ugh.
It seems that the Internet has introduced us to the newest asshole customer of the week and boy oh boy, he’s a real doozie. According to Boston.com, a man named Ben Edelman ordered some Chinese food from Sichuan Garden and was overcharged by $4. Since Ben is an associate professor at Harvard Business School who apparently has lots of free time, he decided to complain about the discrepancy between the prices on the online menu and what the prices actually are. No, Yelp wasn’t good enough for Ben and neither was going to a Facebook page to complain. Since Ben is like that dingleberry that hangs on to the three hairs on your dog’s asshole and just won’t let go, he sent some strongly worded emails to the manager, each one more filled with legalese gobbledygook and threats than the last. Even though the manager, Ran Duan, apologized and offered to refund the $4, Ben had a major case of diarrhea of the emails and kept on going.
I can’t write anything that better showcases what a douche Ben is than what Ben wrote himself and it’s all below for you to read. In the meantime, here is Ben’s Twitter page if you’d like to say hello. Judging by that profile picture, he likes to remember what he used to look like, because on his official Harvard page, he looks a little bit (a lot of bit) older. The smugness is just as strong in each picture, because time does not wear away smug.
Finally, since we know Ben likes to send out emails that threaten legal action, let me reiterate that everything I say in this article is solely my opinion and I am within my legal rights to state what my opinion is of Ben. (This is in case he ever sees this and wants to send me an email and if he does, you know I will post it for you to read.)
Congratulations, Ben. You are the Asshole Customer of the Week!
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Erin
The fact that anyone would defend this guy boggles my mind. The restaurant in question seems like a small local chain. Anyone who has ever run a small business knows there are a ZILLION things to do EVERY SINGLE DAY and it’s worse in a restaurant. And anyone who has ever dealt with outsourced website design/hosting knows that is not always a timely or smooth process. On top of all that, if you really are that worried about $4 (which is not even worth “the principle of it”) you can dispute the charge with your credit card company. Or just eat at home. The world is not out to get you, Ben.
Molly
Give him free meal w/ a big ole dingle berry off a dogs ass in it…
sally
In college late 80s-early 90s, pre-internet, when I was really broke I would ALWAYS ask for the order total when I called in my order for delivery or take out. I’ve never trusted the prices on a take out menu and can’t imagine anyone who is counting their pennies who would.
Mr. Edlelmen is being completely unreasonable and he knows it. I feel sorry for his students.
BK
Wow. All of this back-and-forth over a $4 overcharge. Someone has too much time on his hands.
Brenda
Here is his apology: http://www.benedelman.org/
april
uh huh. Betcha the administration called him on the carpet or something similar. Maybe his students started misquoting laws at him.
Anonymous
Why does he have a .org website? That’s supposed to be for not-for-profit organizations and the like….
Geoff Burkman
Hah-vahd. That pretty much says it all.
What a useless twatwaffle.
Megan
I wanted to hate this guy so bad. So I went to Yelp and I checked out the reviews…before people who heard this story commented, the reviews are TERRIBLE! The owners/staff of this place seem just as douchey as this guy. I’m thinking that it’s possible that he just had one too many bad experiences at this joint and decided enough is enough, I’m going to f*ck with them some. Obviously, I could be totally off base. But in my eyes it’s a battle of douche vs douche.
Matteo Watkins
What kind of ass hat wastes that kind of time over four bucks? A word to the manager next time in and a free order of fried wont tons would’ve sufficed to satisfy any issues of “principle”. I am filled with a desire to watch a slow motion video of this man being punched in the face repeatedly. What a douche.
UncleStosh
Another example of his self-absorbed douchebaggery: He has 1,800 twitter followers and in return only follows two people.
Mary
I just noticed something, if this guy is an Associate Professor,and these e-mail provided were written Dec 5 & 6. If he’s a working stiff like the most of us…wasn’t he writing this BS on Company Time!!! There is only one e-mail that is written after 5:00 the rest are probably written while sitting in his office, waiting to mark papers or to teach his next class…now there is a WASTE of time and his salary~!!
Mary
I just wrote him on his professor e-mail link of his work page..hey why not!
Dawn
If Mr. Edelman had discovered that he had been undercharged by $4.00, would he have been so kind as to bring the restaurant the money, and notify them of the discrepancy?
Mary
Wow, seriously, you didn’t use all the words in your description that I would have used. Seriously this guy probably would have gotten further ahead if he contacted the owner next time he was in. The owner seems reasonable enough to probably provide him the $12 discount.
Mr. Edelman, should spend some of that time he wasted typing e-mails into volunteering ~
april
According to this, the guy wasn’t even using the law he was quoting correctly
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2014/12/10/harvard_professor_rages_at_chinese_restaurant_he_may_have_even_gotten_the.html
Joe
Typical Harvard douche. Other than smug shitheads….I love Boston!
Kristen Collins
This guy may be a jerk but he is not wrong. this is a huge issue in RI and Mass companies regularly advertise specials and prices then charge you more.. when you say the board says this amount they claim it hasn’t been changed. happened to me at Mcdonalds, pizza hut, KFC, Popeyes. if you press the issue they will honor the board price then continue to charge everyone behind you full price.. its against the law. These laws are in effect to protect us If they overcharge each customer 1 dollar they have an average is 2000 customers a day 2000 x 364 (only closed Christmas)3/4 of a million dollars.. It has happened at Wal-mart, Shaws, it may be an honest mistake but it happens alot.
