Why do many people who discover foreign objects in their food expose the issue on social media instead of contacting the authorities?
Unable to find common ground with the restaurant.
Not long ago, a post on a food-related group with over 2.2 million members accusing a bun dau (vermicelli with tofu) restaurant in Ho Chi Minh City of serving customers dishes containing maggots suddenly attracted public attention.
Contacting Ms. HL (24 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City), the owner of the post, she stated that this was not the first time she had encountered "foreign objects" while eating at a restaurant. However, this time things went too far, forcing her to post on social media because she could not reach an agreement with the restaurant.
It's not uncommon to find posts on social media complaining about foreign objects in food.
"My reaction stemmed from the restaurant's initial handling of the situation. When I discovered the problem, I reported it to the staff for inspection and hoped for an apology and a satisfactory explanation. However, from beginning to end, they insisted on distorting the truth, even though I stated that the maggots were on the meat and hadn't touched the shrimp paste," she said.
Ms. HL said that, working in the service industry, specifically marketing, she knows that a sincere apology, taking responsibility, and not blaming the customer are what businesses need to do when problems occur.
Ms. HL
Regarding the reason for posting the restaurant review on social media, Ms. HL stated that she only wanted to warn others and use it as a lesson for the restaurant to learn from. She said she did not report the incident to the authorities to reclaim her rightful compensation, believing that the matter should remain at the post stage, and that she was unsure which agency to contact to resolve the issue.
"I know that in situations like this, the business owner is the one who suffers the most. I think there will be uncontrollable problems arising, so I didn't want to get too stressed out when the incident happened," the customer added, stating that even now, she still doesn't feel satisfied with the restaurant's subsequent apologies. The incident gradually subsided, and the restaurant resumed normal business operations.
Ms. PA previously posted about finding cockroaches in the lunchbox she ate from.
Outraged by the restaurant's handling of the situation when the foreign object was discovered, Mr. T. (33 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) posted a complaint on social media. According to him, things wouldn't have become such a fuss if the restaurant had handled his complaints responsibly, honestly, and without distorting the truth at the time of discovery.
"I thought very carefully before deciding to share this on social media, but if I didn't share it, I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one experiencing this; other customers would also be affected," he said about his reason for posting the complaint online.
"I don't know which agency to report this to!"
In late 2022, Mr. TH (22 years old, residing in District 8) also posted on social media complaining that the hot pot he ate contained three maggots. At the time, he described it as follows: "To be sure, I took it out to check. I squeezed it and saw water squirting out. I'm pretty sure these were maggots. Not just one, but three of them."
After reporting the incident to the hotpot restaurant, Mr. H. was given a new portion of hotpot to take home by the staff, without any specific explanation. "I posted this to warn everyone to check carefully before eating."
"I think frozen food still has a chance of containing maggots. I don't intend to expose or generalize about all hot pot restaurants here being dirty, because I've been eating here for over 3 years and the taste is undeniably good," he said, explaining his purpose for posting online.
Mr. H. stated that his online post was primarily intended to warn others.
According to Mr. TH, when the incident occurred, he didn't know which authorities to report it to for resolution or to warn others. The only thing he could do was post about it on social media because others who had discovered similar incidents had done the same.
Following apologies to customers and an investigation involving an independent third party to examine the samples, the restaurant explained that the substance was a harmless component inside a chili seed, not maggots. H. accepted the explanation, and the matter subsided over time. The restaurant's dish continues to be popular with customers to this day.
Meanwhile, Ms. TT (24 years old, residing in Ho Chi Minh City) said that on many occasions, during her dining experiences, she has discovered many "foreign objects" in her food such as scouring pads, hair, and pet fur... Sometimes, she silently ignored it, but when she felt upset, she complained to the restaurant owner.
However, Ms. H. said she had never posted a complaint on social media or called the authorities, partly because she didn't know which agency to contact or what phone number to use, and partly because she didn't have the time and was afraid of causing herself trouble.
"If I encounter such a situation at a restaurant, I won't go back next time. Businesses that lack integrity won't last long, so there's no need to make a big fuss about it. If I knew of any agency that would support me in such a situation, I would definitely report it," she stated.
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