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Caught on camera: Tip jar taken from West Vancouver pastry shop

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A West Vancouver chocolate shop owner is warning other businesses after a man was caught on surveillance video stealing a tip bowl off the counter last Friday.

Steven Hodge, the co-owner of Temper Chocolate and Pastry, said the man ordered a sandwich and when the staff member left the counter to get it, he quickly tucked the bowl into his jacket.

He then claimed his credit card wasn’t working and would go get another card from his car. The man never returned.

Staff only discovered the tip bowl was missing at the end of their shift.

“So we went back on the cameras and looked, and were blown away,” said Hodge. “It kills me inside, it kills my staff inside, because they work hard and depend on a lot of the tips here. I just wish I had caught him.”

Hodge decided to post video of the tip bowl theft on his shop’s Instagram account, and comments started pouring in from other businesses that recognized the man.

One of them was the Bean Around the World coffee shop just a few blocks down from Temper Chocolate and Pastry.

“Immediately our group chat blew up, we were like: Is this the same guy? Because we got a video of him. And everyone immediately said yes, absolutely, that’s the same guy,” said Bean Around the World barista Alanna Ward.

She said the theft happened a few months ago and played out exactly like the one at the chocolate shop.

The man ordered a coffee and croissant.

“He tried to pay, and when it didn’t go through, he said my wife will pay in a minute and left. And we said no worries and he didn’t ever end up coming back, and we looked and our tip jar was gone,“ said Ward, who added the same man then went to an adjoining business and stole another tip jar.

“Nobody expected it, he just looked like your average person, he seemed really kind and we trusted him and he took advantage of that I guess,” said Ward.

Hodge reported the theft to West Vancouver police, and decided to change the tipping set-up at his front counter.

“We are going to have two tip jars, we will have the bowl at the till and we will have the bowl underneath, and as the tips come in, we are just going to empty them and keep them underneath,” said Hodge.

After posting the video, he doubts the thief will return to his shop. But he wants to warn others.

“We are a community, we all support each other, especially in hard times right now,” Hodge said. “Other businesses need to be aware in case he comes in.”

  

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