Haagen-Dazs, the internationally-famed ice-cream brand has been feeling the heat recently after some of its products were reported to have been short weighted to customers in several outlets nationwide.

One customer, surnamed Long, and who works for a food sales company, told China Business News (CBN) that he often invites clients to their outlets where they discuss business.

Dining at the Binjiang outlet in Pudong New Area on one occasion, he felt sure his order had been under weighed which the waitress then confirmed and apologized for.

Long was hastily given a VIP card before he left.

However, the same thing happened when he visited the store during the National Day holiday. Tipped off by Long, a CBN reporter discovered the problem was prevalent at outlets in both Beijing and Shanghai.

The error in weight was found to be up to 18 grams, causing a financial loss to the consumer of about 7 yuan ($1.1). A staff member told the paper that a margin for error of five grams was permissible according to the company's regulations.

The reporter found that in every outlet he visited, all of the orders were approximated by hand, even though each store was equipped with an electronic weigher that was usually locked away in a cupboard.

A staff member at the outlet in People's Square said that they were not obliged to use the weigher unless requested to by a customer.

As the cornerstone of any commercial enterprise, honesty is as vital to an ordinary street vendor as it is to multinational brand like Haagen-Dazs.

The company has now officially admitted its guilt, but has refused to apologize. In a statement it posted on Sina Weibo, it said the problem was caused by inexperience on the part of new staff, and they stressed that they did attach great importance to such matters.

However, I find it hard to believe that such mismanagement could have been going on for so long without being noticed. And if it hadn't been for a very few eagle-eyed customer, would we have ever learnt of this problem in the first place?

Haagen-Dazs is a high-profile luxury brand in China. Most of its outlets are in CBDs, department stores and airports in the country's major cities.

The Kunming Daily reported its prices in China are at least three times higher than they are in the UK. People naturally have high expectations for such a high price tag.

It is the loss to the image of such a prestigious brand in the eyes of the public that does far more harm than the few yuan a single customer might lose.

I believe the company should make a full and sincere apology and find ways to make sure this situation never arises again. A good, first step would be to require all staff to use the electronic weighing machines when serving out orders. In this way there can be no margin for error.

Last, but not least, I would urge quality supervision authorities to step in, investigate and punish any violations against consumer law and regulations. And the results of any such investigations should be made known to the public.