A popular restaurant in Jakarta, Indonesia, Restoran Pagi Sore, has issued an apology after wrongly accusing a group of Malaysian tourists of failing to pay for their meal.
The public apology followed the restaurant’s admission that there had been a misunderstanding regarding the payment, which had actually been settled during the group’s visit on 13 May. One of the tourists involved, Norain Mohd Yunus, uploaded a video and screenshots of the apology message sent by the management of Pagi Sore’s Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) branch.
Public recognition of a “misunderstanding”
In a viral video, two representatives from the restaurant’s management apologised for the incident, stating that they intended to resolve what they dubbed a “misunderstanding.”
“The incident occurred due to a misunderstanding and was not intentional on any party. We hope this matter can be resolved amicably,” the management stated.
According to Norain, she and five of her friends had enjoyed nine dishes, bringing the total bill to IDR907,500 (~RM203). However, she was shocked when, upon returning to Jakarta from Bandung on Saturday, their tour driver suddenly asked for their restaurant payment receipt.
Digital proof saves the day
The driver informed the group that the restaurant management had publicly announced that they had left without paying. Norain explained that they were stunned by the accusation, as the payment had been fully processed via a card transaction.
“We were really unhappy because we did pay. While eating, we even joked about leaving one by one and letting one friend pay for everything,” Norain said in her viral post.
“But it’s not like all of us actually ran away without paying. Everyone started searching for the Pagi Sore receipt because we weren’t sure who had held onto it last.”
While hunting for the physical receipt, the group took screenshots of the successful bank transaction and sent them to their travel agent as initial proof of payment. After thoroughly checking their bags, they eventually recovered the original paper receipt.
A warning to fellow travellers
Norain pointed out that if they had paid in cash and misplaced the receipt, they would have had no way to prove their innocence.
She added that once all the evidence was submitted, the restaurant finally admitted that an internal miscommunication had occurred. Their travel agent subsequently requested that the restaurant issue a formal apology to clear the tourists’ names.
“Why were we targeted? How could they accuse us just like that after three days? What was the real motive?” Norain questioned.
While she noted that she is unlikely to return to the establishment, Norain clarified that she shared the incident purely to advise fellow travellers to always keep their payment receipts.
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