On the afternoon of August 16, according to media reports, a consumer in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province filed a complaint against a local Haidilao restaurant regarding pricing discrepancies for the same spicy hot pot product across different platforms.

According to the report, the consumer had purchased a Meituan promotional coupon for Haidilao, which was advertised as valid citywide. However, when attempting to use the coupon, the consumer discovered that the Haidilao Yitian store had marked the dry-style spicy hot pot as "sold out," preventing the coupon from being used. The consumer stated, "When I tried to use the coupon, I found that the Haidilao Yitian store was playing tricks, showing that this dry-style spicy hot pot was sold out and the coupon couldn't be used."

The consumer then checked the same Haidilao location on Taobao Flash Purchase and found that the identical dry-style spicy hot pot was still available for purchase. "On Flash Purchase, it costs around 30 yuan, while the Meituan promotional coupon was only 22 yuan. It's the same spicy hot pot at the same Haidilao store - the expensive Flash Purchase option is available, but the cheaper Meituan option shows as sold out."

As of publication, Haidilao has not provided an official response to this complaint.