Harvard Business School Professor Goes to War Over $4 Worth of Ch (1 Viewer)

[Gawain]

I'm with the prof. He went into jagoff mode with the triplicate damages, but calling out a business when their advertised prices don't match their actual prices is a good thing. I wish he'd start doing the same for locksmiths, plumbers and auto mechanics. "Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads."

 

[FlapJacks]

This guys is a hero.

Don't go all contrarian on us now....

 

[Doug B]

I skipped over about 2 pages of slap-fighting.

The link in the article is a little thin on what exactly happened. Was it that the menu prices on the website were out-of-date and the professor ended up paying more than expected?

I actually think the professor's beef is 100% legitimate ... and I think the restaurant would agree. People are piling onto the professor not for having this beef, but for his nuclear reaction, right? I do think the professor could've/should've talked to the restaurant about the issue and they'd have certainly worked with him. Having wrong prices on a website (or at least not having a "subject to change" disclaimer) is actually a pretry serious issue for a business, IMHO, and I think the proprietors would've appreciated that.

 

[Guest]

Lawyer has one theme to his life and career and it miraculously befell him in his daily travels. This would be like Newton's Apple landing instead on a personal injury attorney. Why deprive him of his glory?

 

[GroveDiesel]

I'm with the prof. He went into jagoff mode with the triplicate damages, but calling out a business when their advertised prices don't match their actual prices is a good thing. I wish he'd start doing the same for locksmiths, plumbers and auto mechanics. "Now you prepare that Fetzer valve with some 3-in-1 oil and some gauze pads."

He looked at the website for the wrong location. And the site specifically said that the prices could vary at other locations.

 

[Guest]

I actually think the professor's beef is 100% legitimate ...

You've never been to a Chinese restaurant, have you?

 

[AcerFC]

I have no problem with thinking the guy has a beef. The owner acknowledged and offered the money back. Then they guy turns into the biggest ####### Ive never met. I would like to see if the prices were correct on the menu. And I said it before, if he already knew the prices, why didnt he bring it up when he went in there and paid. Why the dog and pony show after

 

[jonessed]

I have no problem with thinking the guy has a beef. The owner acknowledged and offered the money back. Then they guy turns into the biggest ####### Ive never met. I would like to see if the prices were correct on the menu. And I said it before, if he already knew the prices, why didnt he bring it up when he went in there and paid. Why the dog and pony show after

Ego.

 

[[icon]]

While I do not assume all Harvard Business School professors are liberal, I would be surprised to learn that Marian Wright Edelman's nephew is a conservative.

 

[Doug B]

I have no problem with thinking the guy has a beef. The owner acknowledged and offered the money back.

Cool ... wasn't aware of this. The restaurant fulfilled their obligation at that point, though they really need to get their menu fixed and/or clarified. Having different prices at different locations in the same city strikes me as shady-ish, but at least that can be clearly (?) advertised up front.

Where is the e-mail exchange everyone is talking about? Didn't see it linked in the OP.

 

[[icon]]

Jon Lester signing with the lowly Cubs... now there's a big story in Boston.

Make the same money while getting the month of October off.

 

[FlapJacks]

. People are piling onto the professor not for having this beef, but for his nuclear reaction, right?

yes, over something as petty as $4....

 

[jhib]

He seems pretty caught up on the "gotcha" that the guy said the website prices had been out of date for quite some time, as if this proved he knew all along and had malicious intent to deceive his customers. It seems to me just as likely that the owner got the email, looked up the pricing on the website and thought, "Oh crap, we haven't updated this in a long time." Then, he apologized and said they would update it.

Like I said, that seems like a realistic scenario, at least if you don't go around assuming the worst about people.

 

[Hilts]

I have no problem with thinking the guy has a beef. The owner acknowledged and offered the money back.

Cool ... wasn't aware of this. The restaurant fulfilled their obligation at that point, though they really need to get their menu fixed and/or clarified. Having different prices at different locations in the same city strikes me as shady-ish, but at least that can be clearly (?) advertised up front.

Where is the e-mail exchange everyone is talking about? Didn't see it linked in the OP.

