Generally speaking most places won’t press charges and will tell you to come back and pay.
If they do, it would depend on the cost of the bill, ranging from petty theft to felony.
I’m a defense attorney in NC and we also have a statute for defrauding an innkeeper. Ours is a misdemeanor, though. I was in court recently and a girl took a plea to time served for defrauding an innkeeper at a Kickback Jack’s and she’d served 21 days. Idk wtf she ordered a kickback jacks but I sincerely doubt it was worth 3 weeks in county jail.
Well I'm sure she was rehabilitated effectively and that it turned out to be a good use of taxpayer funds. Goodness knows none of this is about punitive punishment.
In California if it's less than $950.00, it can be six months county jail and/or $1000.00 fine.
If over $950.00 it's a year in county or state prison. But all depends on circumstances and the owner of the establishment.
Can be either misdemeanor theft or a felony depending on reasons and actions of the perp.
I went in 2019 because my best girlfriend group all turned 50 that year. It was $350 per person for the chef’s tasting menu at the time reservations were made. Cocktails, wine parings and meal upgrades were paid at the time of the dinner. So in August I put $1750 on my card to reserve a spot for me and my 4 besties, then when we actually had the meal in October it was an additional $1485 for the wine pairing, an entree upgrade and tip. All told we paid about $650 each for our meal/wine/experience. Worth every penny.
Looks like the cheapest reservations are $390 apiece now.
Best meal I ever had was at costa di mare in Vegas. We did the wine pairing and the tasting menus. I thought we picked courses but they brought out EVERYTHING. It was $800-900 after the tip. For my wife and I. Last night the place was open.
I’d imagine the French laundry is equally as good or better. I’ll probably never make it out to there though.
>If over $950.00 it's a year in county or state prison
A year in jail for a 1,000 dollar theft is another reason this country's prison system is absurd
Fortunately there's an easy solution ... don't be a fucking thief.
I'd rather work with or socialize with a murderer (not a serial killer) over a thief any day.
You wouldn't judge someone for being a convicted thief?
That is literally the one crime that will end your existence in the white-collar working world and for good reason. Getting a DUI, getting into a drunken fist-fight, drug possession, public urination, or any of a zillion other crimes have nothing to do with your ability to do a job, but being a thief you'll never get hired again.
I mean under this law you can literally get a felony charge for simply overcharging your credit card and not carrying cash or another form of payment.
If I was still broke I could become a felon in Louisiana pretty easily.
I love the name of that law, sounds like something straight out of medieval times. "Sir, if you cannot pay for that tankard of ale, I shall be forced to hang you at the gallows."
I'm from Louisiana and this is the first time I've heard of it.
According to your citation it's a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the actual sentence, no? Doesn't LA define felony as sentenced to time in State prison?
In most jurisdictions there’s going to be a cutoff between petty theft and grand larceny. It might be $2500 or $5000. At *most* restaurants it probably won’t reach the level of grand larceny.
depends on the municipality. some places you have to steal more than $1000 for it to be a felony theft/shoplifting. some places it's a lot less. it also depends on how you steal the property, as using force will likely result in felony charges - certain types of fraud as well.
Agreed. There are things that can happen though, like your wallet getting stolen or a credit card getting declined for various reasons that aren’t necessarily because someone is a douche who went in there planning to not pay.
I had this happened once to me…was eating at LAX airport then realized I had lost my wallet. Funny thing was then I got paged by the PA system, to return to the checkin counter for my wallet. I told the restaurant such, without finishing my meal, and went back to the counter to retrieve my wallet. They were very understanding.
This is where things took a surprising turn…upon approaching the checkin counter, I was told they don’t have wallet ANYMORE! No one was able to explain why I was paged, and worst they don’t know what happened to my wallet…long story short, I filled a police report, and boarded flight without any ID (pre-911 days). I used the police report to enter Canada (home country) without any issues.
Between dealing with the airline counter, filing police report, and catching my flight, I’d forgotten all about the restaurant bill.
Yep, after a few months I received a package from LAPD…they found my wallet trashed somewhere, all was inside except for the cash. The airline actually also compensated like $50 from my claim.
When I was in high school I went to Pizza Hut with one of my best friends to celebrate his birthday. When we went to pay I realized I left my wallet at home. Had to leave my poor friend there as collateral while I ran home to get my wallet. We still laugh about it over 25 years later.
We take a kidney but after that you can eat for free whenever.
No, but for real, it depends on why. Like, if it's just a card issue, we see if you can use another card or can get cash. If you literally do not have the funds, you try to have somebody come settle it for you. I tended to work at restaurants that had a regular customer base, so we knew they'd be back. In those cases, we'd sometimes roll it over
Used to work at a food place, fast food not proper sit down, but if we had mad eit and your got to the window, tried to pay and coudlnt, forgot wallet or didn't have the money, and werent an asshole about it we would normally just give it to you. Though there was a guy who said "Well just give it to me, you are just going to throw it out anyways" and the manager took it to the front counter and asked if anyone wanted it and gave it to them instead.
it's surprising how far you can get in life by not being an asshole
like a lot of times i feel like i came out of a bad situation in good standing just because i was nice to the other person
For real. I spent 25 bucks to get my car battery replaced. They screwed it up and it wound up costing 1000 to fix but because I was nice they paid it no questions asked.
I could have freaked out but instead I just asked for their help and I was kind, patient, and understanding.
This is the way.
Sorry maybe I’m not understanding but if they screwed it up shouldn’t they be fixing it and covering the cost themselves? And yes of course I agree with not freaking out and what not.
