My parents were rude to my grandfather in his own restaurant, and Karma made them pay 20 times the menu price for it.
A family-run restaurant in a quiet village in Spain became the unlikely place where two different societies met. This happened when an obnoxious tourist family asked for help after business hours. They said bad things about the old owner of the restaurant, which was known for its cozy setting and traditional food. But they had to pay for not knowing about the local rules and practices.
Greetings everyone! A small restaurant in Asturias, Spain, is owned by a family. It’s actually my grandparents’ house, which is in a small neighborhood of thirty people.
Every summer, I go there to help out, get family recipes, and just enjoy the country life. It is very cozy and homey because the restaurant is right at the base of our house and has been there since 1941.
This really is a place for locals to hang out. During the day, neighbors will stop by to chat, play cards, and have a drink or two. We get some visitors even though we’re not on the main path.
It turned out that this summer day was more exciting than usual. Because of a family visit that made us think they didn’t understand how things work here. Forgive me for explaining what happened.
It was one of those busy summer days when the sun makes everything nice and warm. And our small diner was full of the usual chatter and laughing. For their long, lazy afternoon hangouts, most of our usual locals had made themselves at home.
Within our small area, there are only eight tables, plus a few outside for when the weather is nice. It’s very sincere, though, and also serves as a pub, so it’s usually full.
In the afternoon, the place was full of retired people fighting over cards and drinking wine. It looked like a scene from a movie. Many people who knew our business hours asked for lunch and drinks, which kept my sister and I very busy.
As 4 p.m. approached, things were just starting to calm down when we heard a car pull up. This happens all the time because travelers sometimes get lost. Things did not go at all like how we usually greet guests, though.
As soon as a family walked out, it was clear they were annoyed, possibly from having to deal with our area’s winding back roads.
They screamed English and stormed in, signaling for me to take charge since I usually take care of our English-speaking guests. That’s how things turned out.
As the door closed behind them, the mother quickly waved me over and said, “We need a table, and we’re hungry!” I wasn’t expecting her loudness or tone of voice to be so demanding.
I smiled like I was from customer service and told them, “I’m sorry, but the kitchen just closed.” There is meal service until 3 p.m. and again at 7:30 p.m. I thought that would end everything, but they might come back later.
But the mother wouldn’t accept it. She looked at him quickly and yelled, “If the kitchen’s closed, why is he eating?” while my grandfather was quietly eating his late lunch. I replied with a smile, “Well, he’s the owner, so he can eat whenever he wants!”
That wasn’t taken well. Because her face was a little twisted, the mother looked like she had bit into a lemon. She yelled right away, “Are you giving us a table or not?” We’ll also need Wi-Fi.
“The Wi-Fi is only for staff,” I said in the nicest way possible. It’s not really meant for tourists to use.
This made the dad very angry, and he yelled, “What the heck?! We have paying clients!” Their kid got cranky, and before I knew it, he was running around and making a mess.
When it was clear that things were going badly, my grandfather decided to step in.
My grandfather, who has always been calm in bad situations, wiped his hands on his apron and walked over to where his family was sitting.
He asked them in a firm but kind way to please slow down and stop their child from running around because it was bothering the other guests.
The mother replied, “DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME HOW TO Raise MY CHILD, YOU DINOSAUR!” It was loud enough for everyone in the room to turn and look at her. My dad stepped in and yelled at my grandpa, “DON’T GET CLOSE TO MY CHILD, YOU OLD CREEP!”
The restaurant was completely quiet for a short time. You could feel the stress in the air. There was a time when everything seemed to be going well. Other customers, who lived in the area and knew my grandpa well, were shocked to see such disrespectful behavior toward someone they held in the highest regard.
My grandpa kept his cool and just nodded before walking back across the room to our family. With a mix of shame and anger, I followed. At that very moment, he chosen for this family to leave.
As he spoke quietly, he pointed to two men sitting at a table next to them. It turned out that they were Guardia Civil officers who were not on duty.
The police officers stood up and went over to the family because they knew they needed to be polite. They showed off their badges and said they were police officers. They told the family that they needed to be firm but kind as they followed the rules of the business and the rules of the other guests.
The parents reluctantly started packing once they knew how bad things were. However, just as the family was getting ready to leave, the police found something else that made things worse.
As the family reluctantly made their way to the exit, one of the cops looked out the window and saw something. Because the family’s car was parked in front of the garage, it fully blocked it. It was clear that parking wasn’t allowed there, which was needed to get on and off our land.
The police led the family outside and pointed out the violation. The father tried to brush it off by saying they hadn’t seen the sign and it was just a quick stop. While the police were checking the rental car paperwork, they found more mistakes, which made things really strange.
The family became more angry as the police carefully described the consequences of their actions. They began writing a ticket after getting pictures of the wrongly parked car. It turned out to be very expensive to block the entrance to a private property—200 euros precisely.
When the locals got inside, they whispered to each other that they didn’t like what the tourists did but were glad that justice was being done. While this was going on, my grandfather went back to his dinner with a quiet smile on his face.
Once the family left, there was a clear change in the restaurant’s mood. Everyone started laughing and clinking their glasses again, and then they started talking to each other again. My grandpa raised his glass to thank the police officers. They nodded and carried on with their work.
The parents not only hurt our family’s feelings, but they also made our small town less peaceful. There was a heavy price for their lack of knowledge and respect, though. They spent twenty times what they would have on lunch.
This event happened outside of our restaurant. It turned into a kind of local folktale that was told to show what happens to people who don’t follow the rules that govern our society.
Not only was it about punishing a bad family, but it was also about protecting one’s honor and the spirit of our town as a whole.
I’m not trying to say that all tourists from other countries or cultures are bad by sharing this story. Most of our guests are polite and willing to learn about our culture and enjoy everything we have to offer.
That being said, this case was different. The lesson learned was that appreciating other people and their traditions is important everywhere.
I appreciate each and every one of you reading this. I’d like to know what you think, so please share if you’ve had similar experiences! Let’s keep talking and share the ideals of kindness and respect, no matter where we are in the world.
If you liked the story about community and support, you might also like this one about a waitress who got back at a rude customer for someone else.
This work is based on real people and events, even though it has been made up for artistic reasons. To protect privacy and make the story better, names, characters, and other details have been changed. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, or real events is completely unintentional and not the author’s goal.
The distributor and author are not responsible for any misunderstandings and don’t say that the events or characters are true. Note that the characters’ thoughts in this story are their own and may not reflect the author’s or publisher’s views. This story is given “as is.”
