US Restaurant Owner Harasses Customer Over Tip: Meltdown Sparks Boycott
A shocking video has emerged showing a fuming Chicago restaurant owner pursuing a skint teenager down the street after the lad didn't leave a tip on his £15 ($20) meal. The grim encounter has set social media ablaze, with viewers piling in on both sides of the tipping debate.The footage, uploaded to Instagram by user @capital_gentlemen on 20th April, shows Table to Stix proprietor Kenny Chou in hot pursuit of the young customer, hurling threats and demanding the 18% gratuity that's standard practice across the pond, though by no means a legal requirement.According to the teenager's account, he's a homeless secondary school student who'd scraped together just enough cash to cover his meal but couldn't stretch to the added gratuity. While he managed to settle his bill in full, this apparently wasn't enough to satisfy the miffed restaurant owner.What Led to The Public's Outrage?
In the video, Chou made several violent threats to the customer, Chou said 'shut your goddamn f*****g mouth. How are my staff supposed to make money? I'll slap the s**t out of you,' after that Chou repeatedly told him he was a piece of sh**t and that he would slap him, until another friend of the customer stepped up and started threatening Chou, finally backing out from a possible physical confrontation.Users online said that the confrontation was racially motivated, and that Chou didn't need to escalate the situation in that manner. People even put up a 'warning sign' that said that the restaurant was 'anti-black', leading to Yelp putting a warning on the restaurant's reviews page.The restaurant had to close all of their social media official accounts, disconnected all phones because of the harassment received from several people, and made a public apology saying he felt deeply embarrassed after seeing the video, and has now urged the customer to come back to the restaurant and that he understands the difficult situation he goes through.The Aftermath of the SituationDespite Kenny Chou's several apologies towards the Evanston community and to Capital_gentlemen, there was a report filed for harassment which local police are now investigating, as Chou made violent threats towards a minor black student, which in the public's eyes is sufficient reason to close down the restaurant for good.Equity and Empowerment Commission of Evanston had a reunion to discuss which punishment should be imposed on Chou or if the situation was simply exaggerated, but leaders of the black community in the zone and several influencers have decided to take matters into their own hands.People have started a boycott blocking anyone from entering the restaurant, and have made several protests against the restaurant and its owner, alleging that an apology through socials isn't enough, and that he should appear upon leaders of the black community and the customer and personally apologize if he wants the harassment received to stop.Now there is a debate on if tipping should be mandatory, part of the bill like in the UK, or if it should be thrown out all together. Chou declared that he left Korea at the age of 5 for the United States and now feels sorry and embarrassed to be involved in a situation that involves racism which he has suffered from since arriving from the Asian country into American soil.Now it's up to Chou if he is willing to make the personal apology to the necessary people, and if there is a possibility for the restaurant to gain its spot as one of the staples and most popular places in the Evanston community, shifting the conversation completely from its original tipping culture views into racism and the treatment of black people in the American society.
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