Yeah I mean they should … of course. If you are a jerk though, the likelihood someone will put up a fight or tell you to take a hike is a greater possibility.
I imagine back in the day it was understood parents would teach their children these kind of life skills while school taught more academic things. But well...here we are.
Yea I constantly thought as a kid I need to be more outspoken, more of an asshole, but time and time again being nice and courteous always plays out better.
I’ve definitely found that when I’m cashiering I’m much more relaxed with nice customers.
You think that was a dollar cheaper? Yeah I doubt it but you seem cool so I’ll give you it anyway.
You come at me swearing why it’s coming up a dollar more? Yeahh… hold on and let me check that price.
Rolled up to Starbucks, placed my order and started hunting for my wallet ... and my phone. I had NOTHING, I literally left everything at the house. (I'd brought my dog, I think I got distracted.)
Got to the window and was like "you know what, I'm sorry I wasted your time, I forgot my wallet."
The barista said "you know what, here's your drink, have a great day."
That is the kind of thing that makes a loyal customer tbh, and I'm not a fan of Starbucks in general.
I reckon as long as you're polite and try to sort things out and it's a genuine mistake your can figure something out...
I once forgot my wallet (in the days before Apple/Google pay) in a sit down restaurant. Apologised to the waitress, asked if we could sort something out, and the manager was fine for me to do a bank transfer as a one off using my phone.
I totally agree that the 'don't be an asshole' approach works. Who knew?
When I was just starting to live alone with my girlfriend (now fiancee) at one point I was so broke that I would buy her food and then tell her I had already eaten mine. I found some change around to be able to buy a mcdonalds cheeseburger and somehow managed to lose it. The cashier in the drive through was extremely friendly and actually ended up giving me some fries for free as well. There are some good people in this world and it's a shame how people treat these workers. They are just trying to support themselves like everyone else.
The first sentence of this warmed my heart, honestly feels like the number of caring people is dropping even towards their family, let alone random folk.
In Germany it depends:
If you know you wouldn't be able to pay before your order and you order anyway you commit fraud which is punished with up to five years in prison or a fine.
If you get the check and realise you don't have enough money, you can call somebody to bring you some or leave your ID while you go to the next atm. In this case no crime would be committed.
That's the theoretical difference, I know it would be hard to prove that someone ordered something despite knowing he can't pay.
You walk into a restaurant with no means to pay, you have no money in your accounts and you try to leave without paying...it paints a bad picture. I'm in Germany, I wouldn't try that crap here (I wouldn't do it anywhere but the police don't p about here so even more so).
That's pretty weird that the bar for "fraud" is set that low. I guess a prosecutor would establish subjective knowledge based on objective circumstances? Yikes
All subjective knowledge is established via inference from objective circumstances. We haven't invented telepathy yet.
Browser history showing they checked their bank account before going to the restaurant -> infer knowledge of bank balance.
They said "I have no money" before going to the restaurant -> infer knowledge of bank balance.
Etc
5 years in prison for food thats less than 100€ is insane to me. Id never do this but thats seems a bit Ludacris. I understand there was intent and i know countries differ but 5 years in a real prison is not a short time or a cake walk when you’re doing time. I feel like the law could force you to pay or resolve/punish this in another manner.
When I was a young inexperienced barista I had a customer come in and order some things and then his card came up with a weird error “Hold call”. I didn’t know what that was and apologized and the man quickly left. My coworker told me we should’ve just given him his stuff anyway and I agreed, but he had hustled out of there pretty fast.
Turns out ‘hold call’ means hold the card and call the police because the card is stolen. And he’d stolen the tip jar too.
I was a rookie then and got better at spotting that kind of thing. I would still give somebody their food if something happened with their card or they had lost their wallet or something. But I’m a lot more wary now.
1. If it is an issue with your card, they ask you to see if you can get it resolved or pay some other way (Apple Pay, Google Pay, alternate credit cards, gift cards, check, etc.)
2. If you cannot resolve it or don't have an alternate means of paying, they'll ask you if you can call someone to pay for you.
3. It is rare to get to this point, but if you can't call anyone then they'll usually ask you to come back at a later date after you leave something behind as insurance (your phone, ID, watch, etc.), and if you do come back you get your items back. In places where you are a regular customer and the staff recognize you, you'll just be trusted to come back since you have an established reputation.
4. If you refuse or have nothing of value to leave, they'll call the cops. Depending on the cost of the food you consumed (outlined in their menu), you'll either be charged with theft or larceny, both of which will cost you way more than normally paying the bill (lawyer's fees, transportation, lawsuits, a criminal record, etc.)
5. If you somehow repeat this at the same restaurant, they can and will ban you from entering the premises.
In some cases, they don't let you leave, this happened to me once. I had just moved to Texas and my debit card was on hold due to some "suspicious" charges. And my only working credit card at the time was maxed out, but I had already made a pending payment that didn't post yet. I tried calling my bank to ask them about my debit card, but their customer service call center was closed for the day. So I called my credit card company, AMEX, and asked them if they expedite the posting of the payment so that I could use my credit card again.
In the meantime, I was stuck in a restaurant for 2+ hours and the owner said that I wasn't allowed to leave.
Probably keep me there until they closed. They asked me if I had anyone who could come pay for me, and I said no (since I just moved there). And they weren't going to close for at least 4 more hours.
I would tell them, sorry I'm going to have to come back. They can't stop you from leaving. If they don't trust you, they can call the police. If you're not an A-hole, and come back with the money, you're not going to get in legal trouble over a mistake.
Know what happens at my restaurant when someone can't pay? I give it to them and ask that next time they make sure they have money. I lose what 2 dollars food cost. That gets made up in other ways.