Shtick?

It's right there in the OP, plain as day.

 

[AcerFC]

I have no problem with thinking the guy has a beef. The owner acknowledged and offered the money back.

Cool ... wasn't aware of this. The restaurant fulfilled their obligation at that point, though they really need to get their menu fixed and/or clarified. Having different prices at different locations in the same city strikes me as shady-ish, but at least that can be clearly (?) advertised up front.

Where is the e-mail exchange everyone is talking about? Didn't see it linked in the OP.

The OP has all the emails

 

[Doug B]

The OP has all the emails

Looked at that article ... can't see them. I guess it's somehow blocked here at work (a lot is blocked here).

Maybe they're posted elsewhere.

 

[Doug B]

Shtick?


It's right there in the OP, plain as day.

Not schtick ... uber-aggressive workplace web-content blocking. The e-mail exchange text is apparently loading separately from the main body of text.

 

[TheIronSheik]

I wonder what his fortune cookie said? "Today, you will take things way too far."

 

[Doug B]

Shtick?


It's right there in the OP, plain as day.

Not schtick ... uber-aggressive workplace web-content blocking. The e-mail exchange text is apparently loading separately from the main body of text.

Figure out how to view it -- had to copy the entire web page into Word, of all things. The e-mail text was actually an image that was blocked from view. Yet I can capture that image as part of the overall web page, and copy it elsewhere and view it just fine.

 

[Doug B]

OK, read the e-mails.

Boston.com is wrong -- Edelman is not a singular doosh here. Duan doesn't come off looking a lot better.

Duan's first reply to Edelman should have been (a no-brainer for a restaurant, really) to make up the price difference to Edelman, no questions asked. Would've been a real shark play for Duan to comp the whole bill on the spot, truth be told.

Anyway, Edelman had to hammer on Duan a bit to get to the point of a refund offer at all. All the legal stuff about triple damages and whatnot ... yeah, dooshy. But Duan had essentially just blown Edelman off ... so, yeah, my inner doosh sympathizes more with Edelman than Duan.

 

[Christo]

I have no problem with thinking the guy has a beef. The owner acknowledged and offered the money back. Then they guy turns into the biggest ####### Ive never met. I would like to see if the prices were correct on the menu. And I said it before, if he already knew the prices, why didnt he bring it up when he went in there and paid. Why the dog and pony show after

Ego.

Leggo my Ego

 

[AcerFC]

OK, read the e-mails.

Boston.com is wrong -- Edelman is not a singular doosh here. Duan doesn't come off looking a lot better.

Duan's first reply to Edelman should have been (a no-brainer for a restaurant, really) to make up the price difference to Edelman, no questions asked. Would've been a real shark play for Duan to comp the whole bill on the spot, truth be told.

Anyway, Edelman had to hammer on Duan a bit to get to the point of a refund offer at all. All the legal stuff about triple damages and whatnot ... yeah, dooshy. But Duan had essentially just blown Edelman off ... so, yeah, my inner doosh sympathizes more with Edelman than Duan.

lawyers, amirite

 

[RBM]

Might have to get Chinese for lunch because of this.

 

[johnnycakes]

Might have to get Chinese for lunch because of this.

I think I'll go home and do the same.

 

[Doug B]

lawyers, amirite

Not a lawyer, myself, for what that's worth. I just think it's nowhere near as cut-and-dried a call as the boston.com article suggests. Edelman may wield a giant doosh-nozzle ... but IMHO Duan is not far behind. Or at best, Duan's business savvy had taken the day off.

 

[AcerFC]

lawyers, amirite

Not a lawyer, myself, for what that's worth. I just think it's nowhere near as cut-and-dried a call as the boston.com article suggests. Edelman may wield a giant doosh-nozzle ... but IMHO Duan is not far behind. Or at best, Duan's business savvy had taken the day off.

my notebook was wrong. sorry. I will make corrections

 

[GroveDiesel]

lawyers, amirite

Not a lawyer, myself, for what that's worth. I just think it's nowhere near as cut-and-dried a call as the boston.com article suggests. Edelman may wield a giant doosh-nozzle ... but IMHO Duan is not far behind. Or at best, Duan's business savvy had taken the day off.

