Restaurant releases CCTV after outraged woman called police over eye-watering dinner bill
A restaurant has taken to social media to hit back at a customer who called the police over her staggeringly expensive bill.
Junko Shinba and her friends left Seafood Paradise restaurant in Singapore feeling more than a little bit crabby after they received their final bill for the meal.
Shinba even called the police after receiving the whopping S$1,322 (£780) bill and publicly spoke out against the restaurant.
Paradise Group - the company which owns the restaurant - has since uploaded images from its CCTV onto social media to contest the customer's allegations.
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It's crab-solutely not having any of it.
Shinba and her friends ordered the Alaskan King Crab which overflowed from three plates and came to a whopping total of S$938 (£556).
They claim they weren't told they would be charged based on the weight of the crab or that 'the whole crab would be cooked only for them'.
"Some restaurants serve crabs partially," she said to AsiaOne.
However, Paradise Group has another version of events.
Taking to Facebook, Paradise Group has given it's side of the story, sharing CCTV footage from the restaurant during the time Shinba and her friends were there as proof.
The restaurant group said it was aware of Shinba's report regarding 'the pricing of our Alaskan King Crab at Seafood Paradise, Clarke Quay' and wants to 'address this issue with the utmost transparency and clarity'.
Paradise Group branded Shinba's claims 'inaccurate' and said the allegations 'seemed aimed at tarnishing the reputation of [its] restaurant and [its] dedicated staff on various platforms,' leaving everyone at the group 'deeply upset'.
It goes on to 'rectify' the 'inaccurate information' shared by Shinba and the other customers.
Firstly, Paradise Group claims staff at the restaurant 'communicated twice to the customers that the price of the Alaskan King Crab was the same as the Scotland Snow Crab, while pointing to the menu'.
"The price of the Scotland Snow Crab was clearly indicated as S$26.80 (£15.90) per 100g on the menu. The staff also informed customers the total weight of the Alaskan King Crab was 3.5kg," it says. "To prevent any miscommunication, they even brought the whole live Alaskan King Crab to the table before preparation. Customers were seen taking photos and even selfies with the live Alaskan King Crab."
Paradise Group's Facebook post continues: "Two: The group of customers initially requested two cooking methods for the crab. The staff introduced the types of crab available on the menu that day, and the customers picked Alaskan King Crab. The restaurant eventually prepared the crab in three different cooking methods without extra charges: Chilli Crab, Salted Egg Yolk and Truffle Egg White. This explained why the crab was served in three plates.
"Three: Customers finished most of the dishes and told the restaurant manager that the food was great.
"Four: At the end of the meal, customers refused to settle the bill, hence the police were involved to mediate the situation. One of the customers mentioned he didn’t have enough money to pay and asked what can be done to help. Out of goodwill, the restaurant manager offered a goodwill discount of S$107.40 (£63.73) (equivalent to 400g of live Alaskan King Crab)."
The company also highlighted 'live seafood is typically sold and served as a whole item'.
"Dividing it into partial portions would render the remaining portion no longer live seafood," it states.
The post concludes: "At Seafood Paradise and all other Paradise Group of restaurants, we consistently uphold a commitment to transparent pricing with a focus on customer service and food quality. Our staff will do their best to communicate clearly to the customers and welcome any queries.
"As much as we value all our customers, we also find it important to uphold Paradise Group's reputation and protect all our employees. Hence, we are left with no choice but to showcase photos extracted from our CCTV footages to substantiate our statement."
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Poppy Bilderbeck