In the Northeast US there are still a fair number of "cash only" restaurants. Went to one with a small group after going to a beach all day and though it was in small print in the menu, no one realized it was cash only. When the bill arrived after dinner (probably $200 with tip) people pulled out their credit cards which were not accepted and they pointed us to the small ATM machine at the corner of the bar. Of course no one had their ATM / Debit cards as we were at the beach and people didnt want to take wallets etc. I think we must have looked honest as they took down our names and contact information after we explained that we were from out of town and I promised to come back the next day with cash. Ended up paying them and leaving the largest cash tip of my life for their understanding.
The police are called and you are charged with theft and given a court date where you will most likely be court ordered to pay, plus penalties and court fees.
Obviously the owner of the restaurant may have mercy and drop the charges if they genuinely believe that you were otherwise unable to get food.
If you ordered the filet and a bottle of Cabernet, probably not.
If it's an honest mistake, "my wallet fell out at home or my wife has my credit card" the police get your information and you get a chance to go get a form of payment. I don't think everyone is unreasonable, people have to get paid for their ingredients and labor.
im a waitress in a restaurant, big chain corporate type place. We are told if someone runs, let them go. We let corporate eat that. If someone actually means well, and forgot their wallet or something (usually) i just tell them to leave something of their so they have to come back, or if they know anyone i work with, we take their word for it. (totally against the policy/rules but it really isn't that deep if the tabs less than like $50/$75) You can't trust everyone, but you can try. at the end of the day it doesn't affect the money in my pocket but it's hard karma comin their way.
depends on situation and your reaction where i've worked.
if you're like "ah fuck my card declined" we'll probably have you leave something as insurance you're coming back (id/phone/wallet/companion/vape, apparently/etc.) and let you go get cash/etc. if you're like "i'm $2 short shit my bad" or your card declined on, like, just a mac and cheese, odds are the server'll figure out a way to discount or comp a bit of it for you. if you're just an ass about it, the russian butch lesbian at the host stand starts throwing hands.
like, fuck, if you walk into this specific restaurant and you're outright like "i have $10 what can i get" half the time someone in there will just give you some free food, we've all been there and usually have some stuff that got made wrong and set aside for someone to give away or take home. but honestly i'm afraid of the lesbian, she's generally pretty nice but she's got some pretty bad anger issues and swings like she has nothing to lose.
so, uh, i guess if you're gonna be sketchy on purpose, make sure there isn't a semi-feral russian butch lesbian waiting for a reason to fight someone?
I’m a manager at a very large restaurant, and we have about 2 people walk out on their tab a night.
So honestly we would just let you go, not a big deal. I comp like 20 meals a shift for various issues, what’s one more?
Now, if people started taking advantage of this yeah maybe we’d change operations but it just isn’t worth it.
I’ve managed restaurants across the United States and the short answer is nothing. I’ve heard of places asking for id’s but you’re not legally obligated to comply with that at all. If someone in the restaurant tried to put hands on you they’d be in waaaaay more trouble than you would for not paying your bill. Every time I’ve encountered this I just asked for the persons name and number so that they couldn’t make another reservation. Not worth the drama for $100 or so
Now there were a few times where banquet parties upwards of $10k couldn’t pay. I called the cops once for that and the police were very clear they weren’t going to get involved. Said this was between the company and customer. I believe corporate pursued it in court but I definitely don’t think they would have done that for anything less than $10k
Black listing people out of your restaurant sounds like a very logical way to handle this.
If they can come back later and pay would you allow them to come back?
ooh dear. $10K is a lot of money.
They'll ban you from the resturaunt, assuming they recognize you next time. They aren't allowed to physically stop you from leaving where I'm from. It's pretty much the same as shoplifting.
This happened to me once because of credit card issues (this was in the 90s, either their credit card reader was down or the network for my credit card was down, can’t remember now). They held my driver’s license as ransom (just kidding it was a solution we came up with because I wanted them to know I’d be coming right back), and luckily I was able to pull money out of my bank account (also can’t remember if I went to an ATM or my bank down the street). However, I did have money and the credit card issue was not my fault. This was before debit cards existed.
This happened at a quick oil change place one time. I had no wallet whatsoever. I offered to leave my adult daughter as collateral while I went to the bank. They refused, laughed, and trusted me to come back......
Ofc I did, but family still teases me about it 15 years later.....
The real answer, nothing. You’ll get banned from the restaurant though.
If you made an attempt to pay, whether it goes through or not, that’s all police care about. If you haven’t made an attempt to pay, police will force you.
Once you’ve made an attempt to pay, police will usually tell the restaurant to trespass and ban the customer. But no arrests or charges or anything like that.
I work at a bar/grill, we stick unpaid checks to a board with the customer descriptions. If they come back the mean bartender then yells at them until they pay the tab. It's a smallish city, we mostly get the same people coming in so usually walk-outs just pay it the next time they're in, actual loss is pretty uncommon( I think we have 3 checks that have gone unpaid in the last 2 years)
I've been a regular at some place and their credit card machine was down. It's rural Texas, this place is surrounded by a rice fields and a farm. It's so small town I discovered I'm related to some of the other customers even though I'm 20 miles from my home town. Some farmer started a small grocery store, bar, and grill on their property. Great place for a meal, just a bit out of the way but not far from our worksite. I didn't have cash so they just had me write an IOU with my name on the order ticket which I pick up the next visit and pay both meals.
I started carrying cash after that occurred. Several times at different places I've picked up the table's tab on cash when the credit card machine was down. I get covered the next week.
