Recently, Eric, the owner of the Spanish restaurant chain Kalavia, reported that two of his branches have experienced a series of unfortunate events over the past month, including a significant theft and multiple cases of customers dining and dashing, leading to a cumulative financial loss of €600.
Cambrils Branch: A Week’s Worth of Tips Stolen
The most significant loss occurred at the Kalavia branch in Cambrils. According to reports, a Colombian man took advantage of a brief moment when a waitress went to the kitchen to retrieve supplies. He stole a tip jar containing approximately €400 in cash from the bar. This money represented the entire staff’s hard-earned tips accumulated over a week. The incident happened during a busy period, with a local international music festival and a weekly market taking place, and the staff had been anticipating a good reward for their efforts, only to have it stolen.
Reus Branch: Three Dine-and-Dashes in One Month
Meanwhile, the branch in Reus has also been plagued by problems, suffering three separate dine-and-dash incidents in just one month.
In the first incident, a man on a scooter left without paying after running up a €30 bill, taking advantage of an inattentive staff member.
Subsequently, a family racked up a €70 bill and evaded payment by claiming they needed to go to an ATM. They left one by one and never returned.
The most recent case was more straightforward: a group of young people simply walked out together without paying their €100 bill.
Owner’s Outrage: A Disregard for Staff’s Hard Work
In response to the string of thefts and dine-and-dash incidents, owner Eric expressed his strong outrage. He stated that more than the financial loss, what angers him is the complete disregard and disrespect shown by the perpetrators for the hard work of restaurant industry staff. He emphasized that all employees, whether in the kitchen or front-of-house, deserve basic respect for their daily sweat and effort, and should not be treated with such malice.
