Harvard Professor and $4 War Against Chinese Food Restaurant
Ben Edelman
Credit: Twitter
At first I thought this news was a joke. But it was real. A Harvard professor named Ben Edelman was fighting against Ran Duan of Sichuan Garden restaurant in Brookline over a $4 food charge.
Last week, Edelman ordered Chinese food he thought was $53.35 worth. However, he realized that he was overcharged by a total of $4.
Note: Ben Edelman graduated summa cum laude from Harvard College, got a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University, and a law degree from Harvard Law School.
What happens next is detailed in the following email exchanges via Boston:
Ray Duan:
Ben Edelman: He demanded a refund thrice the amount of the overcharge.
The email exchanges continued with no resolution. Ben Edelman ended the conversation with an email that said “I have already referred this matter to applicable authorities in order to attempt to compel your restaurant to identify all costumers affected and to provide refunds to all of them, or in any event to assure that an appropriate sacntion is applied as provided by law.”
How Edelman handled the situation didn’t sit well with observers. In fact, Harvard Business School students launched a campaign to ask members of the public to donate $4 – the amount Edelman claimed to have been overcharged – to the Greater Boston Food Bank. The campaign description says:
Negative stereotypes of Harvard and HBS were reinforced by an article in Boston.com about a $4 dispute between an HBS professor and a small business owner.
In accordance with our community values, we are calling on all Harvard students to flip the script by donating $4 to provide food for those in need.
All donations will be given to The Greater Boston Food Bank, which will match all donations received before December 31.
The campaign now raised close to $3000.
Update: Harvard Business School associate professor Ben Edelman has apologized to Sichuan Garden Chinese restaurant and Ran Duan through his personal website.
Many people have seen my emails with Ran Duan of Sichuan Garden restaurant in Brookline.
Having reflected on my interaction with Ran, including what I said and how I said it, it’s clear that I was very much out of line. I aspire to act with great respect and humility in dealing with others, no matter what the situation. Clearly I failed to do so. I am sorry, and I intend to do better in the future.
I have reached out to Ran and will apologize to him personally as well.