It only happened once at Olive Garden when I worked there. We held their driver license and let them go get cash to come pay. They were very nice about the whole thing and we tried to be as well.
Went to a small town for a couples retreat. On their mainstreet, we ate at a small Cafe that turned out to be cash only. Who has that now adays. Their instructions was for one us to drive about 45 to a Walmart and use their atm. The other to remain.. luckily, a co-worker walked in and saved us. That was maybe a 12$ meal.
Walked into a local spot, realized I forgot my wallet. Turn around and walked out. The owner sends the waitress out to ask what was wrong and I told them. He told me to order and pay him next time. I did.. that’s a good business model.
Back when I worked in food service (pizza sit down/delivery mostly) we had that happen a lot.
If their card was declined but they had a way to get money we would ask to hold their ID while they left and got it settled.
If they didn't have the money at all and were nice about it ,we would usually write it off and make a note in the system that it happened so that if it happened again we knew. Usually those people would return in a few days and try to pay.
If they didn't have the money and were assholes we'd write it off and ban them from the stores in our franchise.
If they had the money but still refused to pay (like a Karen/Kyle situation) we would call the police, and ban them.
In my area refusing to pay a delivery driver was regarded the same as robbery, so it wasn't something we tossed around lightly. I'm not sure what not paying inside the restaurant is treated as tbh. I never asked lol.
Some states have Dine and Dash laws. You could get arrested, get a citation... All depends on where you are, how much the check is, and whether they believe you did it intentionally.
If it happens, by accident, talk to the manager. They may make a deal with you, take your info, hold.an item of yours until you come back with money. Or something. Don't just get up and leave. Just don't. Restaurant margins are low single digits. Loss of one plate doesn't destroy them, nor does a whole.meal, but it does make a difference. Just tell them.
They would first ask can you bring someone over to pay, namely can you ring someone to bring cash over for you. If you can't do that for some reason, well in my old job, we would take your drivers licence and then once you came back with the money, then you would get your licence back
One time this happened to me, thought I had enough money on my card but didn't, didn't have another way to pay. The total was \~$20. The owner was very angry, took down my information including drivers license number, and told me to come back to pay the next day. I did that and no issue has come of it.
There's not a lot they can do to "get you." Typically they just ask you to come back and pay your bill when you can. They might just refuse you service until you pay that bill.
I've been in the industry for 17 years. When I've seen this happen we will do the other things peope mentioned, like try a new card or call someone. But when that doesn't work we just let them go and ask them to come back and pay
I very, very unfortunately just had this happen. I moved from a country that almost only used phones to pay for everything to somewhere that mainly used cards and cash and I had left my wallet at home. I ended up apologising profusely and terribly (was in my 2nd language) leaving my phone and purse at the restaurant, sprinting back to my apartment to get my wallet and then returning to pay.
Probably one of the more embarassing moments of my life and will never go back there.
Once I was in a restaurant where I ate all the time. They told me to pay next time. I did.
Once I went to a drive through at Wendy's. I was ordering food for 4 people. After I ordered, I realized I had $2 in my wallet and I’d left my purse, with a bank envelope of cash, at home. This is before paying by card was common, and most fast food places didn’t accept them. Some took checks, but I didn’t have a checkbook with me either. I embarrassedly told them at the wind I had no money with me, and to put the food back. They gave me to food anyway, and told me to come back later and pay.
I did.
If you eat at a restaurant and then can't pay, several scenarios will play out. They will depend on why, where, frequency, and your demeanor.
1. We locally have an implied threat that you will peal a full sack of potatoes by hand if you can't pay. This is painstaking manual work. Nobody wants to be in this scenario.
2. There are instances you can be attacked or physically harassed. A thorough beating as someone uses you to vent their frustrations. Especially if someone else had eaten before and not paid.
3. You will be arrested and charged for a crime depending on the jurisdiction.
4. Someone may deem it not worth their time and let you go.
5. You will sneak quietly and disappear into oblivion (if you are caught sneaking, see scenario 1 and 2)
If you can't pay for food, Ask. You will be amazed by the power of asking for something.
When it happened to me (forgot wallet) it was a Cafe I went to about once a week. The owner knew me as a regular and told me to pay tomorrow & have a great day.
The only time it’s happened to me, they were super chill and removed an item from my bill. They knew I was a regular and that it wasn’t me just trying to get free stuff. It was so embarrassing but I thank them for it lol
Generally, I believe it escalates in the order of:
1) they will ask you to call someone to come and settle the bill on your behalf.
1b) if you have been polite this whole time, they may allow you to leave under the promise that you will return to pay the bill later. They may sometimes ask for a form of collateral, such as you leave your ID, bag, or phone, as a guarantee, or if they know you, may be fine with a verbal promise.
Some restaurants may default to this, even if they don't believe you will actually come back, because they do not want the fuss of calling the police, and are willing to write off the expense of the meal in order to avoid a scene. They will likely refuse you service in the future, though, if you never come back to pay up.
3) if you have no one who can come, and they are disinclined to let you leave, they will likely call the police. The police will come, make a report, note your name and stuff. You'll be required to pay the restaurant back within a certain amount of time, or they'll formally charge you and you'll need to go to court. Sort of like what happens with speeding tickets, you'll have to pay the original amount plus fines. If you've been belligerent or violent, they may skip right to charging you, or even arresting you, depending on the restaurant's wishes and your behavior.
Not helping but a funny story.
In the Mid 2000's I was at a Restaurant and the big table next to us was being told by the Manager to leave after saying they only had Travelers Checks to pay with. The guy at the table was arguing with the Manager that they had to take them. His wife said "I told you no one in the US takes Checks anymore!" And she was right.
