A number of catering entrepreneurs in Oss were left with significant expenses after Sunday evening’s power outage. Cash register systems failed, meaning people could no longer pay for their beer and food. The entrepreneurs now have to hope that all those people will still come and pay. Nick Vink, owner of café-restaurant H32, is one of them.
The printer keeps buzzing as Nick prints out the unpaid bills. “112 euros, 86 euros, 95 euros,” he lists the amounts. In total, between 2,000 and 2,500 euros in unpaid bills remained due to Sunday evening’s power outage. It couldn’t have come at a more unfortunate time. “The parade had just ended. That is the moment when everyone goes to eat. So my restaurant was full, a peak moment for us.”
“We went to all the tables and asked everyone’s name and telephone number and agreed that they would come and pay later.”
Many people decided to go home when they found themselves in the dark. But due to the power outage, the cash register system no longer worked. So payment was not possible. “That was quite a shock. We then went to all the tables and asked everyone’s name and telephone number and agreed that they would come and pay later. Fortunately, no one made a fuss about it and everyone understood the situation.”
Nick assumes that everyone will still pay for the food and drinks. “Yes, I really have confidence in that. A lot of guests came to ask how they could solve it and especially found it very annoying for us.”
“This is a significant loss for entrepreneurs.”
The missed income from the rest of the carnival evening threatens to become a bigger blow. Center manager Jack van Lieshout explains: “Many cafés and restaurants had deployed extra staff, because Sunday is always a busy day. And restaurants were left with meals and fresh products. That is a significant loss for entrepreneurs.”
The center manager does not think that this damage will be compensated. “No, I don’t expect that. Enexis talks about reimbursing power outages if they last longer than four hours. This outage lasted just over two hours, so I think that will be a disastrous mission.”
Nick thinks he will get all his guests’ money back. He will call everyone on Wednesday. “But not too early,” he says, laughing. “People will probably be in bed with a hangover. I’ll call in the afternoon when everyone is back above water.”
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