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When Diners Behave Badly, The Bill Isn't The Only Cost

Chef Tatung explains the woes of restaurant owners in this age of social media where everyone is a critic

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Metro.Style Team

<div><em><strong>Editor’s Note: </strong></em><em>Last July 7, Chef Myke Tatung took to social media to air his frustration with a group of diners who came to one of his restaurants. Describing them as “a fuzzy bunch,” he said they “made an issue out of everything” and then left without paying. The post went viral. in the ensuing days, comments and conversations were rife, and he was even accused (rather absurdly) of being a foreign spy. Written in response to the many nuances that emerged from the issue, Chef Tatung explains the woes of restaurant owners in this age of social media where everyone is a critic.</em></div><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><iframe src="https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fcheftatungofficial%2Fposts%2Fpfbid0212GQt9rnr9thWuYyAAahmvHoi6hBsBD2SDU9UicHNZ5kRCt3GNYfFc5CWFLMeHwkl&amp;show_text=true&amp;width=500" width="500" height="219" style="border:none;overflow:hidden" scrolling="no" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" allow="autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; picture-in-picture; web-share"></iframe></div><div><br/></div><div><br/></div><p>The media was abuzz last week because of a post I made on my social media account. I wrote about a group that dined at one of our restos only to make a scene to evade paying their bill. Truth be told, circumstances like this are not unusual for longtime restaurant owners who have experienced the like every so often.</p><div><br/></div><p>The scene reminded me of a Tito, Vic, and Joey movie where they have a modus operandi to get a free meal. As a kid, it was funny.</p><div><br/></div><p>In the age of social media, we have seen pranks done on establishments for the sake of virality. We’ve seen videos of “content creators” and “influencers” taking home bottled condiments, dinnerware, or utensils. Some do brutally “honest” reviews to get freebies and brag about it, and many more. The more accessible social media platforms become to everyone, the more dangerous it has evolved. We seem to have normalized pranking at the expense of others.</p><div><br/></div><p>Over the years, I have learned to be more careful and tempered on the internet. It’s not easy, especially when people deliberately attack or threaten you for a variety of reasons. And I’ve realized that people do cruel things for the lamest reasons, and we normalize it by finding these amusing.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/76a0f068-6301-462d-959c-e8be2dcf6c50_azadore.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Chef Tatung&#x27;s restaurant, Azadore, in Quezon City <span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Azadore / Facebook  </em></span></span></span></span></div><div><strong>Business is business</strong></div><p>I was in my hometown in Cebu a few weeks back and I was craving food from a restaurant of my childhood, only to be told it had closed down. It was a shocking revelation and an even more painful realization. If an iconic restaurant could die a silent death, how much more are the smaller and younger establishments. I struggled with the fact that a restaurant’s closure could affect not only its owners and employees, but a community’s culinary heritage, a generation’s collective gastronomic memory, and my cravings for the flavors of my hometown.</p><div><br/></div><p>The only way we stay afloat is with the support of our patrons and loyal customers. That is why we always tell our staff to grant all reasonable requests as much as possible. We know that it is more costly to find new customers than to retain the loyal ones.</p><div><br/></div><p>In fact, whenever we catch ourselves messing up, we make amends promptly and take action to address the problem on the spot. While developing our instinct of being sensitive to our guest’s needs, we also learned to tell if someone is trying to take advantage of our good nature.</p><div><br/></div><div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:950px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img loading="lazy" src="https://assets-metrostyle.abs-cbn.com/prod/metrostyle/attachments/9997de7c-5021-46b3-b711-141b21c2ac5e_lore.jpg" style="width:950px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt=""/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">Tatung&#x27;s fine dining restaurant, Lore by Tatung<span id="isPasted" style="color:rgb(65, 65, 65);letter-spacing:normal;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;white-space:normal;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-color:initial;display:inline !important;float:none"><em> Lore / Facebook  </em></span></span></span></span></div><div><strong>Hospitality</strong></div><p>We often hear people say they want to open a restaurant for two main reasons. Firstly, they are good cooks. Secondly, they love entertaining people. Being Filipino, this is a very real feeling for most of us, yet it is not as easy as it sounds.</p><div><br/></div><p>I’ll spare you the mumble jumble of managing restaurants. The food and hospitality industry is tough to say at the very least. Because it is a business, it involves transactions, and for me, this fact does not rob the sincerity out of the business to satisfy our guests.</p><div><br/></div><p>Being in this business this long and remaining as passionate as before is proof that we are beyond just profit, but rather a calling and a mission. To be in this business, you need to not only love your customers, but people in general. Most importantly, you have to treat your own team well, at times almost like family. This is the reason why we are displeased when clients mistreat our staff.</p><div><br/></div><p>True hospitality happens when there is generosity from both sides.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/food/features/asia-s-50-best-bars-2024-winner-and-awards/38600" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Discover The Newcomer Dominating Asia&#x27;s Bar Scene</a></div><div><strong>Moving forward</strong></div><p>We wonder if they would have cared if this story did not go viral.</p><div><br/></div><p>As of this writing, the erring guests have apologized and paid their due. It was not my intention to humiliate them but to share a day in the life of a restaurateur who deals with all sorts of situations every day.</p><div><br/></div><p>This unfortunate incident is just a single drop out of my sea of blessings, and I am grateful for all the love that I have enjoyed through the years – as a chef, a restaurateur, and a member of the industry that is close to my heart.</p><div><br/></div><p>Let us all learn to love and care for each other so we may share more meaningful, heartwarming, and delicious meals together.</p><div><br/></div><div><strong>Related Story: </strong><a href="/food/restaurants/the-wholesome-table-10th-anniversary/38517" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wholesome Table Celebrates 10 Years of Serving Delightful Organic Food</a></div><div><br/></div><div><font face="Georgia-Italic"><em>By Myke Tatung Sarthou </em></font></div>