On Tuesday, August 9, the man pictured above came into Nourish Cafe, saying that he had a problem with his meal the day before and wanted a refund. He was well-dressed, friendly and said he had ordered a sandwich (which he claimed was very dry), a salad and an Acai bowl. When pressed further, he said there was a hair in his food.

The cashier began looking up the order and was unable to locate it in our system. So that’s when they called me and the man got on the phone. He was highly agitated, and when I said “we were closed on Monday” he snapped back with “You misheard me, I said I was here on SUNDAY.” He demanded his refund for what was now three salads. I explained that he could leave his contact information and as soon as I verified the order, and the story was confirmed by my Sunday cashier, I would send him a refund. He got more and more aggressive, stating he would not leave the premises until he got his refund.

After about 10 minutes of beratement, my staff took the phone back and ended the conversation. He eventually left (not before hurling an expletive at my co-owner) and after conferring with staff, we quickly concluded he was lying.

So I decided to send an alert out to the Clement Street Merchants Association, and that’s when it got really interesting. It turns out that he tries this scam all over the Richmond District, and has been at it for several years.

This man, who calls himself “Ali”, has tried this scam at 6 other Richmond District restaurants that we know of. His m.o. is the same – he will call first, stating he had a bad experience and wants a refund. If he is told to come in, he arrives and gets belligerent and bullies the restaurant staff until he gets his refund, or gives up and leaves.

“He tried this with us once before and just like he did with you today, he came in to claim his refund. The items he said he purchased kept changing and he even changed the day he said he purchased them. He left without much of a fight. Used the same name, Ali, that day,” said Alison Okabayashi, owner of Pretty Please Bakeshop on 3rd Avenue.

The story was the same at Heartbaker on Clement near 15th Avenue.

“He called in saying he had an order messed up the day before (on a Monday- which we are closed on). When I told him this he changed his story to Sunday instead. Said his name was Ali and that he was Muslim and his family had ordered food that came with bacon on it and he was extremely offended. Also said his salmon Benedict was under cooked (it’s SMOKED salmon, not cooked to begin with). After I questioned this inconsistency he exclaimed that he had found a long hair in his food as well,” said Dani from Heartbaker.

Even the venerable Schubert’s Bakery on Clement has had multiple run-ins with this scammer. Owner Valerie Wenzel says they capitulated to him the first time, refunding hm $40 when he claimed his cake collapsed and he found a long black hair in it.

“None of our cakes have collapsed before,” Valerie said.

Since then, he has continued to call Schubert’s and demand refunds but staff have been able to thwart his visits.

“He called again; his story had changed again and the cake was even bigger and more expensive. After that I called him back and told him we couldn’t refund him without any proof. He has not been back since. He called himself Ali when he requested a refund,” Valerie said.

We received confirmation from Giorgio’s Pizzeria, Angelina’s Cafe, and Simple Pleasures Cafe that they have had encounters with the same man.

“That’s the same guy that has been trying to get a refund at our place as well. We actually did give him a refund the first time he asked for one – but that was 3 years ago!” said Angie Rando, owner of Angelina’s Cafe on California and 22nd Avenue.

Today we filed a police report about the incident at Nourish Cafe (report #160646860) with the SFPD Richmond District station. The crime is classified as attempted “theft by trick or device”. “Ali” is about 6-2″ tall, 250 pounds.

If you have more information about this man, or have had similar interactions with him, please contact the Richmond District station at (415) 666-8000 or [email protected].

Sarah B.