Restaurant takes a stand against entitled influencer who said they 'deserved to eat for free'

With more and more of our lives becoming intertwined with social media, there seem to be more influencers around the world. We often see influencers promoting certain products on their page, but most people do not know that there is a dark side to it. Some influencers seek to exploit businesses by requesting free products or services in exchange for promotion on their platforms. While collaborations between influencers and businesses can be mutually beneficial, this approach can undermine the value of the establishment's offerings. "Lucky", a restaurant that focuses on providing ramen, sushi, and pan-Asian brunch, recently posted a screenshot on Instagram exposing how an influencer had tried to take advantage of them.

The post got quite a bit of attention on the platform, with 8,505 likes on the site. It turns out that the restaurant posted a screenshot of the influencer asking them for a free meal. The message from the influencer in the second slide revealed how they were going to be in the area the next day and requested a collaboration with them so that they would essentially get a free meal. By the looks of it, the owners of the restaurant would often get requests from "blue tick superstars" to have food for free in exchange for an Instagram post on their page promoting the restaurant.

The text overlay sarcastically highlighted, "Because you know, exposure pays the bills! We're just thrilled that you appreciate our food, but hey, we appreciate paying customers even more!" Once the influencer saw their message posted on the restaurant's story, they sent a very rude and entitled message to them, which we see in the first slide. The influencer displayed such an air of privilege, saying, "So you think people like us don't deserve to eat for FREE???" Somehow, they felt that it was all justified as long as they promoted the restaurant on their page.

They continued by writing, "The fact that you wanna expose us influencers like that, we will not be coming by anytime soon to support." The influencer went on for a bit about how their post had caused quite a bit of controversy but that they would have the last laugh as they would go wherever they wanted and get to eat for free. The owners of the restaurant decided to make a post on seeing the follow-up message and even ironically mentioned in the caption how it deserved a "standing ovation."

They went on to mock the influencer's sense of entitlement by stating how they could come into their restaurant to get even more free things, including their dad's medal of honor from the Japanese war. The post concluded with them saying, "We appreciate your understanding and, once again, sorry for the 'inconvenience' we caused." People supported the restaurant's response in the comments section.

@holliejay_bowes said, "Honey, they are booked. They don't need your exposure. We are all queuing for tables." @the.model.family highlighted, "Proper restaurant critics don't ask for free meals. They don't want you to even know they are turning up. The whole idea is that they see what you are really like. No collaborations, no favoritism, no advance notice, no free meals!"

You can follow the restaurant (@lucky_ramenandsushi) on Instagram to see the kind of dishes they serve and consider supporting them with your patronage.