Alex Kang, a Fairfax restaurant owner, has been battling frequent dine-and-dash incidents at his eatery, Okonomi Asian Grill. Interestingly, this is being executed by customers who misuse DoorDash’s food delivery services, order meals, and then cancel their orders after departing the premises.
This scheme, believed to be part of a social media trend named the ‘Dash and Dine’ challenge, inflicts financial losses on independent restaurant owners like Alex Kang. In an attempt to curb this malicious conduct, Kang is contemplating implementing tighter regulations and calling on DoorDash to respond to the issue.
In collaboration with the local authorities and through increased awareness on social media, Kang seeks to protect his restaurant from this unanticipated crisis of unpaid food and service brought on by dishonest customers and worsened by the ongoing pandemic.
Kang has made a creative proposition in response to these fraudulent activities. He is offering a $150 reward for information leading to the identification of the repeat offender. He assures the confidentiality of any informants and, through this method, hopes to increase community involvement in crime prevention.
Despite his efforts, the culprit remains unidentified, leaving Kang, local law enforcement, and the community on tenterhooks. Some clues have surfaced, hinting at potential connections to the offender’s social media accounts.
Countering ‘Dash and Dine’ scams in Fairfax
Nonetheless, his careful and methodical approach leaves tangible evidence just out of reach for the time being.
Adding to Kang’s trials, the offender frequently uses different aliases and employs tactics designed to smear Okonomi Asian Grill’s reputation. These strategies involve false complaints and assertions that the eatery is closed, causing intermittent disruptions in service. Nevertheless, Kang remains persistent, implementing resilient business strategies to counteract the imposter’s ill-intentions.
The continuous scam has reportedly cost Kang around $150 in total. In each incident, the thief placed an order for two or three meals, and cancelled it on the app before the staff had a chance to confirm its pick-up.
The situation has left Kang frustrated with DoorDash’s passive response. Despite spending two hours on a Monday evening requesting essential information about the perpetrator’s account, Kang has met with indifference. DoorDash has neither reimbursed the eaten costs nor shared any significant details about the cause of the issue.
