Translation: There contains a table-cleaning wet wipe. Please clean up with good manners for the next guest. The next guest will be seated in the place where you were sitting. May the place where you stayed also be beautiful.
Earlier this year, a rather controversial topic swept across various online communities, bringing forth a sparked discussion. This controversy surrounded the issue of some cafés and restaurants in South Korea soliciting "tips" or service gratuities, much like in the United States.
Back in August, public rage surged when a bakery café positioned a 'tip jar' at their counter with a note that read, "Please tip if you enjoyed (blurred café name)." The audacity to ask customers directly for tips incurred significant backlash within the online community.
Now, a new incident has ignited another debate on Nate Pan, a well-known online community, when a member posted a photo of a sign from an unidentified restaurant.
This sign, placed above a stark, white box next to the garbage bin, contained a rather unusual message: "This contains a table-cleaning wet wipe. Please clean up with good manners for the next guest. The next guest will be seated in the place where you were sitting. May the place where you stayed also be beautiful."
Perplexed by the unexpected request, the member shared the photo online with the caption, "These days, do customers have to wipe the tables themselves even after dining?" This post triggered yet another series of discussions among netizens about the responsibilities and expectations of customers in the service industry.
K-netizens commented, "These are the plates for the next customer, please wash them after you eat," "What restaurant is this? I'm not going there," "This is crossing the line," "May the place where you stayed also be beautiful? Please don't joke, that's ridiculous," "So how much are they selling their food for?" "So now I have to pick up my food and return the tray, now they expect us to wash the table too," "That is so lazy of this restaurant," "I would understand if this was a self-service store but if this is a regular restaurant, then why hire workers?" "That restaurant needs to go out of business," "This is like the cafes that use kiosks and ask for a tip," "This is getting to a point where we need to cook the food ourselves and then pay," and "I'm just not going to wash the tables for them."