Peking Man: Who Owns The Restaurant?

The woman at the table next to me was shouting at the restaurant owner’s wife. By the time I tuned in, the argument was well underway. “Why not? I’m a paying customer,” the woman shrieked. “You’ve had too much already,” the wife responded.

I glanced at her table. There was a collection of empty Tsingtaos, but she and the man she was with weren’t about to black out or anything. “I can’t. Really. We’re closed.” The owner’s wife glanced at her husband, who was sitting at a corner table, swiping a game on his iPad. He was choosing to ignore the situation. The woman pressed on. “Forget it. I’m not giving you another drink.” “You have to. That is your responsibility as the employee.”

The wife sighed and reached in the fridge for a beer. Suddenly, a voice boomed from the corner table: “PUT IT DOWN.” The wife, who was usually brusque and ornery, fell silent. She slowly put the beer back in the fridge. The woman, raising an accusatory finger, brought her anger to bear on this new target. “You have no right! Your job is to serve. If I order something, you have to give it to me.” “I don’t have to do shit,” the boss said. He was as brusque as his wife and twice as large. He wore a gold chain and had the close-cropped hair of a street thug. The woman did something strange: she turned to me and said, “Do you see the low moral character of Chinese people? This is how Chinese people treat each other.” But I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize my access to the best jiaozi in the neighborhood. I didn’t answer.

Luckily, her attention shifted back to the boss. “I’m the customer and I want another beer,” she shouted. “We are closed.” “Look at your watch, it’s not nine yet.” “I don’t care,” dismissed the boss. “Give me one reason.” At this, the boss snapped. He slammed the table with his fist. “I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT. IT’S MY RESTAURANT!” “Fine,” the woman said. “Then we’re not paying.” The boss rose from the table like a demon from the depths of hell. “Let’s see if you dare.” The man who was dining with the woman bounded up and paid the owner’s wife. He was a mousy guy and wasn’t going to risk coming to blows. But the woman wasn’t finished. “This piece of shit restaurant. Kicking customers out when it’s not even closed.” Blind in his fury, the boss gave the only argument he could muster: “I can close whenever I want!” And then, triumphantly, “It’s my restaurant!” “I’ve never been to any restaurant like that,” the woman said, grabbing her coat. “I’ll tell you what, when you own a restaurant, you can close whenever you want!”

On her way out, the woman cursed the boss. “You’re an embarrassment to Chinese people.” Then, inexplicably, she said in English, “You understand?” Then they were gone. A tense silence settled over the restaurant. The boss went back to his iPad, muttering under his breath. I paid the bill and left. On the way home, I couldn’t stop thinking about what had just happened. What could have been a teachable moment or a discussion about social etiquette, became instead a demonstration of arbitrary power. The woman was a paying customer and it was ten minutes to closing time. Sure she was a sloppy, aggressive drunk, but she wasn’t a danger to anyone. She had every right to another drink. And yet, none of that mattered when it came down to it. What mattered was who owned the restaurant.

The incident felt like a microcosm of everything I’d experienced in China. It doesn’t matter if you are right or wrong, if you have reason on your side or not. You can plead and argue and kick and scream but in the end only one thing matters: Who owns the restaurant?

 

 

Photo: chinadaily.com.cn

Comments

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I AM JOKING Wacko

Ah. I took that as his usual Jonathan-Swift-esque approach to writing.

I believe that G. Ding's articles are meant to be a satire of himself first and society second.

I kind of think your response is exactly what he was going for...

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

lul. Yeah, I'm aware his intervention would go down like a sack of shit. I just thought it was funny that his given reason for not intervening in a perceived injustice was his unwillingness to 'jeapordize [his] access to the best jiaozi in the neighbourhood'. What a mighty conscience that man has.

And speaking as one who HAS tried to intercede in similar situations here, some much worse than what Ding described... Interference by those not involved in the situation is less than welcome, and interference by non-locals ends up escalating the situation, since the attention by one-not-involved just pours fuel on the flames. The people involved have already lost face by such a public display of discord, and your attempt to intervene simply shames everybody further. It's their own "dirty laundry", thank you very much. Yes, it's being aired in public, but it's still none of your *** business, and I'll thank you not to interfere, you damn ***.

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

ohdjango wrote:

... By doing so he behaved in exactly the same way as enablers all over the world, whose refusal to challenge unjust behaviour and abuse of power when and where they see it enables it to continue unchecked.

Agreed re "enablers all over the world" comment. But must ask... How long have you lived here? Made many local friends here? This entire culture is made up of enablers.

真没有办法, 在中国就是这样

Blum 3

Doubt wisely; in strange way / To stand inquiring right is not to stray; / To sleep, or run wrong, is. (Donne, Satire III)

Even better, our esteemed author saw this as an example of 'arbitrary power' being exercised and yet said nothing, for fear of jeopardising his access to 'the best jaozi in town'. By doing so he behaved in exactly the same way as enablers all over the world, whose refusal to challenge unjust behaviour and abuse of power when and where they see it enables it to continue unchecked.

In this case, the price of OP's complicity was a plate of hot jiaozi. High fives all round!

The owner of any establishment has the right to refuse service or entrance to anyone he likes (or dislikes, rather). Same goes for a waitress, as far as the customer is concerned. The restaurant is her domain and it's her job to take care of it. If she tells a customer to leave, for whatever reason, the customer is no longer welcome. Staying would virtually equal trespassing.

I find it slightly shocking that the author saw this as an example of "demonstration of arbitrary power" and an example of might making right.

For once in his life, olejingo is correct.

This is what happens in a society with so many entitled people. They think they are owed things they don't deserve. The woman thinks the owner owes it to her to sell her a beer. Bullshit. He has every right to deny that service and even kick her out especially when she is acting like an obnoxious drunkin sha-bi.

Dunkards can hurt business. Many Chinese act obnoxious when they are sober. Imagine how they behave when they're drunk. No one wants to do business with a place with drunkards puking and yelling mere feet away from you.

The owner of the restaurant is perfectly entitled to choose whether or not he wishes to continue serving her with alcohol and the customer was, in your own words, a 'sloppy, agressive drunk'. I see nothing wrong here.

That story is super lol though. More like this!