Ramen Shop Owner Places Bounty On Customers Who Left Bad Reviews
When it comes to restaurant reviews, “Customers are always right.” However, don’t tell that to a ramen shop owner in Kyoto, Japan, who crashed out after two customers left negative reviews. Instead of simply apologizing, he decided to put a literal bounty on their heads. TOYOJIRO is the restaurant in question, a top-rated Jiro-style ramen shop — not to be confused with the legendary sushi master.
The owner hit Instagram to call out the accused review bombers, saying, “I saw your post, and you seem a bit weird. We try not to treat people like you as customers, so it’s fine. But you should probably avoid eating out. Someday, someone like you will get screwed. I don’t care—just come directly, and I’ll deal with you. We run a planned business, so if you get in our way, we’ll get in the way of yours too.”
The crash out continued on the restaurant’s story, where he offered a reward of 100,000 yen ($668.53 USD) for each reviewer to anyone who could provide their names and whereabouts. In a bizarre twist, he added that the bounty would remain until the customers returned, had another meal, and left a positive review with a photo included.
He then underscored his ultimatum, “I told him I won’t forgive him otherwise—not even for the safety of his family. If he does that, he’ll be killed right away. This kid is so scared. He’ll really do it, so he’d better just come back and eat.”
To this guy, a negative review is apparently more unacceptable than his own behavior. His justification? He’s just “defending” the restaurant’s reputation. TOYOJIRO has ambitions to expand abroad, and he’s willing to do whatever it takes to protect that goal—even if it means risking trouble with local authorities.
Apparently, strict rules and customer decorum are par for the course at TOYOJIRO. Someone who’s been there before responded to news of the bounty, pointing out that customers are typically prohibited from posting the menu to social media. The restaurant has even threatened to leak customer identities online, so the bounty seems a natural, albeit aggressive, progression.
According to Anime Galaxy Official, Jiro-style ramen restaurants generally have intense atmospheres, though not all. TOYOJIRO, however, has taken things to a whole other level of bullying.
