when entering the PIN.

 

Still ... good on the restaurant for trying to fix it.

[hotchilli]

15 hours ago, Mavideol said:

so now they are using the restaurants instead of the typical honest cab/taxi drivers who use to return bags full of cash

I think this restaurant owner is being up front and honest, and wishes to keep his reputation in good order.

Kudos to the owner.

[realfunster]

16 hours ago, dyertribe said:

It's not the customers mistake ... when has a restaurant ever let you type in your own amount? The Cashier would have typed the amount and the customer probably did not notice the extra 0 when entering the PIN.

 

Still ... good on the restaurant for trying to fix it.

I take it you have never paid with PromptPay or via QR code on your mobile device then!

 

Using your mobile device and banking application, you scan the restaurant QR code via and then enter the payment amount on your own. Typically, you will then show the confirmation of payment screen to the employee, or sometimes they take a picture. 

[poskat]

If there wasnt a digital record of the overpaymet, would they have been so fast to try to fix it??

[NaaKap]

Love to hear these stories. There is good and bad in all cultures in all countries. I lost my phone in a train in BKK. The lady who found it answered the phone, caught a taxi quite a distance, returned the phone and flatly refused to take a reward or compensation for the taxi trips. Lost my wallet in a clothes store only a few minutes later hearing someone running behind me yelling "Sir" "Sir" My wallet and substantial cash was handed to me Again the young store person refused any reward. 

[Denim]

Just given me an idea. Somebody should invent a system where you have various denominations of paper credits ( flat for easy storage ) that are widely accepted and easy to use for payment of small things. This system would be great as it would do away with the need for always using smartphones etc.

 

A bit of a way out sci fi idea but maybe  20 years from now who knows.

[jacko45k]

19 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

I guess its fairly easy to do when typing out the number then not double-checking the amount - complacency will naturally develop when cashless payment is the norm.

Happened to me, I received a random 'small' deposit into my account.... soon after I am getting calls from someone crying over the phone in Thai and I had no idea what it was about, They talked to my wife and she dismissed them as scammers, until I told her, yes I had received the money. (Yes I sent it back!)

[steven100]

So the customer doesn't notice the amount is 4420 baht instead of 442 baht on his mobile after payment. ?     not very smart .....

I'd let the cashier go as she's not reliable at her job.  

 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2022 by steven100

[jacko45k]

3 minutes ago, steven100 said:

So the customer doesn't notice the amount is 4420 baht instead of 420 baht on his mobile after payment. ?     not very smart .....

I'd let the cashier go as she's not reliable at her job.  

Oh I can see that happening, it is not the preferred and more reliable method using a QR code, or touch and go. My old eyes, it is dark here, fiddly little phone, those couple of Leo beers! I would not blame the cashier here.... 

Edited September 23, 2022 by jacko45k

[steven100]

1 hour ago, NaaKap said:

Love to hear these stories. There is good and bad in all cultures in all countries. I lost my phone in a train in BKK. The lady who found it answered the phone, caught a taxi quite a distance, returned the phone and flatly refused to take a reward or compensation for the taxi trips. Lost my wallet in a clothes store only a few minutes later hearing someone running behind me yelling "Sir" "Sir" My wallet and substantial cash was handed to me Again the young store person refused any reward. 

do you often lose things during the day.....    could be your memory is failing.

[NaaKap]

555 Yes I know it sounds like a touch of the oldtimers, But twice in 15 years I think is not too bad. Perhaps I should have elaborated more. My bad

[brianthainess]

It was me ! please post cash or a Netflix gift card directly to me. ????

[Eaglekott]

I ordered food from a restaurant not long ago. And I payed by transfer to their account, after 15 minutes I get a Line Message telling me that my wife had payed already, They transferred back the payment in a few minutes.

 

If they hadn't told us we probably never would have thought about it.

Edited September 23, 2022 by Eaglekott

[RafPinto]

Imagine drinking at a bar.
After a few hours partying, you won't see if there is a zero too much.

[khunpa]

I once had a customer who paid me a huge amount twice, by mistake. 
 

Like any NORMAL DECENT person I of course contacted the customer and paid them back, as soon as I found out. It’s NORMAL and happens all the time in business all around the world.

 

I Thailand it is however obviously not normal, which make stories like this a kind of sensation. The restaurant-owner becomes a “hero” for not stealing. What a screwed up way of thinking.

[richard_smith237]

58 minutes ago, khunpa said:

I once had a customer who paid me a huge amount twice, by mistake. 
 

Like any NORMAL DECENT person I of course contacted the customer and paid them back, as soon as I found out. It’s NORMAL and happens all the time in business all around the world.

 

I Thailand it is however obviously not normal, which make stories like this a kind of sensation. The restaurant-owner becomes a “hero” for not stealing. What a screwed up way of thinking.

A very valid point...  this is perhaps a testament to the normal exceptions of society and its moral standards that someone ‘not stealing’ makes the headlines !!!!  

 

 

[Aussieroaming]

I wonder if National Parks will give a refund for charging foreigners five or ten times the Thai entry fee. That would be something to praise them for.

[jacko45k]

15 hours ago, Aussieroaming said:

I wonder if National Parks will give a refund for charging foreigners five or ten times the Thai entry fee. That would be something to praise them for.

Have you kept all your tickets?