Regarding the case of Tan Mai restaurant on National Highway 1, through An Hiep commune (Tuy An district) being accused of "overcharging" by customers, on the afternoon of February 5, Market Management Team No. 4 (Phu Yen Market Management Department) issued a decision to administratively sanction Ms. Ngo Thi Kieu My Trang - the owner of this restaurant.
Market Management Team No. 4 determined that the owner of Tan Mai restaurant violated "not registering to establish a business household in cases where registration is required according to regulations" and "not posting service prices in one of the forms prescribed by law".
The total fine for the two above acts is 8,250,000 VND. Market Management Team No. 4 also required the owner of Tan Mai restaurant to register as a business household according to regulations and to post prices.
As Lao Dong reported, on February 3 (the 6th day of Tet), a TikTok account named "bichhong38h1" posted information about a family going to Tan Mai restaurant for lunch and being "ripped off".
Account "bichhong38h1" shared that when the whole family stopped by for lunch, the restaurant did not have a menu, nor did it list specific prices.
"Ordered 2 bowls of rice, 2 plates of fried eggs, 1 bowl of Malabar spinach soup with meat, 1 plate of water spinach, 1 plate of stir-fried squid. The bill for this meal was 1,010,000 VND. When questioning the expensive price, the restaurant staff challenged me, saying that if I don't give lucky money on Tet, I'll compare prices," this account stated.
The incident quickly spread and attracted public attention. Many people expressed their outrage at the news that the restaurant was "ripping off" customers during Tet, affecting the friendly and hospitable image of the locality.
Speaking to Lao Dong, the owner of Tan Mai restaurant said that when the group of customers came to the restaurant for lunch, they had negotiated and agreed on a price. After finishing the meal, the restaurant charged 1,010,000 VND, but the customers did not pay in full and left.
"Nine customers came to the restaurant and agreed to pay for only 8 people (120,000 VND/portion/person), but when paying, the customers did not pay in full. Then the restaurant switched to charging for each dish, but the customers only paid 700,000 VND compared to the 1,010,000 VND on the bill and then got in a car and left, the owner of Tan Mai restaurant explained.
Ms. Trang also denied that the restaurant staff had a challenging attitude towards customers, as reported. "Because the restaurant was very crowded, there was no time to argue," Ms. Trang said.
