“Ali”, the serial refund scammer at Nourish Cafe, Aug 9, 2016
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 SFPDRichmondStation@sfgov.org.
Sarah B.
Ugh I hope he gets eternal diarrhea. Shame on him.
Glad the merchants are banding together and helping each other. What a terrible man!
It’s hard enough to stay profitable with the cost of leases and commercial space in this neighborhood, then to have someone scam you out of a decent amount of $$$ is horrible. Glad this is out there.
Sick Gracie on him.
Nice sleuthing!!
What a piece a sh*t!!
Wow, what a scumbag loser, happy the merchants share info like this with each other.
Yuck, looooooser…he probably steals, scams & extorts decent folks in all kinds of creative ways.
So what is the best way to handle this? Take his picture with an iphone, then maybe walk out and take a picture of his license plate? Call the cops?
Hi Jer –
If you encounter Ali, call the Richmond Station at (415) 666-8000 and tell them his location (case number is #160646860 if you want to refer to it). They can then make the decision about how they want to proceed. Thanks!
I interviewed with you guys before you opened and you were great….I loved reading this story of professionalism defeating a slug conman and your broadcasting of the incident. Glad Nourish is thriving!
Ask for ID and take a picture of it. Make it a standard refund procedure.
Lol its kind of funny to me “serial scammer” i thought there was a serial killer in our neighborhood first glance… Should change the tittle lol. But shame on him. How about just tell him ” no you didnt order here leave or we’ll call the cops” makes more sense.
He’s probably doing this all over town. Picks a day, goes to 20-30 places, 4 or 5 decide to pay him just to shut him up and get him out. Nice bit of easy spending money just for being an a#*^+€£!!
Thanks for publicizing. Just added deets to my Addr Book so I’ll always have it on me.
I am positive I saw this guy on the 38 Wednesday. He was having an argument with Walgreens, very aggressive. Clearly trying to get something from them. He had a woman with him and I think was using her phone as the heart motif case was at odds with his appearance. Maybe trying other targets if the eateries are on to him.
This guy has been to Noah’s and AG Ferrarri up in Laurel Village as well
This guys name is ammad I know him personally dident know he did this part time what a loser,
Pretty sure he and his family are regulars where I used to work in the sunset. Gypsies. They all do con artist crap like this.
I would suggest all the stores put a DO NOT REFUND/WANTED BY POLiCE person picture on their register area …use the photo from this site…spread the word so this criminal gets caught!
It’s evident that Ali made a huge mistake when he tried to pull a fast one on Brighton, Sarah and the Nourish crew. I think Ali would have thought twice about trying to swindle Nourish had he known in advance with who he was collectively messing with. Not only does Nourish have so many weapons at its disposal in countering the attempted fraud, such as the recording video camera in place, a customer ordering system which has a past transaction recall option, and an intelligent crew, but I read the tweet posted last night by Sarah that noted Channel 7 in San Francisco had picked up-and broadcast-her posting of Ali’s attempted scams throughout The Richmond. Now the entire Bay Area has been made aware of his past bamboozling schemes. Ali clearly tried to scam the wrong entrepreneurs, and through their (as well as the Nourish crew’s) brilliant defensive actions, Ali might be wise to take his scamming far from San Francisco Or better yet, use this as a wake-up call, end his deceitful ways and begin leading a righteous, non-scamming life. Well played, Nourish.
Why don’t you just tell him he can’t get a refund with out proof and send him away its that easy no one is makeing you give him money or food.
@Randall
I also saw the the story was on Yahoo so now he’s getting INTERNATIONAL attention!!
He can run….he’ll just die tired….
Frank,
If you know this man, Ammad, can you call me at 310-975-4812 or email me at ross.palombo@foxtv.com , please?
Ross Palombo
KTVU 2
This is a family of gypsies. Part of their “cartel” can be found on bart begging, in and around malls with their children – begging, around places of religion etc. watchout
Hi Ammad, next time you try this crap, expect cops to be there. Thief.
Nourish is to be complimented for their aggressive approach to reporting this criminal to other merchants, the police and the media. Thank you.
He has been doing this for years. First came into our place about 4 years ago. He’s got a scam that works. I wouldn’t have as much a problem with it if he wasn’t such a rude prick. If he was a bit more polite he would have gotten away with it. But, he just keeps calling every six months and gets really angry when you tell him that he has already gotten his cash from us and not to call again.
I warned Ella’s on Sunday about this scum.
I also warned Royal Ground on Clement about this scum.
What a looser! Fat M.F. I wouldn’t give anyone a dime without a receipt!!
Crazy I know this guy personally. His name is qualid. Lives by clement. Instagram name is hairweavepulla_415. Always showing off food money and brand things.
Yes, PLEASE do not give money to the women in long dresses that you see usually on or near BART with cardboard signs and children who suspiciously never cry (and furthermore forcing a child to beg is abusive); they are all connected == they think this is funny because it is their way of life, to them people who work hard are rubes. They are a type of Roma (or Travelers, the more PC or accurate term for “gypsies”). We used to also get these people in Papyrus, where they pretend they gave you a bigger bill than they really did; this is why I always state the amount that I am handed BEFORE making change, but still they tried to scam.
Sarah, you may want to inquire what happened at the former hair salon near Ashley’s that turned into a “psychic/tarot reader” briefly before a big incident with many animals, and children, and family running around (with furniture all over the sidewalk) as they were kicked out over a period of hours.