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

I mean, the whole thing is bizarre just in that Edelman emailed him instead of just calling him up initially. Or going back in. Or noticing when he picked it up and paid.

 

[El Floppo]

lawyers, amirite

Not a lawyer, myself, for what that's worth. I just think it's nowhere near as cut-and-dried a call as the boston.com article suggests. Edelman may wield a giant doosh-nozzle ... but IMHO Duan is not far behind. Or at best, Duan's business savvy had taken the day off.

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

I mean, the whole thing is bizarre just in that Edelman emailed him instead of just calling him up initially. Or going back in. Or noticing when he picked it up and paid.

I wonder if it was the- "sure, here's your THREE dollars" that put him over the edge?

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

I skipped over about 2 pages of slap-fighting.

The link in the article is a little thin on what exactly happened. Was it that the menu prices on the website were out-of-date and the professor ended up paying more than expected?

I actually think the professor's beef is 100% legitimate ... and I think the restaurant would agree. People are piling onto the professor not for having this beef, but for his nuclear reaction, right? I do think the professor could've/should've talked to the restaurant about the issue and they'd have certainly worked with him. Having wrong prices on a website (or at least not having a "subject to change" disclaimer) is actually a pretry serious issue for a business, IMHO, and I think the proprietors would've appreciated that.

Its almost like you didn't read anything.

 

[jon_mx]

lawyers, amirite

Not a lawyer, myself, for what that's worth. I just think it's nowhere near as cut-and-dried a call as the boston.com article suggests. Edelman may wield a giant doosh-nozzle ... but IMHO Duan is not far behind. Or at best, Duan's business savvy had taken the day off.

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

I mean, the whole thing is bizarre just in that Edelman emailed him instead of just calling him up initially. Or going back in. Or noticing when he picked it up and paid.

I wonder if it was the- "sure, here's your THREE dollars" that put him over the edge?

I think that was because the Prof was actually looking at the wrong website.

 

[Doug B]

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

Duan has been in the U.S. since age three ... he is a fluent and, for all intents and purposes, a native English speaker.

I mean, the whole thing is bizarre just in that Edelman emailed him instead of just calling him up initially. Or going back in. Or noticing when he picked it up and paid.

Agreed a lot here ... the personal connection would've made a difference.

 

[johnnycakes]

I dunno... Duan sounds like he's got a little Rick Harrison in him in that email on 12-5 @ 5:27pm. You know the ol' quick handshake trick.... Seller wants $1,000; Rick only wants to pay $800... but Rick really wants the thing, so he acts like he's going to agree to the $1,000, sticks out his hand to shake on it, and then says, "ok, $900 it is."

I will honor the website price and honor you the $3.00

Ben really got a stick up his ### over that one.

 

[Doug B]

Its almost like you didn't read anything.

Hadn't read the e-mails when I posted that

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

https://www.facebook.com/bedelman?fref=ts

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Unreal, that reads like an Onion article. I bet that Edelman guy got beat up regularly as a kid.

I know he's not related but I still want to cut Julian from my FF team.

 

[El Floppo]

Unreal, that reads like an Onion article. I bet that Edelman guy got beat up regularly as a kid.

I know he's not related but I still want to cut Julian from my FF team.

screw that liberal dewsh.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

Harvard students are donating $4 to fight hunger to prove they're not all dooshes: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/10/donations-hungry-urged-amid-harvard-professor-chinese-food-fight/grehaVK4K86YKQjJcjgdMK/story.html

 

[jhib]

OK, read the e-mails.

Boston.com is wrong -- Edelman is not a singular doosh here. Duan doesn't come off looking a lot better.

Duan's first reply to Edelman should have been (a no-brainer for a restaurant, really) to make up the price difference to Edelman, no questions asked. Would've been a real shark play for Duan to comp the whole bill on the spot, truth be told.

