It’s time for another update about “Willem” and the small, cheerless restaurant on Zoutmanstraat in The Hague. After we visited the restaurant in order to deliver a letter to the tip-thieving boss, he didn’t remain silent for long. Just a few days later, we received a very “special” email. First of all, roughly 100€ in overdue wages would immediately be transferred to William. Sadly, this was the only positive aspect of the entire email. The rest of the message consisted of incoherent whining about how the proprietor did not want to be “manipulated”. Furthermore, Willem was not considered an employee with rights, but merely a “lil student” who supposedly delivered very careless work. This was apparently so bad that it disrupted and endangered the operations of the restaurant. This was why no tips had been paid out.
However, we had strong doubts as to the veracity of this narrative. Firstly, Willem never had any serious problems in the workplace. He successfully passed his trial period, and the biggest mistakes he made afterwards were small incidents such as dropping a fork. The tales of his supposed incompetence “coincidentally” took place in the period during which he occasionally asked critical questions about his payslips. Therefore, it seems like the owner of this eatery made up an excuse in order to get rid of a “difficult” worker (read: someone who doesn’t let the boss walk all over him). Even if we ignore this coincidence, it is in no way legal to withhold tips as a punitive measure. Additionally, we know that Willem isn’t the only worker whose payslips had been messed with. Fun detail: while all of this was going on, the restaurant posted a tearful story on Facebook, whining about how everything had gotten more expensive. This was used as an excuse to raise the price of a meal at this oh-so-fine establishment. The owner has a lot of pity, but it’s all self-pity! When we pointed out the owner’s hypocrisy and crocodile tears, our reply was quickly deleted. Imagine how terribly awful it would be if your customers knew how you exploit your workers. Altogether utterly pathetic.