According to the restaurant owner, after finishing eating, the two people stood up and left normally, but they don’t understand why the story was posted on social networks and caused a stir.
At noon on January 15, we were directly present at pho restaurant No. 7 Nam Ngu street, Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi to have lunch and observe the developments after the incident “nam tiktoker accused of being kicked out of pho restaurant in Hanoi”. because he’s in a wheelchair.”
It was past 12 noon on the same day, Pho Lam restaurant on Nam Ngu street was always crowded with customers, inside there were 5 older women serving. The shop owner sits at the main entrance, always preparing bowls of chicken pho.
The shop owner affirmed that there was no need to evict customers
Present at the restaurant at noon on January 15, according to observations, although the restaurant was very crowded, the restaurant owner remembered each person, occasionally observed each customer’s seating position and then asked the wait staff to deliver it to the customer’s table. Many groups of customers came in and out as if they were familiar with the restaurant. The shop owner warmly asked each customer about their order needs.
At the table opposite us, a group of about 4 people discussed a story that had just been posted online about the owner. The middle-aged man said: “This is the first time I entered the shop, but I didn’t see anything unusual about the shop owner. She still enthusiastically welcomed customers. Even the owner sat inside but still looked outside. Tell the staff to arrange parking for guests and please come in,” the guest said to the person next to him.
Just bringing a bowl of pho to a regular customer, a salesperson said he didn’t understand where people got the story and posted it online.
Talking to us, Ms. Trieu Thi Thu (73 years old, owner) said that this morning when she learned about the story posted on social networks, she was very surprised because the incident was not true.
According to Ms. Thu, around 2:00 p.m. yesterday, January 14, when the store was still crowded, a man in a wheelchair went into the store with a woman.
“On the other side there is still a table (Mrs. Thu pointed to the opposite side – Reporter) I told you to stay there and someone will bring out the pho. But, the two of you went in and left the wheelchair right here (next to the sales seats). of the shop owner) at that time I was weighing chickens so it was a bit confusing. I also said sympathy when there were many customers, but I was very happy, no problem. Unexpectedly, when I returned, people made up stories.” Ms. Thu affirmed that she does not discriminate between customers, especially for those who are less fortunate, she even proactively gives extra money.
Also recounting the incident, a maid confirmed that after finishing eating, both guests left very happily, without any quarrels with the restaurant.
“After paying, we were both happy when we left. I can’t understand why people would say such false things online,” the waiter shared.
Many customers still support the restaurant
Previously, the social network shared the story of TikToker VML “being kicked out of the shop because… in a wheelchair”. L. said that on January 12, he and his girlfriend went to a pho restaurant in Hanoi. When the girlfriend asked the staff to carry Mr. L. up the steps, she was refused with the answer “my shop doesn’t have staff to carry someone like you”.
Arriving at the second pho restaurant, L. said that this was a familiar restaurant and the two of them went in to eat normally. The seating area was small, so L. slightly squeezed into the owner’s seat. “She stood up and scolded the staff, “Who accepts this language to eat here?” , The staff said “he often eats here, he usually sits like this”. The more she gained momentum, “I can’t sell, if that’s the case then I’ll stand”…” L. wrote.
Mr. L. said “meal stuck in my throat – it’s hard to swallow” . I’m used to this feeling, what about my girlfriend? “tears started falling”.
Below the post, L. told another story about accidentally meeting foreign guests traveling to Hanoi for the first time and being comforted when he learned what happened before.
After being posted, the article received many mixed opinions, more than 47,000 likes, more than 20,000 comments and shares. Many people are upset by the actions of two pho restaurants that discriminate against people with disabilities.
Besides, many people doubted the authenticity of the article, asking L. to name two pho restaurants to clarify the information. In the video VML posted on TikTok with the content “Goodbye Hanoi”, netizens discovered that the familiar pho restaurant that L. mentioned in the Facebook post was a chicken pho restaurant on Nam Ngu street (Hoan Kiem district, Hanoi).
A representative of the pho restaurant confirmed that L. is a regular customer who often eats pho in the evening. On the morning of January 12, L. and his girlfriend went to the shop. Because the entrance to the restaurant was small and it was raining, the owner invited two people to sit at the cafe opposite and then had the staff serve pho.
“But she still wants to come into the restaurant, we welcome her normally,” the restaurant representative said. L. and his girlfriend sat at the first table, behind the owner, next to the chicken weighing area. The shop owner reminded L. next time not to sit in this position, making it difficult to sell.
“She then smiled and ate normally, but then posted a post on social networks implying that we were disparaging him, which is not true,” this person said. The shop owner affirms that he never uses vulgar language to chase away customers, especially people with disabilities.