The biggest Chinese chain of Hotpot Haididilio offered to make up for more than 4,000 dinners who visited one of his branches in Shanghai, where two teenagers urinated in their hotpot soup.
A video of a boy who drank in a pot of soup while lunch in a private room was widely shared on the net last month. It is not clear who may have recorded the incident.
Police said the 17-year-olds, who were drunk at the time, were detained shortly after the incident.
There is no suggestion that anyone has consumed the affected soup. Hailadio apologized to the customers, saying that he replaced all the Hotpot and dining accessories, as well as the disinfection of other dishes and accessories.
The incident happened at the end of February, although the company management only found out for days later, after playing videos on social networks.
Haididilo said that the staff on duty was not able to stop the teenagers at the time.
It took another week to find out what it was, the company said, because it has a dozen outlets in the city.
Diners in Haidilau use their own personal cooking equipment to cook their food, and soups are no longer used for other customers. However, in this case, it is unclear if the hotpot in question was thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before it was used by the next buyer.
“We fully understand that the troubles caused by our customers cannot be fully compensated for in any way, but we will do everything we will take over responsibility,” the company states.
Haidilaio said that the customers who had dinner at the exit between February 24 and March 8 will receive a complete refund, followed by a cash fee that is 10 times higher than the amount they have been charged with.
Hailada has quickly expanded since he opened his first restaurant in Jianyang in Sichuan Province. Now there are more than 1,000 restaurants around the world.
The chain is known for its user service and family atmosphere, where ladies can receive manicures and children are treated with candy while waiting for the table.
