The catering company blames what happened on poor organization and overwork.
A group dinner for a family of eight in the restaurant of the Santo Domingo de Algate Social Club (Madrid) ended in a celebratory disaster this Saturday afternoon. About 400 diners arrived on the premises at 1:00 pm as the hour passed and the plates were empty. Despite paying up to 5,000 euros in advance for food, no one served them anything, and some had to find solutions on their own. The company had left them stranded and without food.
On the non-availability of the contracted caterer, several agents of the Civil Guard and the police went to the restaurant on being called by the family members. Those affected have reported the facts to the Civil Guard and have filed an administrative claim on the premises for an alleged fraud, since reservations were made and payments were made several months in advance. He claims that a waiter ran out of the premises when the agents of the Armed Institute arrived.
A service manager denied it was a scam. They say that the amount of work has exceeded them, that they are overwhelmed and that they blame everything on poor organization. But he did not indicate whether he would return the money to those affected.
Each of the affected families will have paid between 2,000 and 5,000 euros in advance for the menu, depending on what each has chosen. Many of them made the final payment last Friday and they assure that the company has indicated that they can pay it in the black.
According to a waiter, some relatives confirmed that he had made a reservation with “a certain Reyes” who did not answer his calls because “he had a brother’s wedding” on Sunday.
A parent of one of the children celebrating the banquet indicated that they had been preparing for the day with the restaurant for months: the food, the cocktails and the final entertainment. As the guests arrived at the premises, they already noticed that something was amiss, as they were not allowed to enter the hall. After much insistence, they were able to enter, but the tables were not set, they had no dishes and everything was dirty because a high school graduation had been held on Saturday morning.
“We arrived at the restaurant around one o’clock, and at half past four in the afternoon they still hadn’t served us anything,” remarked one of the Communion guests, who assured that some parents had entered the kitchen looking for food. had come Another impressed mother said, “At about 5:00 in the evening they started serving us olives.” According to eyewitnesses, some guests were given chips and croquettes. Some families have gone to a nearby supermarket and bought sausages and salads. Another family also went to a fast food restaurant to serve something to their guests.
From the OCU, the families are advised to claim through administrative channels and otherwise, request refund of the money paid through criminal proceedings and even for not holding the contracted event. Request moral damages.
