The Strange and Fantastic World of Mr Chow

Chow down motherfucker!

On Monday this week, 3 New York waiters filed a lawsuit against their former employer, one Mr Chow. Which is a tremendous name for a restaurateur. The Irish equivalent probably being something like "Mr Scran", which wouldn't be as appealing.

Now, when I first heard this story I assumed that it was related to all the usual bad practices and problems of working in a restaurant, poor wages, stiffed on tips, long working hours and so on. But I was so wrong. Mr Chow's restaurant do thing some what better than the average, even when it comes to abusing it's employees, allegedly.

Mr Chow considers himself to be the conductor of his waiters movements. His company website modestly describes him as a "Living Legend" and a "Renaissance Man", which is nice I suppose. He also knows how to charge too, wine at his London restaurant starts at ten quid a glass. He should be getting dragged through the courts for that alone. Seriously, this guy has Napoleonic issues.

Anyway three ex-employees had enough of him and decided, in true American spirit, to sue his ass off. Well $5m of his ass-ets. The lawsuit, filed in Federal Court in New York on Monday is for the following:

1. Unpaid overtime
2. Tips that weren't paid as punishment for things like speaking out of turn. Tips were also used to pay managers
   
3. Failing to pay minimum wage
4. Abuse of his staff including yelling and shouting. You would get balled out for failing to make eye contact with the great one. The Lawsuit alleges he used "degradation as a management technique". For example on one occasion he wrote all over the waiters uniform and sent them out on the floor to take orders. These being the $350 uniforms that the waiters had to purchase themselves. He would tap the waiters on the head or chin to make sure he had their attention.
   
5. On another occasion Mr Chow is accused of "forcing Costin Dumitrescu to lie on the wooden floor in the middle of the staff meeting for about 40 minutes". He was late to the meeting as he was out running an errand for Mr Chow. Whilst lying on the floor Chowser would pretend to kick Costin in order to have him "flinch in fear".

Mr Chow's lawyers claim the lawsuit is "specious and without merit. It's completely frivolous." On the other hand Louis Pechman, an expert employment lawyer who is representing one of the claimants, claims in the lawsuit that Chow was, in fact, "a conductor with an iron baton," who demanded "cult-like attention".

Now if my Dad asked me to lie on the floor in the middle of a meeting I'm afraid we would have fallen out, but if my boss told me to do it I would smack those silly looking glasses of his face and tell him to shove it quick sharpish. Not happening. If my wages aren't right there isn't any work done until I know its getting dealt with and God help anyone who even thinks of touching my tips. Sweet mother of the blessed sacrament you would loose your whole hand if you went anywhere near them. I wouldn't let things like this go on for so long, not bloody likely at all.

Clearly Mr Chow denies everything and the three waiters say it's all true. I know who I believe.