What would you do if you found a hair in your food?
A customer surnamed Zhang in Ningbo City, eastern China's Zhejiang Province, complained when he spotted a hair in his bowl of noodle soup – but that wasn't enough.
Zhang took it to court and won a 1,016-yuan (about 150-US-dollar) payment.
After he got paid, he explained how he did it on Weibo, and has since received comments from over 20,000 users.
Netizens on Weibo applauded Zhang's persistence in the issue and for rightfully standing up for himself.
Weibo user @Aishangnanfangnvhai praises the efficiency of the court. /Screenshot via Weibo
Another user supports Zhang exposing the restaurant. /Screenshot via Weibo
"If we have more people like you, we'd have fewer shops that brush off their hygiene issues or don't do anything about them."
Others noted that the court quickly took the case and addressed Zhang's plea, even though hygiene in restaurants is often neglected and regularly dismissed because most people don't think it's worth their while to follow up.
"This is textbook work done by the court," one commented.
According to Zhang, the poor way the staff treated his complaint is why he took the restaurant to court.
When he showed the hair he picked out from his food to the waitress, he was told that it was "normal" and was rudely asked, "What else do you want?"
Zhang shares his recipe online. /Screenshot via Weibo
Shocked by the initial response, Zhang then spoke to other staff, all of whom ignored his complaint.
Eventually, they offered him a refund plus a small compensation, as opposed to the triple compensation mandated by China's food safety laws, which state that consumers have the right to complain and ask for compensation if they encounter food safety misconduct in the restaurant at which they are eating.
What's more ironic was that a manager at the shop reportedly told Zhang to sue them, thinking that Zhang would back out. So the customer did exactly what he was told.
In the lawsuit against the shop, Zhang demanded compensation of 1,000 yuan (about 145 US dollars).
Even though it's a small case, the court reassured him to not worry, as they've accepted cases that asked for as little money back as a dime, according to Zhang.
In the end, the restaurant agreed to pay up 1,016 Yuan as ordered by the judge, who said Zhang's lawsuit is sound and that it must deal with the consequences.