Anyway, Edelman had to hammer on Duan a bit to get to the point of a refund offer at all. All the legal stuff about triple damages and whatnot ... yeah, dooshy. But Duan had essentially just blown Edelman off ... so, yeah, my inner doosh sympathizes more with Edelman than Duan.

While I would expect a business to offer the refund before being asked, I would only consider it doosh-level if they refused it after being asked. He agreed to a refund in his very next email, just not 3 times what he overcharged.

 

[TheIronSheik]

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

Duan has been in the U.S. since age three ... he is a fluent and, for all intents and purposes, a native English speaker.

 

[chet]

Harvard students are donating $4 to fight hunger to prove they're not all dooshes: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/12/10/donations-hungry-urged-amid-harvard-professor-chinese-food-fight/grehaVK4K86YKQjJcjgdMK/story.html

Good for them.

 

[Doug B]

While I would expect a business to offer the refund before being asked, I would only consider it doosh-level if they refused it after being asked. He agreed to a refund in his very next email, just not 3 times what he overcharged.

Yeah, but Duan undercut the amount (granted, only by a $1). Grove's right about making the phone call -- get all that kind of stuff worked out in the first 30 seconds.

Handled badly all around.

 

[Notorious T.R.E.]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-13/harvards-ben-edelman-web-sheriff-may-have-a-conflict-or-two

Interesting stuff.

 

[StrikeS2k]

This doosh reminds me of the judge, errr former judge, who went after a dry cleaners for $54 million:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062500443.html

 

[jon_mx]

While I would expect a business to offer the refund before being asked, I would only consider it doosh-level if they refused it after being asked. He agreed to a refund in his very next email, just not 3 times what he overcharged.

Yeah, but Duan undercut the amount (granted, only by a $1). Grove's right about making the phone call -- get all that kind of stuff worked out in the first 30 seconds.

Handled badly all around.

Because the prof was looking at the wrong website. Different locations had difference prices. I think the $3 was the correct amount and added to the frustration and confusion.

 

[Doug B]

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

Duan has been in the U.S. since age three ... he is a fluent and, for all intents and purposes, a native English speaker.

Someone can be a native speaker of multiple languages. Any languages acquired before and during toddlerhood (and generally, anytime before the onset of puberty) are fluently-spoken native languages.

 

[johnnycakes]

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-03-13/harvards-ben-edelman-web-sheriff-may-have-a-conflict-or-two

Interesting stuff.

This effing dipwad is 33 years old, in his 7th year of teaching at Harvard. Let's be honest. This arrogant ##### hasn't held a real job for one single day of his life. He makes his living by huffing and puffing about a bunch of theoretical crap that doesn't make one iota of difference. To any one. I hope he gets run over by a bus.

 

[Doug B]

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

Duan has been in the U.S. since age three ... he is a fluent and, for all intents and purposes, a native English speaker.

Someone can be a native speaker of multiple languages. Any languages acquired before and during toddlerhood (and generally, anytime before the onset of puberty) are fluently-spoken native languages.

 

[This_Guy]

https://www.facebook.com/bedelman?fref=ts

Guy's been in New Delhi for quite a while.

 

[TheIronSheik]

I'm not sure that Duan's English is all that great and that he understood everything right away.

Duan has been in the U.S. since age three ... he is a fluent and, for all intents and purposes, a native English speaker.

Someone can be a native speaker of multiple languages. Any languages acquired before and during toddlerhood (and generally, anytime before the onset of puberty) are fluently-spoken native languages.

You're assuming a lot here. Do you think he was faking the non-fluent accent and writing in his emails?

 

[Doug B]

Because the prof was looking at the wrong website. Different locations had difference prices. I think the $3 was the correct amount and added to the frustration and confusion.

Interesting to note, but not enough for me to give Duan a pass. His business sense should ahve kicked in there.

Also, reading through the e-mails kind of kills the "wrong website" explanation -- Edelman points out that the addresses for both locations are on whatver website he was looking at. The source of the info that there even is another website is Dua himself, and he notes that it was down at the time.

It wasn't like looking at Domino's website, and being unhappy with Papa John's about the price differentials.