April 6, 2021
CINCINNATI, Ohio—An Asian restaurant in Clifton says they’ve lost hundreds of dollars in the last week alone because of prank orders.
Yvonne Chew and her family have owned Tea ‘n’ bowl on West McMillian Street since 2013. She says they’re no stranger to fake orders, but the recent uptick has been troubling, to say the least, according to FOX19.
According to their Facebook post:
“We got pranked. Those food went wasted. And of course, we never get paid. We did ask them to provide credit card to secure the order and they told us that they don’t have credit card and they don’t do online, they would pay cash.
These people just call to Asian restaurants to make huge fake order and not picked up. When you call back on the number shown on the caller ID and they laugh and said that they never order and it was a wrong number. One of them, even tell me that they don’t eat dogs.
I’m so mad, why people have to do this. Does anyone have the same problem? It’s hard enough during this time to stay open, and these people make it harder….
We Just want to share this so that our fellow businesses aware of this, and be cautious of the same thing happens to you guys.”
Chew says her family lost about $350 from four prank orders in just one week.
According to FOX19, Chew says her restaurant called back each time. The first time, the callback number provided was not in service. The second, the number connected to a different person. The third, the person insisted they made no such order. The fourth, the person cursed Chew out.
Tea ‘n’ bowl will now require that all customers physically show up and pay inside and then wait for their food. “Because if not, then we keep losing more and more,” Chew stated.
In addition to prank calls, Chew stated a random man kicked at their signs and boards outside her restaurant, all of which collapsed. He then walked in the door and spat. “It’s hurtful,” she stated to FOX19. “It’s hurtful, especially when you are trying so hard.”
Feature Screenshot via FOX19