Japan Today
crime

Uber Eats delivery worker arrested for smearing curry on apartment door of customer who gave him low rating

45 Comments

Police in Tokyo have arrested a delivery worker for the food order app Uber Eats on suspicion of throwing curry on the apartment door of a customer on two occasions last month.

According to police, the incidents occurred at an apartment building in Toshima Ward on Oct 12 and Oct 13, Kyodo News reported. Police said the customer, a woman in her 20s, gave the delivery worker, Takuma Ichikawa, 27, a poor rating after he made a delivery on Oct 12. The review did not specify why the woman was dissatisfied.

Police said that later that day, after learning he had been given a low rating, Ichikawa returned to the apartment building and smeared curry on the door of the customer’s apartment.

Ichikawa was arrested on Nov 14 after surveillance camera footage showed him entering the apartment building twice on Oct 12 and once on Oct 13. Police said that Ichikawa has remained silent since his arrest.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

45 Comments
Login to comment

How not to curry favour with the customers!

27 ( +28 / -1 )

Weirdo! Glad he was caught. I always prefer to have my reviews(for restaurants, hotels, etc.) anonymous with not much details on when I bought something or what I ordered. I have known people being harassed after leaving negative reviews via phone or e-mail.

1 ( +7 / -6 )

I guess it was expected from the very irrational reaction of the accused to a negative rating, but it seems terribly obvious he would have been caught, not only because of the camera footage, but because he was the prime suspect of vandalism using food the same day he got a bad rating, and since Uber eats has all his information it was just a question of time before he would get caught. The only surprising part is that it took this long for him to be arrested.

4 ( +8 / -4 )

So the low rating proves accurate...

22 ( +26 / -4 )

Is that really an arrestable offence? Seems some cops have too much time on their hands to waste it on this. How about solving some actual crime?

-8 ( +6 / -14 )

To be a dog walking past that door.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Most of Uber workers seem fine to me, but I've seen a bit of everything here in Tokyo.

From eyebrow-less gang type teenagers riding their loud flashy obnoxious scooters, to otaku-type overweight men in sandals and even long bearded ojiisan you could mistake for a shaolin monk straight out of ancient china. I read on Uber eats google maps review a few months ago people complaining some workers have 0 social skills, to the point of instead saying "arigatou gozaimashita" and the sort, some ppl simply hide in the corner and stick their arms through the door so the clients can get their food lol

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I always tip delivery drivers as they make next to nothing, and I delivered pizzas while at uni. Even someone waiting for their 5 cents change really annoyed me,

4 ( +9 / -5 )

I'd be happy it was just curry. Could have looked liked curry but been alot worse. Much worse.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

Was it really curry?

2 ( +4 / -2 )

WeiWeiToday  05:43 pm JST

Is that really an arrestable offence?

Really? You don’t think vandalism and intimidation at the home of a lone female are arrestable offences? I imagine the woman was really quite scared. That’s no small matter.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Police said that Ichikawa has remained silent since his arrest.

Glad to see no confession on the accused's part.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

What a d head

4 ( +7 / -3 )

What was his thought process here exactly? Did he think smearing curry all over the poor woman's apartment door would up his rating? He clearly didn't learn the proper way to curry favor from his customers nor understand that most buildings nowadays are fashioned with surveillance cameras. Poor choices all around.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Did anyone bother to ask the lady why did she give the man Low Rating?? there has to be a reason or may be NO reason just to screw up his carrier. Many E commerce sites will demand that you explain why you choose a Low Rating or they will NOT post it.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

To be a dog walking past that door.

That made me laugh, thank you

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Not to defend what he did but I imagine these gig economy jobs where your livelihood depends on constantly being rated must drive some people crazy. It's not a healthy work environment.

15 ( +16 / -1 )

The gig economy is just a huge company dodge. They put everything on the worker, and say they're self employed. Well its a pity that, these so called self employed workers can't increase their delivery fees, and get a decent salary. Uber, et al,will soon be called to book, to pay their workers pensions, insurance, and sick pay.

