A disagreement between a customer and a hairdresser has boggled the minds of many after footage of the dispute was shared online.
A woman in China went to her local salon for a quick haircut but when going to pay, she realised she had left her wallet at home.
The woman asked the owner if she could borrow 100 Chinese yuan (CNY), assuring him that she lived nearby and would come right back to repay him.
The reluctant shop owner eventually agreed and the woman used the 100 CNY to pay for the 30 CNY haircut, then pocketed the leftover 70 CNY as change.
Shortly afterwards, the customer returned and gave the hair salon owner his 100 CNY back.
But the owner became suspicious, arguing that the woman gave him back the 100 CNY he had lent her, but still hadn’t paid for the haircut.
She insisted she had already paid for the haircut with the money he lent her, to which the owner responded that it was his money to begin with.
The woman put her foot down, saying she was now paying it back, and she didn’t see a problem.
A Chinese woman went to her local salon to get a haircut, but asked to borrow some money from the owner when she realised she’d left her purse at home (Pictured: CCTV of the incident)
Irritated, the woman left the shop. Security footage of the incident has since gone viral, with swathes of internet users debating on who of the two parties is in the right.
Some commenters believe the shop owner is correct, with one offering no explanation other than: ‘The man is right.’
Another agreed, writing: ‘She borrowed 100, returned the 100, but didn’t pay for the service that cost 30. How is this fair?’
And a third emphatic commenter followed the same line of reasoning, saying: ‘No, they have not paid everything they owed. Initially, they owed 30 and then borrowed an additional 100 to pay that debt.
‘Returning the 100 they borrowed only covers the loan, not the initial debt of 30 they still owe. Therefore, they still owe the 30 they borrowed to cover the initial debt’
However, many commenters failed to register that the woman did in fact pay the owner 30 CNY before leaving. She then returned and paid him an additional 100 to cover the cost of the loan.
Simply put, the owner lent the woman 100, and was owed 30 for the haircut. She gave him 30 of his own money, then 100 on top of that after returning which totals 130 – meaning her debt is cleared.
‘Yeah, she doesn’t owe him anything,’ one person said. ‘She borrowed 100 and returned 100, while also paying for the 30 haircut on top.’
Now, the pay dispute has gone viral, with hundreds of thousands of internet users divided over who is in the right
The video sparked furious debate in the comments, with responders firmly standing their ground
Others agreed, with another writing: ‘So let’s do the maths: The barber initially gave her 100. She gave him back 100 (repaying the loan in full). He also received 30 for the haircut. Therefore, the barber has been paid in full.’
The video sparked furious debate in the comments, with some people firmly standing their ground.
‘I’m losing brain cells reading these comments,’ joked one person.
‘She doesn’t owe him anything. She left the store with 70 and she gave him 100 when she came back. 100 + the 30 she gave him earlier is 130. She paid him his money.’
More skilled mathematicians tried to break it down simply to convince the naysayers.
‘It’s not that hard. Let’s rephrase it. She borrowed 70 from the barber. The next day she returns with 100, which means she gave the barber 30,’ one wrote.
It’s a basic problem that has tripped up hundreds of thousands online – and one person further questioned: ‘Why would he even let her borrow money and pay him his own money?’
