On June 6th, the Weibo topic # Hai Di Lao Responds to Drinking Second hand Beverages for Customers # surged on the hot search.
Recently, according to the Guangdong Minsheng Hotline, in May, Mr. Chen, a consumer, and his family were dining at a restaurant in Haidilao, Guangzhou when his child drank a white ball from a cup of kumquat lemon drink, suspected to be a pill.
Mr. Chen claimed that he then contacted the store staff for processing. The staff stated that they wanted to detect the foreign object and remove the cup. Mr. Chen and his family requested to take photos first, but were unable to obtain their consent. Afterwards, Mr. Chen reported to the police.
Mr. Chen pointed out that after the police retrieved surveillance footage, it was found that during the same dining period, a customer threw a white "pill" into a glass containing kumquat and lemon water, drank it on their own, and then placed the glass on the table. The Haidilao waiter took away one of the unfinished cups, while the other waiter handed the drink to Mr. Chen's child.
Mr. Chen claimed that afterwards, the Haidilao involved store claimed that it was a waiter's mistake and mistakenly brought someone else's drink to their table. The store contacted the customer who placed the pill, who claimed that the pill they placed in the cup was cold medicine.
According to the drug test results posted by Mr. Chen, the "pill" in the drink detected acetaminophen components, but no components such as valproic acid, clozapine, carbamazepine, metomidine, amitriptyline, or caffeine were detected.
On June 5th, the person in charge of Haidilao responded that the incident was mainly caused by a staff member of a Haidilao store in Guangzhou mistakenly providing another table of customers with kumquat lemon water placed on a shelf to other customers. After investigation by the police and testing by medical institutions, it was found that the kumquat lemon water contained a cold medicine (acetaminophen). The operation of the waiter seriously violated the service process specifications. Haidilao has taken serious action against the relevant responsible persons in accordance with the system and procedures, and instructed the regional responsible person to conduct special verification and guidance on the operation specifications of the store to ensure the accuracy and smoothness of the service process.
The person in charge of Haidilao further apologized, stating that since the incident occurred, Haidilao has actively promoted actions such as self inspection and inspection by professional organizations, and maintained communication and feedback with customers, striving to resolve the issue properly. The relevant regulatory authorities have intervened in handling the matter. Haidilao promises to assume corresponding responsibilities in accordance with the law and ensure that customer rights are protected.
It is understood that the Haidilao store involved is located in Haizhu District, Guangzhou. On June 5th, a staff member of the Market Supervision Bureau of Haizhu District, Guangzhou stated, "On May 13th, two law enforcement officers from our bureau conducted an on-site inspection and filed an investigation into the business premises involved in (Haidilao) based on the reported clues. The case is currently under investigation and processing."
Haidilao was founded in Jianyang, Sichuan in 1994. As of the end of 2023, Haidilao has 1374 stores nationwide.
On the evening of March 26th, Hai Di Lao released its 2023 annual performance report. The announcement shows that as of December 31, 2023, the company's overall revenue was 41.453 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.6%. The annual profit was 4.495 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of approximately 174.6%. Haidilao Restaurant received nearly 400 million customers throughout the year, an increase of 43.7% compared to last year.