Food stalls 'rip off' customers during Tet, losing more than gaining

Recently, the vermicelli soup restaurant at 54 Bach Mai, Bach Khoa ward, Hai Ba Trung district (Hanoi) was reported to have charged customers 1.2 million VND for 3 bowls of vermicelli soup on the night of January 29 (the first day of the Lunar New Year 2025). The restaurant was temporarily suspended by Bach Khoa ward to continue to clarify and handle according to regulations.

Specifically, early in the morning of the second day of Tet, a Facebook account shared that she had to pay 400,000 VND for a bowl of vermicelli soup at the 54 Bach Mai vermicelli restaurant. She transferred a total of 1.2 million VND to pay for 3 bowls of vermicelli soup.

Working with the authorities, the owner of the above bun rieu restaurant admitted that he made a mistake because he was “joking” and quoted 1.2 million VND for 3 bowls of bun rieu. The restaurant owner also realized the mistake, posted an apology on social media and tried to contact the customer to return the money.

Whether it was a joke that led to a mistake in the payment transfer or not, the story of "ripping off" has once again "heated up", making many people angry at the uncivilized business attitude.

From a certain perspective, the owner of the above vermicelli shop may simply think that during Tet, all costs increase, there are few restaurants, so increasing prices is normal. However, the owner has forgotten that in the digital age, many frustrations, anger, and "ripping off" customers will be immediately posted by customers on social networks. And then, information about the restaurant, the behavior of "ripping off" customers, charging too much money... will be spread all over the internet - the final consequences that even the owner cannot foresee.

It is not known how much money the restaurant owner has collected from customers by “ripping off” them during Tet, but the consequences of being temporarily suspended are obvious to everyone. More importantly, after being allowed to operate again, how many people will return to be customers of this restaurant?

In fact, the situation of price gouging and price increases for services before, during and after Tet still occurs frequently in many localities. From price increases for food and beverage services to beauty services, car parking, car washing... Most recently, on January 31 (the 3rd day of Tet), the owner of the Facebook account LMH posted on the group "Cho Dong" reflecting that he had to pay 250,000 VND to wash a car at a car wash on Hoang Quoc Viet Street (Hai Duong City). This price is 4 times higher than normal days.

Not only car wash services, but also due to the increasing demand for spring travel and going to temples at the beginning of the year, many spontaneous car parking spots have sprung up in the areas around temples and pagodas. Many car parking spots charge prices that are too high compared to regulations, which have been reported by the press, and have been inspected and rectified by authorities...

During the tourist season or holidays, the input prices of many services often increase, making it inevitable that consumers will have to pay more than before. At a pho restaurant in Hanoi, before selling to customers, the staff clearly announced the Tet surcharge of 10,000 VND/bowl. All customers were comfortable because of the transparency. This is a civilized gesture.

Excessive and unreasonable price increases by restaurant owners, eateries, and businesses will damage their reputation and image and cause “more harm than good”. Because the profits from “price gouging” may be short-term but will cause long-term consequences. Customers will not return to the restaurant and will spread negative information to others.

In terms of branding, “price gouging” will lose the opportunity to attract customers. And in terms of law, if the owner of the establishment does not provide full information about the price and quality of goods and services, the act of unreasonably increasing prices will be punished.

Decree 49/2016/ND-CP stipulates that organizations and individuals engaged in production and business must list prices in appropriate, clear and non-misleading forms for customers. At the same time, they must list the correct prices as prescribed by competent authorities and buy and sell at the correct listed prices for goods and services priced by the State.

Decree 149/2017/ND-CP also stipulates a fine of VND 500,000 - 1,000,000 for one of the following acts: not posting prices of goods and services at locations where prices must be posted according to the law; posting prices that are not in accordance with regulations, unclear, causing confusion for customers. A fine of VND 5 million - 10 million applies to the act of selling goods and services at a higher price than the listed price set by an organization or individual. In particular, the fine will increase, from VND 40 million - 60 million if the total value of the goods and services sold at increased prices is over VND 500 million. In addition to the fine, violators must also pay to the state budget the amount of money collected from their violations.

The sanctions are clear, many cases have been suspended, administrative violations have been handled, and information has been made public on mass media. This is a valuable lesson for those who do business "snatching", "ripping off". To avoid being "ripped off" in the first days of the new year, each citizen needs to be careful to ask for the price before using any service. When being charged an unreasonable price by a service provider, it is necessary to report to the local authorities where the incident occurred to protect one's legitimate rights.