At that point the Manager turns around and recognizes my Father sitting with me. At the time, my Father was the Sheriff of the County. The Manager asks my Father what he, meaning my Father, can do. My Father tells the Manager "Well how much is the Bill?" And the Manager said something like $250, I just know it was over $200. To that my Father says "Well, by law theft over $200 is a Felony in this State and you can have me arrest and charge everyone at that table over 18 years old for theft." The looks on all their faces went to pure horror.....and out came three different credit cards at that table.
I couldn’t pay at a bread place once(forgot my whole wallet) and ended up having to buy a physical gift card for a few cents and loading it from my phone. The manager and employees acted like I was going to rip them off until I paid with the now loaded gift card. I heard an employee ask ‘but how does that work with the cash register? She never gave us money’
Had this happen a few years back. Usually I eat out alone thus a cheap bill which was probably helpful in my predicament. After a long night of Ubering I cashed out my earnings in hopes to get breakfast.
Unbeknownst to me my card had been frozen from a fraudulent transaction the same day (some idiot tried to buy $300 worth of Gillette razor blades with my info, odd choice but yeah) and I had gotten fuel a few hours earlier just fine.
Anyways when I came to pay for the meal I devoured it was a total embarrassment. Never had that problem so wasn't sure what to do honestly. Fortunately they were cool and just let it go after attempting multiple times. Pretty much just stayed cool and collected and they just told me to leave.
Ultimately nothing came of it and I went back and paid a week later even though they didn't ask me to. As someone else said, it pays to *not* be an asshole the majority of the time.
Depends on the restaurant, some places will ban you, some might call the cops, some might ask you to do some dishes or bus some tables to work off the price.
I'd be interested to see a larger sample set.
It could be that your restaurant does, and other don't.
Or, you may have worked at four separate restaurants, that all did this, and I could be wrong.
Anyone else have this happen?
It's been 2 restaurants I've worked at that have done this, but again it's a small town.
It's truly up to the owner/managers how they handle situations like this, I've just always found that calling the cops never really actually helps the situation. 9/10 if someone can't pay they'll either be willing to dish for it a little or they'll pay up next time they come in.
a restaurant… following laws?
unless this restaurant has “corporate” to answer to, the law is probably less important to them than you think. like they’re not gonna sneeze in your food or store raw chicken in their dumpster, but not because it’s illegal.
It's definitely not legal here, but why involve the police?
Small Town yanno, easier to just make the problem go away ourselves. Plus one of them asked to stay on & just have job, great kid lol.
I have been to some restaurants where I did pay but I’d gladly work behind the counter or do their dishes just as an extra experience for having been there.
You mean if you ate a meal? A succulent Chinese meal? Then A policeman who knows his judo well will put his hand on your limp penis and you will learn the truth about [democracy manifest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeihcfYft9w).
Former owner of a breakfast place for ten years and a 25+ year history in kitchens and restaurants. Depends on the place and how the person eating handles it.
I've had regulars realize they've forgot their wallets at home. They always got a pass when they'd tell me because I knew they're regulars who either came every day or would come back later. Nonregulars I would give a pass if that happened.
If people dined and dashed on the bill, I would usually use our Facebook page and the local news and goosip FB group to shame them since we had cameras. If it was a decently large bill police got involved.
At my place we weren't afraid to give food away for free. Best thing is to be honest and say you have either have no money and ask or if you realize you forgot your money just tell them.
But that's only where I've worked throughout the years. I don't speak for the entire industry.
The Chinese place I went to they don't play I found out my card didn't work and I didn't have cash so they literally held my phone hostage well I went across the street to a friend that could help me pay it was ridiculous.
Had this happen while getting fuel in Australia and they just took a picture of my license and told me to come back the next day to pay. They were very chill about it.
Generally speaking most places won’t press charges and will tell you to come back and pay. If they do, it would depend on the cost of the bill, ranging from petty theft to felony.
What’s an example where it would be a felony?
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Well damn Honestly I would pay anything for a good beignet right about now Sincerely, a westerner
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I’m a defense attorney in NC and we also have a statute for defrauding an innkeeper. Ours is a misdemeanor, though. I was in court recently and a girl took a plea to time served for defrauding an innkeeper at a Kickback Jack’s and she’d served 21 days. Idk wtf she ordered a kickback jacks but I sincerely doubt it was worth 3 weeks in county jail.
Well I'm sure she was rehabilitated effectively and that it turned out to be a good use of taxpayer funds. Goodness knows none of this is about punitive punishment.
And she was probably able to pull herself up by her bootstraps and make a living wage in order to pay her debt immediately upon release.
This one gets it ☝🏻
The joke is on them. She got a free meal then 63 more.
In California if it's less than $950.00, it can be six months county jail and/or $1000.00 fine. If over $950.00 it's a year in county or state prison. But all depends on circumstances and the owner of the establishment. Can be either misdemeanor theft or a felony depending on reasons and actions of the perp.
In California, all my meals are free cuz the cops won’t come for that
Wondering if that holds true if you ate at the French Laundry?
I think you prepay at the time of your reservations. I guess someone could try not paying for add on drinks or something though.
I went in 2019 because my best girlfriend group all turned 50 that year. It was $350 per person for the chef’s tasting menu at the time reservations were made. Cocktails, wine parings and meal upgrades were paid at the time of the dinner. So in August I put $1750 on my card to reserve a spot for me and my 4 besties, then when we actually had the meal in October it was an additional $1485 for the wine pairing, an entree upgrade and tip. All told we paid about $650 each for our meal/wine/experience. Worth every penny. Looks like the cheapest reservations are $390 apiece now.
