In this day and age, managing an F&B business is more than just cooking and serving.

On top of that, there's also managing customers both in stores and online.

And while the saying goes that the "customer is always right", one F&B business in Singapore showed that the phrase doesn't ring true.

Request refund for unpeeled prawns

On July 4, popular halal prawn noodle stall Deanna's Kitchen shared their peculiar experience with a customer on food delivery platform Deliveroo.

According to the post, a customer requested a full refund citing "incorrect items" as a reason for the request.

In the customer's own words, they requested a refund for the Clams and Prawn Mee that they ordered.

The reason? The food "stated deshelled prawns but came with shell".

Refund initially charged to eatery

In a screen shot, Deliveroo apparently charged the refund of S$10 to the eatery as the food delivery rider only delivered one order.

Deliveroo's policy is to only pay for refunds themselves if riders deliver multiple orders and the wrong items are delivered.

However, it appeared that the customer only found an issue with the unpeeled prawns after having several spoonfuls of the prawn noodles.

And to complicate matters, it appeared that the customer may have taken a photo of the S$14 Big Prawn and Clams Mee, which comes with three big prawns.

Meanwhile, the Clams and Prawn Mee, which costs S$10, comes with only two regular prawns.

It's also worth noting that while the photo may show two unpeeled prawns, the description text does not indicate that the prawns are served peeled.

Comments empathise with eatery

The Facebook post has since garnered more than 150 comments, some of which empathised with Deanna's Kitchen:

While others think that the customer may have made a special request for peeled prawns.

Show compassion to small businesses

The eatery appealed to their customers in the Facebook post to show compassion to small businesses, especially in times like these.

"Dear customers, it is tough running a business in this climate and I hope more compassion will be shown to small businesses like ours."

In an update, Deanna's Kitchen shared that after they chose to not give in to the refund, Deliveroo updated that they will not be deducting this particular refund from their sales.

Speaking to Mothership, Deliveroo said:

"At Deliveroo, which is a three-sided marketplace, we strive to offer all our stakeholders - customers, restaurant partners and riders - the best possible experience. How we work with all our restaurant partners and the support we provide is an issue close to our hearts. We are only as good as our partners; their success is our success. In this instance, we have looked into the issue and have resolved the matter."

Top image from Deanna's Kitchen's Facebook page.