It's just a company scam. Imagine if the teachers, nurses, docs, sales staff worked on the same basis, and just logged in for work on an iPhone, and chose their own hours of work, Everyone could be classed as self employed.

8 ( +10 / -2 )

@finally rich Welcome to Japan now you have a choice!!

Most of Uber workers seem fine to me, but I've seen a bit of everything here in Tokyo.

From eyebrow-less gang type teenagers riding their loud flashy obnoxious scooters, to otaku-type overweight men in sandals and even long bearded ojiisan you could mistake for a shaolin monk straight out of ancient china. I read on Uber eats google maps review a few months ago people complaining some workers have 0 social skills, to the point of instead saying "arigatou gozaimashita" and the sort, some ppl simply hide in the corner and stick their arms through the door so the clients can get their food lol

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

We do not know how things went and the guy could just be slightly nuts, but truth is there is huge trend of customers on Uber eats clicking on a decent tip at the moment of the order, which can make a delivery worker decide a certain run is worth or not the time (as the delivery fee itself is ridiculously low), and then: hop, after the delivery just give a bad rating and ´edit’ the tip, making it zero. If your livelihood depends on driving around for hours, sometimes in the rain, to put together 100¥ after 100¥, that kind of client might make you lose it.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

This is where unbridled capitalism inevitably takes you. Exploited workers taking it out on their customers and the evisceration of hard won social capital accumulated in saner times and now being sacrificed on the altar of expedience and venality. If ever there was a case for government intervention, the dysfunctional exploitative gig economy is surely it. Either much greater oversight, or governments utilising their own resources to nurture socially responsible public companies that funnel profits back to the people and not to corporate cliques.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

HA! This is the kind of news I came here for. Made my week! I knew some of them were like us! I just knew it!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I have had stones throwed to my shop window, had several times found dog pu in the front door step. There are cameras around but i have never complaint to the police. Now, i think that is a gender hate case for sure. Just clean the dirt and move on, leave the comments right for others, you just interacted with the guy like 1 minute. What a no matter news.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Once again, smearing curry on a door, a tragic news get national headline, proving that Tokyo is one of the safest cities of the world..

-8 ( +1 / -9 )

Once again, smearing curry on a door, a tragic news get national headline, proving that Tokyo is one of the safest cities of the world..

"smearing curry on a door" is not the part that gets headlines, probably children do that by accident very frequently, doing it on purpose, to harass or intimidate someone is the part that is important.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Glad no tip is expected in Japan. Else who knows what could happens with low tippers.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Police said that Ichikawa has remained silent since his arrest.

As with most perps in Japan, I guess he had no recollection of doing it.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

That’s what you get when people are treated like things rather than people.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

As with most perps in Japan, I guess he had no recollection of doing it.

As with most perps in Japan, I guess his tried and true, winning defence argument will be that he had no recollection of doing it.

There, fixed it for you.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

How did Ichikawa know which delivery it was that had given him the low rating? Did he figure it out because he realized that there had been a problem with that delivery earlier that day? Uber Eats is simply opening the door to incidents like this if it indeed allows the deliverer and/of food preparer to see specifically which customers gave bad reviews.

It would be safer to simply not rate any orders or deliveries if you don't want sp*t in your food. Or, better yet, don't use Uber Eats at all. They apparently keep 40% of the fee you pay for the food (not even including delivery charges), so restaurants have to either prepare orders at a loss or reduce food quantities.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

I can't say that I agree with what Ichikawa san did however I can say from experience, I really understand what and why he did it.

Without boring you with details, I will tell you these two facts:

1) 95% or more of the Japanese customers that you deliver to have got to be the rudest customers in the world.

2) As a rule, almost all foreigners that you deliver to are understanding and very polite.

This is not a racist comment. Once again, I am telling you from experience.

You have to have a very hard mindset for this delivery business and even still, it really gets to you with how bad the Japanese customers treat you both directly and undirectly.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You have to have a very hard mindset for this delivery business and even still, it really gets to you with how bad the Japanese customers treat you both directly and undirectly.

