Haidilao, China’s top restaurant chain, has committed to paying compensation to thousands of customers after a shocking video was released showing a customer urinating into a hotpot. The video, recorded last month at a Shanghai branch of Haidilao, is of a man who stands on a table to urinate into a seething hotpot, while another man is said to have been assisting him in the act.
The company issued an apology and announced legal action against the individuals responsible. “In the early hours of February 24, two men urinated into a hotpot after dining in a private room at a Haidilao branch on the Bund in Shanghai,” the restaurant confirmed. However, Haidilao admitted that it had no contingency plans or staff training for such incidents, leading to a failure to detect abnormalities.
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In response, Haidilao said it would refund all the customers who were part of the 4,100 orders made between February 24 and March 8, with a full refund and an extra amount ten times the original amount. Two 17-year-olds have been detained by Shanghai police in relation to the incident.
Haidilao, famous for its outstanding service and soup-based menu, has branches in the US, Japan, and the UK. During the scandal, most Weibo users faulted Haidilao for the slow reaction, with one saying, “Where was this (apology) at the beginning? Wouldn’t it have been better to say this right from the start?”
The accident occurs just days after news surfaced of unsanitary procedures at another restaurant chain in China, again fueling worries over food hygiene standards.