Queen of Lesbos
It has happened at McDonalds, Pizza Hut, KFC, Popeyes, WalMart, and Shaws, huh? Why the hell are you shopping and eating at those shitty establishments in the first place? Guess what, if they aren’t stealing from you by overcharging as you claim, they are stealing lives away from employees toiling away for hours and hours at minimum wage, and stealing from ALL OF US by taking their tax money overseas, not contributing shit back to society. You, as the consumer who patronizes these places, are JUST as bad as this asshole.
Walter
Here ya go, have at em 🙂
Listing Detail
Name: Benjamin Gordon Edelman
Appointment Title: Associate Professor, Marvin Bower Fellow
Department: HBS^FAC Fac
Office Phone: +1 617 496 2055
Baker Lib | Bloomberg Ctr 445
University Mailing Address: Harvard Business School
Baker Library 445
25 Harvard Way
Boston MA 02163
Email: bedelman@hbs.edu
Unit: Harvard Business School
Mary
oh for real his e-mail also, we should add him to a bunch of unsolicited mailing sites and spam and “questionable” mailing lists…maybe he would get his $12.00 worth…or at least I would…LOL
(an Associate Professor…hmm someone who has a stick stuck up his butt, that’s for sure)
Anonymous
We can use Bitchy’s classic “$50 used ipad” flier, too.
Ashley
He was wrong, but bullying is bullying. Pelting the poor man with hate mail or “pranks” doesn’t make you any better than he does. I really wish the internet as a whole would realize this.
Ashley
And by “poor man” I don’t mean I feel sorry for him, I mean I pity whatever he’s been through to make him the awful person he is.
trollguy
but what if he is complaining just to see if he could? I think he even claimed in a very specific context that certain numbers are ridiculous.
https://pumac.princeton.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Algebra-B-Solutions1.pdf
just ctrl-f “Ben Edelman” to find the problem he wrote
Marsha
I agree with you completely.
It’s one thing to call him out online, another to doxx him and encourage others to harass him.
Alisha
I don’t agree with the approach, but think about this. The restaurant knew that the prices online didn’t reflect the current pricing and “had for some time”. How many people thought they were getting a different price then they paid and never noticed? $4.00 doesn’t seem like much, but say they have 50 customers a day this happens to, that’s $200 a day multiply that by 360 (taking out standard holidays) that is 72,000 of overcharge profit…
Scargosun
Seriously? I usually take website menus for places like this with a grain of salt (or MSG) as I think most reasonable people do. They are not always updated regularly and usually there is a note that says ‘prices subject to change without notice’. Even if the note is not on the site, the prof is a MAJOR d-bag. Defending his actions is really awful.
Alisha
I would too, however Mass has a law against it. https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartI/TitleXV/Chapter93A/Section9
Alisha
I didn’t say how he behaved was right, I pointed out that the restaurant is stealing.
Two different actions and both of them are bad.
Anonymous
No, they aren’t. Restaurants are allowed to change their menu prices whenever they want. Yes, the website was out of date, but they had a disclaimer, AND they offered to refund him. Professor Cocksucker needs to chill the fuck out and if he can’t afford four extra dollars, then maybe he should stop wasting money on frivolous lawsuits.
Mary
Thanks for your response, full of hilarity and I think the majority of the public or those that eat out would feel the same way that you have voiced.
DGK
Alisha,
The restaurant would only be “stealing” if the act was intentional. It was clear this was not intentional.
Good day!
Sharmon Hattie
Bettcha if it would of been a dollar less he wouldn’t of complained!!!! …He’s just a major A-hole!!
shelleyboston
Check out the awesome Yelp reviews that people have posted to support the restaurant in response to this douchecanoe.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/sichuan-garden-brookline
Proud of my fellow Bostonians today (minus this one guy, obvs).
Krista
Freeing the world of crime $4 at a time.
What an ass hat.
TJ
UGH The manager deserves major credit for his reasonable responses. This idiot is the reason why mom and pop business cant make it anymore. My question is can this really be report to the “authorities” or would this wanker get laughed outta the room? If I lived near either location I would be placing orders to support the business.
Emma
What a bloody wanker. Pretentious, and most likely friendless.
Mary
or sadly his friends may be just like him
Barreleh
That a-hole must have a LOT of time on his hands, if he’s able to waste it seeing $12.
Mary
I agree with you 100%, maybe he had a bitter divorce or just lost his job,, because I certainly wouldn’t be able to carry something through that far~!
april
I LOVE that the manager thanked him for notifying the authorities and said he would wait to speak with them. Called the assholes bluff! He should have just asked for and accepted the 4 dollar refund in the beginning. Instead he had to be an asshole (and a pedantic one at that!) and try to throw his weight around to try and intimidate the manager.
Jessie
What the ……….
Props to the owner for his decent and patient replies though!!
Jen H
What.A.Tool.