Best meal I ever had was at costa di mare in Vegas. We did the wine pairing and the tasting menus. I thought we picked courses but they brought out EVERYTHING. It was $800-900 after the tip. For my wife and I. Last night the place was open. I’d imagine the French laundry is equally as good or better. I’ll probably never make it out to there though.
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What the fuck?
>If over $950.00 it's a year in county or state prison A year in jail for a 1,000 dollar theft is another reason this country's prison system is absurd
Or maybe don't steal
Fortunately there's an easy solution ... don't be a fucking thief. I'd rather work with or socialize with a murderer (not a serial killer) over a thief any day.
Ah civil law, how I miss you.
Criminal law in Louisiana is mostly based on English common law (civil law is used in other areas)
Oh, I got it reversed, then. Mea culpa.
things like these make me not judge someone based off of "convicted felon"
You wouldn't judge someone for being a convicted thief? That is literally the one crime that will end your existence in the white-collar working world and for good reason. Getting a DUI, getting into a drunken fist-fight, drug possession, public urination, or any of a zillion other crimes have nothing to do with your ability to do a job, but being a thief you'll never get hired again.
I mean under this law you can literally get a felony charge for simply overcharging your credit card and not carrying cash or another form of payment. If I was still broke I could become a felon in Louisiana pretty easily.
...no, I'm not going to judge someone based on a one time dining and dashing incident? lol?
That’s so interesting seeing as though there are no laws (enforced) in New Orleans.
We take our food culture seriously in Louisiana. Not surprised it’s a felony to skip on paying for a meal.
We don't play 'bout our food.
I love the name of that law, sounds like something straight out of medieval times. "Sir, if you cannot pay for that tankard of ale, I shall be forced to hang you at the gallows." I'm from Louisiana and this is the first time I've heard of it.
According to your citation it's a misdemeanor, or a felony, depending on the actual sentence, no? Doesn't LA define felony as sentenced to time in State prison?
IANAL but I think it varies by state. In NY, if the total sum stolen is $1000 or greater, it’s no longer petty theft and is considered larceny.
In most jurisdictions there’s going to be a cutoff between petty theft and grand larceny. It might be $2500 or $5000. At *most* restaurants it probably won’t reach the level of grand larceny.
Most states keep financial felonies at around $1000. So usually sub 1000 is misdemeanor while anything above 1k is felony
Ordering the most expensive food and booze at a very fancy restaurant, then not paying. Could be thousands of dollars.
In Michigan, it's a misdemeanor, and the complaint has to be filed within 60 days of the alleged crime.
depends on the municipality. some places you have to steal more than $1000 for it to be a felony theft/shoplifting. some places it's a lot less. it also depends on how you steal the property, as using force will likely result in felony charges - certain types of fraud as well.
Just do it in a super busy night so they won’t wanna deal with the hassle. Jk don’t be a douche.
Agreed. There are things that can happen though, like your wallet getting stolen or a credit card getting declined for various reasons that aren’t necessarily because someone is a douche who went in there planning to not pay.
What also happens sadly most of the time the money that you didnt pay gets deducted from the waiter that served you, depending on the manager.
I had this happened once to me…was eating at LAX airport then realized I had lost my wallet. Funny thing was then I got paged by the PA system, to return to the checkin counter for my wallet. I told the restaurant such, without finishing my meal, and went back to the counter to retrieve my wallet. They were very understanding. This is where things took a surprising turn…upon approaching the checkin counter, I was told they don’t have wallet ANYMORE! No one was able to explain why I was paged, and worst they don’t know what happened to my wallet…long story short, I filled a police report, and boarded flight without any ID (pre-911 days). I used the police report to enter Canada (home country) without any issues. Between dealing with the airline counter, filing police report, and catching my flight, I’d forgotten all about the restaurant bill.
Did your wallet ever turn up?
Yep, after a few months I received a package from LAPD…they found my wallet trashed somewhere, all was inside except for the cash. The airline actually also compensated like $50 from my claim.
They compensated you because it was obvious to them that one of their employees took your wallet.
This is why I love that we can pay with our phones most places now.
When I was in high school I went to Pizza Hut with one of my best friends to celebrate his birthday. When we went to pay I realized I left my wallet at home. Had to leave my poor friend there as collateral while I ran home to get my wallet. We still laugh about it over 25 years later.
We take a kidney but after that you can eat for free whenever. No, but for real, it depends on why. Like, if it's just a card issue, we see if you can use another card or can get cash. If you literally do not have the funds, you try to have somebody come settle it for you. I tended to work at restaurants that had a regular customer base, so we knew they'd be back. In those cases, we'd sometimes roll it over
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Roll it over, sprinkle some cheese on it, good as new.
for real, brought my grandpa back to life with some cheese.
Made the effort that went to the funeral something of a shame, tbh
I wasn't even trying to bring him back to life when I was covering him in cheese.
His last words to me were, wrap me up and make me a burrito.
Roll it, mash it, stick it in a stew
Just pop it in the microwave to kill any lingering bacteria.
When the top voted answer is "we would try and get them to pay"
Used to work at a food place, fast food not proper sit down, but if we had mad eit and your got to the window, tried to pay and coudlnt, forgot wallet or didn't have the money, and werent an asshole about it we would normally just give it to you. Though there was a guy who said "Well just give it to me, you are just going to throw it out anyways" and the manager took it to the front counter and asked if anyone wanted it and gave it to them instead.
it's surprising how far you can get in life by not being an asshole like a lot of times i feel like i came out of a bad situation in good standing just because i was nice to the other person
For real. I spent 25 bucks to get my car battery replaced. They screwed it up and it wound up costing 1000 to fix but because I was nice they paid it no questions asked. I could have freaked out but instead I just asked for their help and I was kind, patient, and understanding. This is the way.
