A Chinese man asked a restaurant for a receipt and was charged an extra $1. He called it outrageous.

On the afternoon of September 24, Mrs. Jiang visited a Japanese fast-food restaurant in Arcadia, Los Angeles, to pick up some takeout. However, when she asked for a receipt, she was shocked by the staff’s response: not only were they unwilling to provide one, but they also informed her that she would need to pay an extra dollar to receive it. “This is ridiculous,” she exclaimed.

Mrs. Jiang recalls arriving at the restaurant around 3 PM and ordering three items that added up to about $40. She opted to pay in cash, handing over a $100 bill, and received $60 in change. Yet, when she requested a receipt, the employee told her that an additional dollar was required for that.

“I’ve never heard of having to pay for a receipt before,” Mrs. Jiang shared, clearly astonished. “Even if it’s just a dollar, expecting me to pay for a receipt is completely unreasonable.” When the employee insisted on the extra charge, she reluctantly settled for a handwritten receipt instead.

The employee wrote down the names of her dishes, their prices, and a 10% sales tax on a blank piece of paper, but it didn’t include the restaurant’s name or total amount. “I asked for the restaurant name to be included, and they just jotted it down on the back of the note,” she explained. To top it off, when she later researched online, she discovered that the name the staff wrote didn’t even match the restaurant she visited.

Frustrated by her experience, Mrs. Jiang pointed out that this was her first issue at that restaurant, and she had never encountered something similar at other dining establishments. “For consumers, not receiving a receipt puts us at a disadvantage. If something were to happen, like food poisoning, how would I resolve it without proof of purchase?” she asked. She also speculated that the restaurant’s refusal to provide a printed receipt might suggest an attempt to evade taxes, since transactions without receipts would go unrecorded.

Attorney Liu Longzhu weighed in on the situation, stressing that business owners should typically offer receipts or at least ask customers if they need one. He pointed out that a lack of receipts can raise suspicions of tax evasion, although he acknowledged there’s no clear evidence of tax fraud in this case.

Regarding the unusual policy of charging for a receipt, Liu stated that it was a first for him to hear such a thing. “I believe the issue isn’t really about the dollar but rather the reluctance to provide a receipt,” he explained. “The employee probably had to write one out because the customer insisted.” He added that while a handwritten receipt may not meet standard regulations, it’s not illegal, as the business could still log the transaction. Notably, he remarked that the employee did mention the 10% tax, indicating an intention to account for the sale and avoid future issues with the customer.

Mr. Ke, a Chinese restaurant owner in Los Angeles, offered an alternative perspective. He suggested that some restaurant employees might not print receipts to pocket money when the owner isn’t watching. He noted that it’s not uncommon for employees to manipulate totals, for example, changing a $100 bill to $70 and keeping the difference. In his establishment, only the owner and manager are authorized to adjust bills to prevent such situations. However, Mr. Ke refrained from speculating on the motives of this particular restaurant, acknowledging that while there are many possibilities, tax evasion seems plausible.

Reporters reached out to the restaurant for comment but had not received a reply by the time this article was published.