Customer Leaves Negative Review for Coffee Shop... Owner Doxxes Their Personal Information

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Coffee Shop Owner Faces Legal Action After Doxxing Customer Over Negative Review

Recently, a resident from Taiwan reported to local media that after leaving a negative review for a coffee shop on a rating platform, the shop owner conducted a doxxing campaign, publishing personal information, materials, and photos of her, her family, and friends online. This has significantly impacted the lives of her and her loved ones.

The Incident Unfolds

The individual, Ms. Chen, recounted that on the 15th of this month, she visited a coffee shop in Taipei intending to have a coffee and relax. Upon entering, no staff member greeted her, despite the shop being empty except for two delivery drivers waiting for orders.

Ms. Chen then approached the counter to order, presenting her own cup and requesting an oat milk beverage priced at TWD 140 (approximately RMB 32). The staff member informed her of the shop's minimum spending requirement of TWD 200 (approximately RMB 46). While Ms. Chen found this acceptable and immediately added a TWD 60 (approximately RMB 14) cotton candy cookie to meet the minimum requirement, she was then informed that the cotton candy cookies were sold out.

- The shop owner later attempted to distort the facts

Other desserts were priced starting from TWD 200 and were quite substantial. Having already had lunch before entering the coffee shop and having no companions to share with, Ms. Chen didn't want to waste food.

When the staff learned of her reluctance to order more expensive desserts, they asked if she wanted her order to go. Ms. Chen explained that while she was willing to comply with the minimum spending rule, the shop's failure to have all menu items available prevented her from meeting the requirement.

The staff's attitude grew cold upon learning she didn't want to order pricier desserts. Consequently, Ms. Chen apologized, stated she wouldn't be making a purchase, and left the establishment. Later, she posted a negative review on the rating platform regarding the shop's service attitude.

Escalation and Online Harassment

After seeing the negative review, the coffee shop owner began posting selective screenshots from surveillance footage of the incident, responding with emotionally charged commentary, even stating, "I've never cared about those broken stars on rating apps since opening."

What particularly alarmed other netizens was the coffee shop owner posting over 30 articles containing photos of Ms. Chen, her friends, and family members, accompanied by personally attacking text. Even netizens who defended Ms. Chen faced criticism about their appearance from the shop owner.

As the incident sparked widespread outrage among netizens, the coffee shop's rating plummeted. Some netizens conducted their own investigation of the shop owner, discovering that not only had the owner disabled tagging and search functions, but had also changed their name to Ms. Chen's name and even appropriated her photos.

Legal Action and Consequences

On the 17th, Ms. Chen decided to report the incident to the police and take legal action against the shop. She stated that without her consent, the shop owner had published personal information of herself, her relatives, friends, and third parties, along with screenshots from surveillance footage, adding demeaning and insulting remarks to the posted images and videos.

The actions constitute public humiliation, aggravated defamation, and severe violations of privacy rights, portrait rights, and reputation. She has retained legal counsel to handle related matters, demanding that the shop contact her lawyer within three days to explain, otherwise she will pursue criminal and civil legal responsibilities.

Subsequently, netizens revealed that the shop owner had recruited people to attack Ms. Chen and her supporters online without paying them anything.

Aftermath and Response

The day after Ms. Chen reported to the police, the shop owner deleted the previous posts and issued a public apology. The coffee shop remained closed for business.

The shop owner stated that they were abroad at the time and had not fully understood what had transpired in the shop. Regarding the direct public attacks on Ms. Chen and her loved ones, they admitted: "I set a very wrong example, I'm sorry!" They also acknowledged that their actions had caused significant distress to their family and friends, saying, "I will humbly accept all criticisms and plead with the public to spare my family and friends."

However, Ms. Chen stated that despite the shop owner's online statements, they had not contacted her or her lawyer privately. Regarding this incident, she will continue to pursue legal action.

Image source: Internet

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