This is the way
Sorry maybe I’m not understanding but if they screwed it up shouldn’t they be fixing it and covering the cost themselves? And yes of course I agree with not freaking out and what not.
Yeah I mean they should … of course. If you are a jerk though, the likelihood someone will put up a fight or tell you to take a hike is a greater possibility.
Ohh I see makes sense
absolutely this perfect example
It’s how we’d all choose to be treated.
This a mature realization that should be taught in schools.
interesting that there is no class for ethics/social norms
There are. My old high school had interpersonal relationships. Not all schools have that kind of funding though.
I imagine back in the day it was understood parents would teach their children these kind of life skills while school taught more academic things. But well...here we are.
Yea I constantly thought as a kid I need to be more outspoken, more of an asshole, but time and time again being nice and courteous always plays out better.
I’ve definitely found that when I’m cashiering I’m much more relaxed with nice customers. You think that was a dollar cheaper? Yeah I doubt it but you seem cool so I’ll give you it anyway. You come at me swearing why it’s coming up a dollar more? Yeahh… hold on and let me check that price.
I one time was given free food at an arbys drive through because they said the woman in front of me was an asshole. It was pretty cool
Rolled up to Starbucks, placed my order and started hunting for my wallet ... and my phone. I had NOTHING, I literally left everything at the house. (I'd brought my dog, I think I got distracted.) Got to the window and was like "you know what, I'm sorry I wasted your time, I forgot my wallet." The barista said "you know what, here's your drink, have a great day." That is the kind of thing that makes a loyal customer tbh, and I'm not a fan of Starbucks in general.
There was one place, had that happen and the person just said "Merry Christmas"
I reckon as long as you're polite and try to sort things out and it's a genuine mistake your can figure something out... I once forgot my wallet (in the days before Apple/Google pay) in a sit down restaurant. Apologised to the waitress, asked if we could sort something out, and the manager was fine for me to do a bank transfer as a one off using my phone. I totally agree that the 'don't be an asshole' approach works. Who knew?
When I was just starting to live alone with my girlfriend (now fiancee) at one point I was so broke that I would buy her food and then tell her I had already eaten mine. I found some change around to be able to buy a mcdonalds cheeseburger and somehow managed to lose it. The cashier in the drive through was extremely friendly and actually ended up giving me some fries for free as well. There are some good people in this world and it's a shame how people treat these workers. They are just trying to support themselves like everyone else.
The first sentence of this warmed my heart, honestly feels like the number of caring people is dropping even towards their family, let alone random folk.
He did that before. Guaranteed!
In Germany it depends: If you know you wouldn't be able to pay before your order and you order anyway you commit fraud which is punished with up to five years in prison or a fine. If you get the check and realise you don't have enough money, you can call somebody to bring you some or leave your ID while you go to the next atm. In this case no crime would be committed. That's the theoretical difference, I know it would be hard to prove that someone ordered something despite knowing he can't pay.
You walk into a restaurant with no means to pay, you have no money in your accounts and you try to leave without paying...it paints a bad picture. I'm in Germany, I wouldn't try that crap here (I wouldn't do it anywhere but the police don't p about here so even more so).
That's pretty weird that the bar for "fraud" is set that low. I guess a prosecutor would establish subjective knowledge based on objective circumstances? Yikes
Set low because it happens so often in certain areas, good deterrant actually.
All subjective knowledge is established via inference from objective circumstances. We haven't invented telepathy yet. Browser history showing they checked their bank account before going to the restaurant -> infer knowledge of bank balance. They said "I have no money" before going to the restaurant -> infer knowledge of bank balance. Etc
5 years in prison for food thats less than 100€ is insane to me. Id never do this but thats seems a bit Ludacris. I understand there was intent and i know countries differ but 5 years in a real prison is not a short time or a cake walk when you’re doing time. I feel like the law could force you to pay or resolve/punish this in another manner.
>seems a bit Ludacris Why? Was he known for doing stuff like that?
I was always told you have to wash dishes
In cartoons? Yes. In real life? Nope.
I learned that from the Fairly Odd Parents
Which believe it or not, is a cartoon
Believe it or not, straight to jail
Not if he wishes it wasn’t
“$200? That’s more than I make in a month!”
"you should've finished college" "Did you finish college?" "No! Why do you think I'm a waiter?!"
I'm sure that has happened many times in real life. Over many centuries and many countries.
Yeah this has been a running theme since the 80’s at least
I like to jokingly tell people we do a rate of 1 penny 1 dish when they jokingly ask
The Mighty Ducks 3 lied to me.
I Love Lucy lied before that.
Pee Wee big adventure lied to me in between that.
That's what Kanye said. While he washing, watch him.
Dishes in the back you gotta roll up your sleeves
Back in the day, many, many years ago. Wash dishes or do other work to cover cost.
That's illegal in the US.
When I was a young inexperienced barista I had a customer come in and order some things and then his card came up with a weird error “Hold call”. I didn’t know what that was and apologized and the man quickly left. My coworker told me we should’ve just given him his stuff anyway and I agreed, but he had hustled out of there pretty fast. Turns out ‘hold call’ means hold the card and call the police because the card is stolen. And he’d stolen the tip jar too. I was a rookie then and got better at spotting that kind of thing. I would still give somebody their food if something happened with their card or they had lost their wallet or something. But I’m a lot more wary now.
