A Harvard professor declared war with a Chinese restaurant over a $4 discrepancy in his bill. INSIDE EDITION has the story.
Ben Edelman is the Harvard professor who went to war with a mom and pop Chinese restaurant over a measly $4!
Edelman, an economics professor, ordered take out from a Boston Chinese restaurant last week. The bill came to $53.35, which was $4 more than the prices listed on the restaurant's website.
The professor became so upset and fired off an angry email. He wrote, "If I don't hear from you or if we can't resolve the matter, I will forward my complaint to the city of Boston licensing board."
The owner tried to apologize, writing, “Hey Ben, I apologize about the confusion. Our website prices have been out of date for quite some time. I will be sure to update it.”
But that only made the professor angrier and he declared war.
"The more you try to claim your restaurant was not a fault, the more determined I am to seek a greater sanction against you," he replied.
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Ran Duan's family owns Sichuan Garden. Just this month, he appeared in GQ magazine as the most imaginative bartender in America.
Duan told INSIDE EDITION, “I knew he definitely was upset. I did my best to be polite and calm him down. Unfortunately, it didn't work.”
Edelman's emails were leaked online and in an instant, it seemed the professor became the most hated man in America.
Fox News asked, "Does this guy not have any friends? Chances are this is his idea of a social interaction."
Norah O'Donnell said on CBS This Morning, "Mr. Edelman needs a chill pill."
Online there was this reaction, "Ben really needs a hobby."
The restaurant is receiving an outpouring of support from customers. Duan told INSIDE EDITION that there are no hard feelings, “I feel bad for this guy. I don't want anyone to send him hate mail. I'm sure he learned from the situation. He has an open invite to come back anytime.”
The professor was humbled by the outcry and quickly posted an apology on his website, writing, "Having reflected on my interaction... Including what I said and how I said it, it's clear that I was very much out of line. I am sorry and I intend to do better in the future."