Anecdotal evidence to be sure, but all the Japanese people I know that use services like Uber Eats refuse to leave any tip, while I (non-Japanese) always tip at least a nominal 5% or 10%.

The separate delivery charges are usually not very generous, and I am not even sure that all of them go to the deliverer. (Charges for the food order itself are usually quite high, but from my understanding 60% of the food charges go to the restaurant, and the remaining 40% go to Uber Eats the corporation and not the deliverer.)

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yikes. Let's hope this is not what 'no contact delivery' turns into...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Not defending the guy but alot of people give bad rating to the driver when they don't like the food thinking that is what you are supposed to do.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I give bad ratings to all Uber. Always blocking the road. Scratching cars. No like Uber.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

gogogo:

Not defending the guy but alot of people give bad rating to the driver when they don't like the food thinking that is what you are supposed to do.

Mostly the Japanese customers will give you a bad rating for anything at all. Just because they are having a bad day. It could be because of the food, it could be because you are a few minutes late in their mind regardless of if the restaurant had the order ready or not or they had an argument with their spouse.

You could be very polite, give them their order in a very nice manner, wish them a nice day (they will almost never say hello or anything to you) and they will give you a bad posting.

Too be honest with you, it is very aggravating and upsetting when you know that you made the perfect delivery in a timely manner and they still give you a bad rating. To make things worse, Uber will threaten to shut off the drivers account if he gets too many of these.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Sounds like bad Korma.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

there is huge trend of customers on Uber eats clicking on a decent tip at the moment of the order,

As tipping is not typically done or expected in Japan, that particular trickery has probably not taken hold here to any extent.

Although, on the rare occasion that I have used Uber Eats, I tip generously, as it's a pretty far distance for the delivery person to travel, especially when they're on bicycle.

They apparently keep 40% of the fee you pay for the food (not even including delivery charges), so restaurants have to either prepare orders at a loss or reduce food quantities.

In the US, I believe it's 30%, which is still a ridiculously high referral fee. I would have thought it was similar here. That is why the cost of menu items is always higher in the Uber Eats app/webpage than if you were to order directly from the restaurant. That is why I usually order directly from restaurants that have their own delivery services, or order from them directly for pickup, rather than using Uber Eats. (Both here in Japan and back in the US.)

I always tip delivery drivers as they make next to nothing, and I delivered pizzas while at uni. Even someone waiting for their 5 cents change really annoyed me,

Tipping is not typically done in Japan, except in rare instances, such as for your ryokan attendant. However, I have generously tipped my Uber Eats deliverers on the few occasions I have used the service.

I wonder if the deliverers are happy to see a Western name as the recipient, knowing they have a better chance of being tipped than with a Japanese customer?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

How did Ichikawa know which delivery it was that had given him the low rating? Did he figure it out because he realized that there had been a problem with that delivery earlier that day? Uber Eats is simply opening the door to incidents like this if it indeed allows the deliverer and/of food preparer to see specifically which customers gave bad reviews.

I was wondering the same thing. I don't believe they show the individual customer's delivery rating to the deliverers. He probably deduced it from his ratings and the deliveries he did that day.

FYI, deliverers can see the customer's rating. (Yes, customers are also rated by the drivers, at least with the Ride app. I assume it's the same for the Eats app.) This allows drivers/deliverers to ignore orders from low-rated customers. At least it used to be that way, which is a good thing.

When I drove Uber and Lyft for a short while back in the US for some extra cash after retiring (I stopped because it wasn't worth my time for the money, as they kept reducing the drivers' share of the fare), I would always rate a customer 1-star if they didn't tip, which was standard practice. Even if they tipped, I would reduce stars for bad attitudes, disrespect of the vehicle, low tipping, and so forth.

I wouldn't accept any pings for requests from customers rated below 4.5 stars, either. A customer must really do something bad to get less than 5 stars for each ride/delivery. I also did a few food deliveries, if I wasn't getting many ride pings. (Ride drivers in the US can also accept Eats orders, if they want.) I would reject under-4.5-star customers for those, as well as McDonalds and other fast food orders, as they weren't worth the time they took for what were always low tips, if you even got tipped at all, which was rare with fast food orders.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I can't say that I agree with what Ichikawa san did however I can say from experience, I really understand what and why he did it.

