A customer got on TikTok to complain about the unprofessional service he received at a Chinese buffet, but it backfired when viewers called him out for his biased review.
The customer’s review was reposted in its entirety by TikTok user Allykow (@www.cow5), who duetted the original post and appeared in the bottom left corner reacting to the customer’s many accusations.
“I don’t care if it comes off racially insensitive,” the reviewer begins. “These Chinese buffets, … they are so unprofessional and disturbing, even the way they serve their guests.”
He first complains about a waitress who he says hovered over the table. He goes as far as to call her “creepy,” and later, a “[expletive] waitress.” He then accuses the server of of clearing his empty plate the moment he was finished eating and trying to rush him out of the restaurant. He also insults the food, and says that although it’s cheap, it “oftentimes looks quite unappetizing.”
But despite his issues with this Chinese buffet’s appearance, the man argues that there was a lot of food and he wanted to get his money’s worth.
“I’m gonna spend a few hours there,” he says, but adds that the servers made “it an unenjoyable experience by trying to rush [him] out.”
“And don’t even get me started on the tip,” he says, explaining that one time the waitress brought him his bill and stood at the table waiting for him to put down his payment.
“I didn’t think about how to pay [in advance of receiving the bill], because nobody in America does it this way,” he says. “So unprofessional. They don’t understand American etiquette.”
The post received over 412,000 likes, and viewers were quick to call out the customer in the comments.
“‘Looks unappetizing’ spends hours there,” wrote one user, pointing out the reviewer’s hypocrisy about the food at the Chinese buffet.
Another asked, “How bad can it be if he keeps going back?”
“Isn’t this just cultural differences? I always thought they were just really attentive,” wrote someone else.
Allykow told the Daily Dot that “as an Asian American, it feels very disheartening how he describes how it isn’t a ‘Normal American Restaurant.’”
“I used to work in the food service industry and how he describes how they are working, sounds like how someone should normally work. Instead he uses words to shame them. He says so much negative things and leave no tip… but still comes back??” she questions.
In the original review, the unhappy customer also brings up a contested issue among social media users—the etiquette of tipping. He recounts a time he went the restaurant without enough money for a tip, which, he says, seemed to anger the waitress.
According to his account, the waitress said goodbye to the other members of his party as they left the buffet, but “she passes by me and mutters something in Chinese under her breath as I walk by, cursing me.”
He claims he was “terrified” and once again calls the waitress “unprofessional” and “rude,” arguing that it was only a $2 tip.
“Don’t think for a second that you are going to intimidate me into tipping,” he says, adding, “Cast a spell on me. Curse me out in your language under your breath like a scared-[expletive]. Shove the middle finger at me on the way out. Learn American etiquette.”
@www.cow5 #duet with @ there is no way… #fyp ♬ original sound – Murph
Debates about tipping often go viral online, with netizens divided about how much to tip and what instances to tip in. The Daily Dot has reported on several instances of social media users instigating debates on the topic, like one customer at another Chinese buffet restaurant who claimed that the workers would block the exit if customers did not leave a tip.
One commenter on Allykow’s post noted the original reviewer’s disclaimer claiming that he always tips.
“The ‘I didn’t bring tip money’ and then ‘always tip!’ And then ‘$2 tip.’ If you’re there for 3+ hours, it’s ten dollars an hour,” they wrote.
While Allykow didn’t name the original poster, users pointed viewers to his page, @murphygrande. The video is still up on his page, but he has since disabled comments .However, viewers are commenting on some of his other posts, criticizing him over the viral video. Some of his other videos are similarly controversial, prompting some viewers to speculate, “this account has to be satire.” The TikToker has 40,000 followers.
The Daily Dot reached out to reached out to @murphygrande via TikTok direct message.
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