No one enjoys eating Chinese food only to discover that it’s not what they ordered. But a new scam is making “mistaking” your order for someone else’s takeout downright criminal. Be warned: beware the chinese food hobart indiana scam!
A bit of background on the CHINESE FOOD scam, then? It starts when an unsuspecting customer orders Chinese food only to learn their restaurant of choice insists they “missed their order”. This can be frustrating, but according to Changi Airport Group (Changi) who posted a warning about the issue on their website, this might not be a coincidence at all.
1. The customer is asked to pay an extra charge.
The CHINESE FOOD scam is not the only Chinese restaurant scam you should be wary of. In fact, with hundreds of eateries scattered throughout Singapore, it’s impossible to keep track of every single one of them.
2. They may ask you to pay ahead
There are reports that customers are asked to pay advance payment before they receive the food order, even if they’re able to make their way back to the restaurant later on. Also on their website, Changi warns that restaurants require an advance payment as a “security measure”.
3. You get a call to be told the order wasn’t placed.
While this may not be a scam, it’s still very frustrating when you’ve paid for food and someone tells you it wasn’t ordered!
4. Someone else has already paid for your food in full.
There are also reports of someone else making an order at the restaurant earlier, for food supposedly meant for you. The other customer then claims the order was placed by mistake, and asks to pay for their food as well. Both orders are then sent to your address.
5. Takeaway food ordered is not delivered.
While there’s nothing that says they have to, some Chinese eateries may arrange for delivery of the food. In some cases, however, the food isn’t delivered. Now you’re without food and without money for a taxi ride home!
6. Food looks different from what you ordered.
The worst part about eating out at Chinese restaurants is when you’ve ordered what seems like “normal” takeaway. And then you get served something that looks nothing like it! This issue could be resolved by taking a photo of your dish and asking for it to be changed to something else. But some restaurants refuse to do that!
7. Food order is not delivered.
Once the food is ordered at Chinese restaurants, it’s sometimes sent to the customer instead of being delivered. In some cases, a fake delivery address is given and the sent food never reaches its destination. Some customers have even received food that was clearly inedible!
8. Food you ordered wasn’t paid for in full during the time of ordering.
If you order your food from a restaurant and then have to make an unexpected trip elsewhere, what happens? They may assume you didn’t pay for your “incomplete” order up front.
9. Food you ordered was half-eaten by another customer
A customer has posted on social media that he received his Chinese food after it was returned to the kitchen by another customer! The food had been leftovers from someone else’s order and it smelled pretty bad too.
10. Food you ordered may still be in the kitchen when you arrive at your destination.
This one is a horror movie scenario all on its own! Changi lists this as one of their “mistakes”. So if your Chinese food order is in the hands of other customers, it could be almost anything from being completely burnt to completely rotten!
11. Food isn’t cooked to order when delivered.
All this will do is make you hungry in the middle of the night! No one wants to wait for two hours for food to come.
So how can you tell real Chinese food scams from fake ones? Here are some tips from Changi:
1. Beware of being asked to pay full price even before your order is placed. If the restaurant insists on paying upfront, ask if they have collected payment from the previous customer who canceled the order.
2. Be wary of paying when an incomplete order is delivered. Some restaurants may insist that you have to pay right away or else they won’t deliver your order at all!
3. Be wary of the order being canceled “due to the customer missing the order”. We’ve heard of restaurants who call up and claim that there was no one at home to accept your order!
4. Be wary of paying in full before delivery if you’re asked to make an advance payment as “a security deposit”. Some restaurants may not deliver your food at all if you don’t pay on time!
5. Try to keep a record of where you paid for your food and make sure it has been delivered to its intended address. Otherwise, you may have a hard time getting your money back from dishonest restaurants!
