Chinese food served at a Chinese restaurant (stock photo) / kwon ahreum- shutterstock.com
With the rise in labor costs due to minimum wage policies, stores that introduce ‘self-service’ are rapidly spreading, and debates continue. Following the trend of self-clearing buffets, where customers clear their own plates, there has been controversy over restaurants that ask customers to wipe down their tables for the next customer after they finish their meal.
Recently, a post titled ‘Do customers have to wipe down the tables at restaurants these days?’ was uploaded to Blind, an anonymous online community for office workers.
The poster, referred to as Mr. A, shared a photo of a note attached to a container of wet wipes on a table at a Chinese restaurant, seeking the judgment of netizens.
The notice clearly stated the purpose of the wet wipes: “This is a table cleaning wet wipe. We ask for your finishing manners for the next customer.” The notice also included a message encouraging customers to clean up their tables after their meal, saying, “The next customer will sit where you sat” and “May the place where you stayed be beautiful.”
Mr. A expressed his discomfort, saying, “I can understand returning the dishes but asking the customer to wipe down the table is too much.”
Self-service adds a bit of inconvenience to the customer, and it’s a desperate measure to avoid price hikes, which can lead to resistance and a drop in sales. However, continuous arguments have been about decreased service quality and customer inconvenience.
Netizens who saw the photo mainly reacted negatively, with comments like “Soon, customers will have to cook their own food,” “I wonder if a restaurant will ask customers to do the dishes after they finish eating,” and “Is this an unmanned restaurant?” “No matter what, this is not right,” “So how much is the food?” and “It’s not even cheaper than other places.”
On the other hand, there were counterarguments that it’s not a big deal for customers to wipe down the tables. Some said, “Isn’t it possible to wipe down the place where you ate once before you leave?” “If they reduce labor costs and sell (food) at a cheaper price, I can understand,” and “If it’s cheap and tasty, it’s possible.”
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