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An elderly Joburg couple were forced by uniformed policemen to pay R75 for a meal they couldn’t eat at a KwaZulu-Natal seafood restaurant – or be arrested.
While the restaurant owners say the couple were the patrons from hell, a lawyer from Fedhasa, the South African hospitality association, says the police should never have been called in for what was a civil dispute over services.
Peter Stiff, 78, and his wife, Fran, said they were “horrified” by the abuse they allegedly received from management of the Crayfish Inn restaurant in Ramsgate, after they had complained about the quality of the food.
“We were locked in the restaurant, verbally abused by the managers and were forced to pay for a meal that had been overcooked and dry,”said Stiff, a writer and book publisher.
The Stiffs visited the restaurant three weeks ago while holidaying on the South Coast.
“Fran ordered a main course of grilled dorado. However… her dorado was overcooked and dried out.”
Stiff claimed the co-owner flew into a temper on hearing their complaints. “He then told my wife and I that regardless of whether we ate the fish or not, we would pay for the fish, which cost around R75.”
The couple stood up and headed for the front door but were blocked by another of the restaurant owners.
“He pushed me around and told me to go back to my table and pay for what I had ordered. There was nothing I could do as I am 78 and I am on crutches, so I was defenceless,” said Peter Stiff.
The owners summoned the police, who told the couple to pay for the meal they had ordered or be arrested.
The owners of the Crayfish Inn confirmed they’d called the police after the couple refused to pay for their meal.
“Neither the staff nor management laid a hand on the couple,” said manager Johnson Shou. “Neither did we verbally abuse either of them.”
Shou said the couple had complained consistently from the moment they sat down.
Shou said they had attended to every complaint and offered them free meals. “However, the couple just refused to pay.”
A Fedhasa lawyer refused to comment on the case, but said summoning the police appeared unnecessary.
“If the consumers felt threatened or were abused in any way by the police they can report this to the Independent Complaints Directorate,” said Bianca Coelho Barata of law firm Goldman Judin Inc.
Barata urged consumers to report restaurants to the National Consumer Forum should they be unhappy with the treatment they receive.
Ramsgate police did not respond to numerous requests for comment. – Independent on Saturday
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Cops force couple to pay for meal