A word of caution for folks who think they can order food in a restaurant and leave without paying

[Miles Archer]

My ex did this recently, and she did it in one of my clients' restaurants. The article below explains why ordering food and leaving without paying for it...even if it is not consumed...is considered theft.

Theft of services is stealing. It is the most common legal issue that a restaurant owner will generally be faced with. Theft of services is usually defined as a patron leaving or attempting to leave a restaurant without paying a bill. Another variation of restaurant theft is when a restaurant customer appears to pay their tab but is using someone else’s lost or stolen credit card.

In the case of a lost or stolen credit card, the bank, in protecting the rightful owner of the account, will not pay the merchant. If the merchant is paid, the bank will eventually reverse the charges. In either case, the restaurant owner loses out on his rightful income.

Ordering food in a restaurant and then leaving without paying is still theft, even if the food isn’t consumed. Once ordered and brought to a patron’s table the food cannot be served to someone else, and must be thrown out.

Pranksters and practical jokers will often order food for takeout and then not show up to claim their orders. They might also order meals by phone or computer for delivery to an unsuspecting third party. This, too, is stealing, and if caught the perpetrators can and will be prosecuted.

http://www.restaurants.com/blog/can-a-restaurant-detain-you/

[Pretzel_Warrior]

1. You should probably share this with your Republican friends

They seem like the types who typically try to shaft people in such a way.

[Miles Archer]

2. My ex is a Republican

She used to ask me on many occasions "You're a Democrat? Seriously?"

I posted this on my Facebook page and tagged a mutual friend, so it will show up in her news feed. I didn't name names...no one's going to know it's about her EXCEPT her and the friend she took to the restaurant that day.

[angstlessk]

3. I recall years ago, my husband and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants

When the check came, he looked at me and I looked at him, we each thought the other had cash..neither did..

He got up and left the restaurant while I sat looking nervously around...thank goodness this was AFTER they invented the ATM or we might still be washing dishes...

He returned with the cash, we paid FINALLY...I am sure the wait staff was waiting for me to bolt the door after him..I sure woulda hated not being able to eat there again..

OH! and welcome to DU

[devils chaplain]

4. Stealing is not a "prank"...

It really angers me when I hear about people doing this. Being a server, cook, or restaurant owner is a rough life and this is making it rougher. It's somehow even more disgusting when the food then needs to be wasted in a world where people are starving and a poor animal who gave its life to be made into a meal is instead slid into a trashcan.

[tazkcmo]

5. As a server

at full service restaurants I was expected to pay the bill that was skipped out on. It happened a few times but I never forked over the money because my job duties precluded me standing in the dining room and guarding the exits but I was fired from one job for that reason.

I don't care for thieves but I have less respect for a company that would place employees in a position of responsibility (paying the skipped on tab) without providing any corresponding benefits (Share of the profits). I have NO respect for people that skip on a check when they have the ability to pay or don't but made the decision to go out to eat anyway.

[Miles Archer]

9. The owners had to swallow this one

It is literally a mom & pop, husband and wife owned place. They absorbed the loss and said "We don't understand why she would do this to us." I tried to reason with her, she pretty much toldme to get bent, and the owner shook my hand and thanked me for trying.

[PeteSelman]

6. I did the dine and dash once when I was a kid.

I still feel terrible about it to this day. I would love to be able to take that back.

Of all the things I regret in life, that incident is in my top ten.

[Cracklin Charlie]

7. I actually did leave a restaurant without paying once.

Hubs and I were friends of the owner, and we had been just eating and chatting with him and his wife for quite a while during dinner. They came to our table just as we were finishing, and hubs and I just got up and left...like we were at home, or something.

We got almost all the way home, realized what we had done, and had to drive all the way back, and pay our bill. When we walked back in, the owner started laughing. Now when we leave, he makes a point to ask if we paid.

For the record: I HATE when people think it's okay to behave badly in restaurants. Not paying, not tipping, treating servers badly, complaining to the manager, annoying other customers...ugh.

[PDJane]

8. I have done that. I was chatting with my dining partner, and I walked out without paying.

(It had been a rough day). He finally told me about halfway home that I hadn't paid; he was, "going to leave it, but I decided that you and I might want to go back sometime."

I left him there, turned around and went back to the restaurant. Since we were on the subway, it took about 25 minutes all told.

I walked up to the manager, who was speaking with our waiter, and explained what I had done, and asked for the check. He grinned at the waiter, said, “You were right, it seems...” The waiter had explained that I was a regular, and would pay the bill as soon as I realized I hadn't. The manager grinned at me, informed me that it looked as though it had been a rough day, and paid for the meal out of his own pocket...over my objections. I gave the waiter her tip.

Never did go back to the restaurant with that character either; nor anywhere else, frankly. Not my type.

[Miles Archer]

10. My favorite clients are restaurant owners

Your story goes a long way toward explaining why.

I love every aspect of designing restaurant Websites...especially the photography...but I also really enjoy working with the owners. It's one of the toughest jobs around, and they have EVERYTHING on the line, EVERYTHING riding on their business being successful.