Without boring you with details, I will tell you these two facts:

1) 95% or more of the Japanese customers that you deliver to have got to be the rudest customers in the world.

2) As a rule, almost all foreigners that you deliver to are understanding and very polite.

This is not a racist comment. Once again, I am telling you from experience.

You have to have a very hard mindset for this delivery business and even still, it really gets to you with how bad the Japanese customers treat you both directly and undirectly.

This is very interesting. I was in customer service a long time ago in another country. I have always wondered how Japanese customers are compared to customers in Western countries. I've seen difficult customers at conbinis and supermarkets. Some young Japanese tell me about difficult customers they deal with at the convenience stores they work at. I'm guessing they are possibly more demanding and more rude than customers in Western countries. What Ichikawa did was wrong but I can understand how he felt. Dealing with customers is not easy at times.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Garypen:

Tipping is not typically done in Japan, except in rare instances, such as for your ryokan attendant. However, I have generously tipped my Uber Eats deliverers on the few occasions I have used the service.

I wonder if the deliverers are happy to see a Western name as the recipient, knowing they have a better chance of being tipped than with a Japanese customer?

 

Happy to see a Western Name, not because of tips but because of the consideration that they usually give a driver. Uber drivers here don’t expect much except for consideration and respect.

 

Garypen:

FYI, deliverers can see the customer's rating. (Yes, customers are also rated by the drivers, at least with the Ride app. I assume it's the same for the Eats app.) This allows drivers/deliverers to ignore orders from low-rated customers. At least it used to be that way, which is a good thing.

 

In Japan, the drivers cannot see the customer’s rating. The only thing that the drivers here can see is when they have been given a thumbs up or a thumbs down from a customer or from a restaurant. You can sometimes tell who it is from if it comes right after a pick up or a drop off. But some restaurants and customers wait until later. Anyways, the drivers in Japan cannot see ahead of time if the customer is good or not.

Once again, it is not about tipping. Those come once in a blue moon. All the drivers here want is some courtesy. Almost every single Japanese customer is nothing but completely rude.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Man : What's your secret ingredient?

Uber eats guy : Hit the door!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"smearing curry on a door" is not the part that gets headlines,

It's the part that gets, and is, the headline here:

Uber Eats delivery worker arrested for smearing curry on apartment door of customer who gave him low rating

probably children do that by accident very frequently,

Children in Japan are not known for their frequently smearing curry on doors.

Neighbor to neighbor: Hey Akira---your kid smeared curry on my door again!! That's the third time this week!!

Akira to son: I told you more than 20 times already--Don't smear curry on people's doors. Or if you do, make it look like an accident.

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

It's the part that gets, and is, the headline here:

No, it is not, else that headline would be repeated endlessly since it can be produced very easily as an accident, specially in houses with children.

How many of those headlines have you seen?

Children in Japan are not known for their frequently smearing curry on doors.

Can you prove this? children everywhere are known to produce accidents and smear food around if left unattended, what proof do you have that Japanese children never do that?

It is not reported because differently from the incident in this article it has no real importance and it is not meant to harass or intimidate someone, That is the reason it does not make headlines.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

If UberEats operates the same way they do in the UK as they do around the world then the delivery driver shouldn't of worried about it.

If the restaurant pack the wrong food or miss an item, when the customer complains in the app it goes against the couriers rating. Uber suggests we open sealed bags given to us by the restaurants to check codes. But the restaurants insist we don't open the sealed bads and the courier might also think its unhygienic to be in the bag. Me personally I make the restaurant or takeaway put the bag with the order ID in my thermal bag, then the customer takes it out again. I had no contact with the food then.

I have been receiving bad reviews for 6 years and still have a job. My satisfaction rating is 95% out of 500. So 5% is 25 complaints. But how many are actually against me or the takeaway which never will receive the complaint from the customer.
0 ( +0 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites