Owner of bun ngan Nhan speaks up after article on social media
Over the past few days, social media has been constantly sharing an article by a customer who is said to have had a not-so-good experience at the famous Hanoi bun ngan Nhan restaurant. According to the content of the post, knowing that the restaurant requires customers to buy drinks when sitting inside, but because the customer does not have the habit of drinking while eating, they decided to come early to sit outside. When arriving at the restaurant around 9:40 a.m., even though the restaurant was not open yet, there were already many people waiting and at the same time, this customer also received a notice from the staff to go somewhere else and come back later because “even if there’s only 1 portion, they won’t serve it”.
Article posted on social media
However, because it was quite far from home to the restaurant and also heard about the famous delicious bun ngan, the customer still decided to wait. After Mrs. Nhan came downstairs and saw the customer sitting alone, not only did she not serve them, but also used very offensive words. Moreover, according to the article, Mrs. Nhan continued to curse even after the customer had led the person out to leave.
Today (April 15), in a conversation with us about the incident above, Mrs. Nhan, the owner of the famous bun ngan Nhan restaurant, said that she herself just returned from a ritual in Nghe An, Thanh Hoa last night and was very surprised by the situation. As can be seen, the restaurant is still quite crowded:
“Last time (April 13), I was busy with the ritual. When I came here, there were already 4 customers sitting inside. I told them I had something to do, so they should go somewhere else first, if they don’t mind. When I came out and saw them sitting here, I said, ‘Oh my, I have something to do today, haven’t opened yet’.
Normally, my place opens at 9 a.m., but it was already 10 a.m. And that person was still sitting quietly. When I went in and led the person out, I still saw them sitting there. My staff told me that they haven’t served them yet. I’ve told them already, if there’s none, then there’s none. I have to go somewhere today, I have to go to Thanh Hoa, have to go shopping, so it took about an hour. I didn’t scold the customer, didn’t look down on them, but I don’t know why it turned out like that. I even scooped up some bun for them, not discriminating against that person at all.”
Regarding the burning of incense as mentioned in the customer’s post, Mrs. Nhan said that this has been her habit for a long time on slow business days. However, on the day of the incident, she denied burning incense:
“Since ancient times, every time the business is slow after 12 p.m., I burn incense. In fact, that day when the person sat here, I rode my bike and left immediately, haven’t opened yet. I said only that I went right away.”
When asked about the frequent change of staff, the owner of the famous Hanoi bun ngan restaurant said that because the staff did not know how to work, she had to replace them:
“If someone doesn’t know how to work, I still have to pay them. I teach them for a week, half a week, half a month, if they don’t learn, I have to ask them to do other tasks, that’s natural. For example, I tell someone to wash the bucket, if they don’t know how to wash it, then I have to do it. They are only allowed to be taught for 2 weeks at most, nothing more than that, right, otherwise, how can they teach every day?”
Regarding the continuous “controversies” appearing on social media about her bad attitude towards customers, Mrs. Nhan also said that she is not bothered by those issues because it is now very easy for people to post “exposing” content online: “I can’t shut people’s mouths. Whether it’s true or false, adding salt and pepper, people say what they have to say.”
There are still quite a few people coming to enjoy the famous bun ngan dish at Nhan
Mrs. Nhan’s bun ngan restaurant has existed for several decades, and she said that she has learned a lot from these feedbacks, even though “there are so many of them, but people always bring up old stories. I can’t ban them from doing that. Even if I marry into a hundred families, I can’t please everyone” – Mrs. Nhan explained.
“I have a principle, which is that if you come to my place to eat, you must be understanding and wait in line. My place is quite full, but I serve everyone, from those with little money to those with a lot of money, I don’t discriminate against anyone. Sometimes, I even scoop up bun for the elderly, afraid they might fall here, so I have my staff bring them here. I’m not like what people say.”