Sustenance: Customers enjoying their meals at a coffee shop in Carnarvon Street, Penang. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: After apologising for publicly shaming his customer, a coffee shop owner says he will still impose the RM1 surcharge on those who do not order drinks at his outlet in Carnarvon Street here.
“It’s a matter of principle. I believe I have the right to safeguard my interest as an owner by imposing the surcharge.
“Customers can even order a glass of warm water that costs 50sen if they don’t feel like paying the surcharge.
“I have apologised for uploading the picture of the elderly man on Facebook. I hope this will bring an end to the entire episode,” said the proprietor, Ben Lim.
Earlier, Lim, 46, had posted a photo of the customer on Facebook with a caption that read: “If this man wants to be famous, let’s help him.”
The man apparently did not order any drinks nor pay the RM1 fee mandated by the boss.
Internet users did not take kindly to the owner’s attempt to publicly humiliate the elderly man, which saw the Google review rating of the coffee shop plummet to 1.3 stars from 4.2.
The online outrage, however, did not seem to affect business, as a check yesterday showed that the place was bustling.
Lim said it was untrue that he would be closing his business for good.
He said he had since deactivated his Facebook page after offering an apology to the man and the public in general.
He added that a fake account had uploaded a poll on Facebook, saying that the coffeeshop would shutter if the poll garnered 10,000 likes.
