'It's a misunderstanding': Eatery boss sorry for calling out customer who drove off with $300 worth of seafood

Just days after accusing a customer for 'running' away with an unpaid haul of seafood, the boss of The Morning Catch Seafood at Bartley has come forward to say that it was a misunderstanding. 

Serene Qin's husband had posted on Facebook last Saturday (Sept 24) calling out the 'runaway' customer. 

In an interview with 8world news published on Thursday, Qin clarified that their new staff had actually misheard a regular customer's name, writing his name down as a "Jia" instead of "Jiang". 

Last Monday, Jiang purchased nine baby abalones, 1kg of crab, nine mantis shrimps and three lobsters amounting to $334.50.

He told the new staff that he would return at a later time to foot the bill as he was in a rush. He mentioned that he knew the restaurant owner and thus did not leave his contact information. 

According to Qin, Jiang said he recognised most of the staff at the eatery, but was unfamiliar with the new hire. 

Qin said that when she was informed by her new staff about the incident and customer Jia, the name did not register with her. 

"Generally, regular customers would contact me directly to place an order and I will only tell the staff what time the customer will come to pick up the food," she explained to Shin Min Daily News during an earlier interview. 

Three days later, Qin sent a message to her friends in a bid to find the customer. Her husband Desmond Lim subsequently uploaded the customer's bill and car plate number on Facebook, in the hopes of finding him.

The restaurant also said they made a police report over the incident. 

At the time of writing, Lim's Facebook post has been removed. 

On Wednesday, the irate customer Jiang posted about the incident on social media which Qin saw. 

Qin said that Jiang was rather upset about the incident and she told 8world that she empathised with him and wanted to apologise for the misunderstanding.

She also admitted that she felt especially bad when she found out that the 'runaway' customer was Jiang, as they were "really quite close". 

Jiang has also since made full payment for his order. 

"This incident might have ruined [Jiang's] reputation, although it was a misunderstanding, we still sincerely apologise," said Qin.

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claudiatan@asiaone.com