HALIFAX – A downtown Halifax restaurant is warning other businesses in the area after someone stole the tip jar off its counter.
Around 7 p.m. on Thursday, workers at Indochine on Barrington Street encountered a tip thief.
Aya Nakajima was behind the counter making sandwiches at the fusion restaurant when a young man came in asking for a glass of water.
“At the time, we didn’t know what was going on. Then I realized two hours later than our tip [jar] was stolen.”
Nakajima estimates there was only $15 in the tip jar, but the incident left her unsettled.
Indochine Owner Liz Smith said this is the first time someone has swiped the tip jar from the restaurant, which also has another location on South Park Street.
“I definitely think it was unnerving for the employees,” she said, “They were pretty upset.”
Get breaking National news
“I guess they just wanted to oblige him and be nice to him. That was a way for him to be able to steal the tips.”
Smith said she has since sent out an email to staff telling them to keep an eye on customers when they enter the store, particularly if they are not purchasing anything.
She is also advising them to collect money from the tip jar throughout the day and move it to a safer place.
Smith admits she did not report the incident to police since staff did not notice the theft until hours later, but she hopes speaking out about it will make other businesses aware.
“I just hope everybody will be alerted to this guy and hopefully he’s not going to feel like he can just pull on all the businesses in the downtown area.”
Many businesses in the downtown core leave tip jars or tip bowls beside their cash registers as an easy way for customers to leave tips.
But some say it can leave them vulnerable.
Scanway Catering Manager Robert Morrisey said the restaurant’s policy is to collect money from the jar or bowl every hour.
“We don’t like to leave anything, like a five-dollar bill, in it,” he said.
“I know staff work hard for that and it would be sad if they lost their tips.”
Morrisey said the thought of a tip thief in downtown Halifax is concerning.
“If this is a problem that’s happening in Halifax, we’ll have to remain vigilant here.”
Paper Chase Barista Simon Gaudet said the cafe has never encounter a tip thief.
He said the restaurant’s location on the second floor may work to its advantage.
But he said he and his co-workers will be keeping a closer eye on their tip bowl from now on.
Const. Pierre Bourdages with Halifax Regional Police said police have encountered stolen poppy boxes or donation boxes but this is the first time it has heard about stolen tip jars.
He notes there are several ways restaurants can protect themselves.
“Leave the last amount of money as possible laying around and make sure you take the steps to protect yourself to make sure you don’t have an open container that people can just reach in and grab your hard earned money,” Bourdages said.
Comments