I know it’s cruel of me to say, but I am literally thrilled at such amazing news. Daphne’s Greek Cafe is closing down, filed bankruptcy, out of business. The only people I feel sorry for are those who worked in the chains of these food outlets.  Now the administrative people can kiss off, especially the owner George Katakalidis I don’t feel sorry for any of these ass wads and let me tell you why.

Several years ago I was struggling looking for work I had come across Daphne’s in Orange County which appeared to be a great place to work, yet it wasn’t as I noticed how dysfunctional it was being managed at the time. To many kids were working there instead of adults including management.  I can sometimes understand the reason for wanting to hire kids to work in these places, but management?  Owners need to realize they need to hire experienced people.  People with “emotional intelligence” to run a business professionally and ethically,  who share a common goal when it comes to operating a restaurant.  Yet they leave the hiring to incompetent people and this is one of the main reasons many businesses fail.  “Operating with Dysfunction” After witnessing this chaos of people who knew nothing of the restaurant business or how to treat others in need of applying for work.  I left only to feel turned off.

Low and behold a few years later I returned only to see it was being operated by different management, who was professional.  Richard Bautista was the manager for the La Habra store, he seemed nice with a pleasant manner.   I was hired instantly and since I had worked in the food industry before I was good at what I did and enjoyed my work and loved the operation of the employees working together as a real team.  Richard was young but a good manager, as time progressed he taught me what I need to know so I might have opportunity to move up. Richard was a good guy and played  fair.  I worked at this location almost a year and was soon promoted. Ofcourse the raise in itself was a joke only 25 cents, but I felt at least a promotion indicates a positive verses a negative.  Life started to look bright again after two years of hell living in San Diego. I had my own place, a job and I was finishing up college in Fullerton.   What I didn’t realize is how easy it is to lose what little one has so quickly and how short lived moments in a persons life can be.  I lost my job soon after I was promoted for no reason and so did the Richard all due to the area manager David Strickland.

After meeting David Strickland who was the area manager for the Orange County locations (which covered about 10 stores) I found his attitude to be belligerent and very disturbing and knew right then he would be a problem.  Just to give a description of David he was about 40 years old, white male, 3oo to 400 pounds over weight brown hair, not a bad looking person, but a disposition of an 800 pound gorilla. No one had anything positive to say about David.  Many employees felt threatened by his behavior and he was very abusive in how he spoke to people.  A constant manipulator, twisting the words of others.  If you even expressed an individual opinion, he would slam you or later find a reason to use your words against you.  His attitude was one of the worst power trips I’ve seen since I worked at Edison International.

As I had mentioned before David’s actions, everything at the store was good the labor was down (which is good) and sales were balanced, meaning steady. The daily average was about $1800 to $2300 a day which is actually decent.  There is a bit of a challenge to keep the labor low and the sales still maintained. Richard did this well and the customers loved him:-)  On the other and David did not, he knew nothing about the restaurant industry other than eating everything on the menu.  He only had his position because of a friend who got him the job that worked with the owner.  David had it out for Richard for a long time.  I could tell just the way he treated and spoke to him. What it really boiled down to was Richards same sex orientation angered David.  David hated Richard for it.  One day David shows up bringing a young man with him to the store, it was the same day Richard called off sick.  I had called Richard and told him what was going on, it was best that he come to work because David looked as if something was going to blow up.  Sure enough it did, the man turned to be the new manager replacing Richard that day, as David asked him to walk outside the three of them sat in the patio were the customers generally would be. David fired Richard on the spot in front of all the customers.  This kind of behavior is an outrage having a discussion of this nature only to be embarrassed in front of strangers.   As Richard walked away in shock David told him, “now you can go find another job”, Richard replied I have another job and walked off. This displeased David even more.  The strange thing was I had been worried for sometime because I couldn’t shake this emotional feeling like I was going to lose something and I was right, but it didn’t come from Richard, it came from David.  I was black balled the following morning.

The next morning this barbarian had the nerve to have another employee from another location terminate me after I got to work.  Not only is this unethical it might be illegal for another employee to take such actions.  David being the asshole he is didn’t even have the balls to do his own dirty work.  He used his stole to do it for him.  I have to admit I was raging fucken pissed at this kind of fucked up behavior I called that fat cow and told his ass off, which in turn I felt 100% better.  The only reason he fired Richard was due to discrimination based on his sex, which is against the law!  David had done this to many other young males who worked for Daphne’s once he found out they were gay, he fired them!!.  I had never disrespected this ass wad until the day I told him off. He had no reason to mistreat any of us, but when it comes to arrogant males on a power trip who are intimidated by strong women it’s their personal hang up, that was his reason for black balling me.  Yet justice has a way of coming around.  Now that I think back on a few things I guess I’m not to surprised  the owner is losing his business with the “3 day notice George would receive monthly from owner he leased from, because he wasn’t paying the $9000 dollar rent on time.   Now that he has mismanaged his business and allowed people like David to abuse and discriminate against others.  George finally got his:-)

One factor I realized in the food industry and many other types of job’s. Most of the women who do work are usually placed discriminating low payed positions as servers or hostess, secretary’s, etc. It’s rare they are allowed to work in the back area as a chef or prep person.  Who is to say I could have risen to the top and been area manager myself.  I have great ambition and I have no doubt David could see that.  It was a threat for him.  It’s a threat for any man when women are in the work force who can perform better at the job then many of their male counter parts.  This is problem many women encounter lack of equal pay (remember my 25 cent raise)  or opportunities because men who keep the key positions for themselves.  Soon after all this happened I wrote the owner a letter he never responded and showed he didn’t care.  Richard when on to find a better manager’s job at another restaurant.   I couldn’t even get unemployment. Just recently  I was sent paper work from George Katakalidis attorney.  Bankruptcy papers with no instruction of what I am supposed to with them.  They never responded but of course why should i expect them to.  Their just another group of unprofessional people.

I am so glad David was fired as area manager and George is losing everything, this is what happens when people who don’t care of those who work for them  and owners who fuck up!