A video of an Illinois restaurant owner following and threatening a customer for not tipping has surfaced online. According to the New York Post (NYP), the owner, identified as Kenny Chou of ramen shop Table to Stix in downtown Evanston, chased after the unidentified customer who paid his $19.89 meal with a $20 bill and didn’t leave any extra money.
An Instagram user who goes by Capital Gentlemen shared a video showing Chou confronting the customer. The customer keeps his cool and repeatedly asks the owner to back off.
“I paid for my food. I handed you $20. You cannot charge more than what you paid, so what are you talking about?” the customer says in the now-viral video. He then repeats, “What do you want? I paid for my food!”
Chou, however, responds with “I’ll smack the s**t out of you, you punka** s**thead.” He then yells, “Shut your goddam f**king mouth. How are my staff supposed to make money? I’ll slap the s**t out of you!”
Kenny Chou apologises:
The outlet reported that after the video went viral, people started leaving bad reviews for the restaurant on Yelp. Following the online backlash and physical protests outside his establishment, Chou apologised.
“It was a deeply regrettable moment where I, Kenny Chou, lost my composure,” Chou said. “I stepped far beyond the bounds of respect and decency,” he added.
According to CBS News Chicago, Chou also sent a free meal to the customer’s brother and a handwritten apology.
“I apologise to him and to his family, and I was just asking if he could pass this message along to his little brother,” he told CBS News Chicago.
According to the NYP, the Evanston Police Department is still conducting an investigation.
Why didn’t the customer tip?
When asked about this matter in the comments section of the viral video, the customer simply replied, “Oh, I just didn’t want to.”