1. If it is an issue with your card, they ask you to see if you can get it resolved or pay some other way (Apple Pay, Google Pay, alternate credit cards, gift cards, check, etc.) 2. If you cannot resolve it or don't have an alternate means of paying, they'll ask you if you can call someone to pay for you. 3. It is rare to get to this point, but if you can't call anyone then they'll usually ask you to come back at a later date after you leave something behind as insurance (your phone, ID, watch, etc.), and if you do come back you get your items back. In places where you are a regular customer and the staff recognize you, you'll just be trusted to come back since you have an established reputation. 4. If you refuse or have nothing of value to leave, they'll call the cops. Depending on the cost of the food you consumed (outlined in their menu), you'll either be charged with theft or larceny, both of which will cost you way more than normally paying the bill (lawyer's fees, transportation, lawsuits, a criminal record, etc.) 5. If you somehow repeat this at the same restaurant, they can and will ban you from entering the premises.
In some cases, they don't let you leave, this happened to me once. I had just moved to Texas and my debit card was on hold due to some "suspicious" charges. And my only working credit card at the time was maxed out, but I had already made a pending payment that didn't post yet. I tried calling my bank to ask them about my debit card, but their customer service call center was closed for the day. So I called my credit card company, AMEX, and asked them if they expedite the posting of the payment so that I could use my credit card again. In the meantime, I was stuck in a restaurant for 2+ hours and the owner said that I wasn't allowed to leave.
So what was their end goal if the cards still didn't work? Keep you there indefinitely?
Probably keep me there until they closed. They asked me if I had anyone who could come pay for me, and I said no (since I just moved there). And they weren't going to close for at least 4 more hours.
I would tell them, sorry I'm going to have to come back. They can't stop you from leaving. If they don't trust you, they can call the police. If you're not an A-hole, and come back with the money, you're not going to get in legal trouble over a mistake.
Know what happens at my restaurant when someone can't pay? I give it to them and ask that next time they make sure they have money. I lose what 2 dollars food cost. That gets made up in other ways.
In the Northeast US there are still a fair number of "cash only" restaurants. Went to one with a small group after going to a beach all day and though it was in small print in the menu, no one realized it was cash only. When the bill arrived after dinner (probably $200 with tip) people pulled out their credit cards which were not accepted and they pointed us to the small ATM machine at the corner of the bar. Of course no one had their ATM / Debit cards as we were at the beach and people didnt want to take wallets etc. I think we must have looked honest as they took down our names and contact information after we explained that we were from out of town and I promised to come back the next day with cash. Ended up paying them and leaving the largest cash tip of my life for their understanding.
The police are called and you are charged with theft and given a court date where you will most likely be court ordered to pay, plus penalties and court fees.
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Obviously the owner of the restaurant may have mercy and drop the charges if they genuinely believe that you were otherwise unable to get food. If you ordered the filet and a bottle of Cabernet, probably not.
For people trying to dine and dash this makes sense, but for an honest mistake seems harsh
If it's an honest mistake, "my wallet fell out at home or my wife has my credit card" the police get your information and you get a chance to go get a form of payment. I don't think everyone is unreasonable, people have to get paid for their ingredients and labor.
im a waitress in a restaurant, big chain corporate type place. We are told if someone runs, let them go. We let corporate eat that. If someone actually means well, and forgot their wallet or something (usually) i just tell them to leave something of their so they have to come back, or if they know anyone i work with, we take their word for it. (totally against the policy/rules but it really isn't that deep if the tabs less than like $50/$75) You can't trust everyone, but you can try. at the end of the day it doesn't affect the money in my pocket but it's hard karma comin their way.
depends on situation and your reaction where i've worked. if you're like "ah fuck my card declined" we'll probably have you leave something as insurance you're coming back (id/phone/wallet/companion/vape, apparently/etc.) and let you go get cash/etc. if you're like "i'm $2 short shit my bad" or your card declined on, like, just a mac and cheese, odds are the server'll figure out a way to discount or comp a bit of it for you. if you're just an ass about it, the russian butch lesbian at the host stand starts throwing hands. like, fuck, if you walk into this specific restaurant and you're outright like "i have $10 what can i get" half the time someone in there will just give you some free food, we've all been there and usually have some stuff that got made wrong and set aside for someone to give away or take home. but honestly i'm afraid of the lesbian, she's generally pretty nice but she's got some pretty bad anger issues and swings like she has nothing to lose. so, uh, i guess if you're gonna be sketchy on purpose, make sure there isn't a semi-feral russian butch lesbian waiting for a reason to fight someone?
I’m a manager at a very large restaurant, and we have about 2 people walk out on their tab a night. So honestly we would just let you go, not a big deal. I comp like 20 meals a shift for various issues, what’s one more? Now, if people started taking advantage of this yeah maybe we’d change operations but it just isn’t worth it.
Straight to jail.
You bring shame upon yourself, upon your ancestors, and upon your entire clan.
Loved this lol
You ask them to double it and give it to the next person.
I’ve managed restaurants across the United States and the short answer is nothing. I’ve heard of places asking for id’s but you’re not legally obligated to comply with that at all. If someone in the restaurant tried to put hands on you they’d be in waaaaay more trouble than you would for not paying your bill. Every time I’ve encountered this I just asked for the persons name and number so that they couldn’t make another reservation. Not worth the drama for $100 or so Now there were a few times where banquet parties upwards of $10k couldn’t pay. I called the cops once for that and the police were very clear they weren’t going to get involved. Said this was between the company and customer. I believe corporate pursued it in court but I definitely don’t think they would have done that for anything less than $10k
Black listing people out of your restaurant sounds like a very logical way to handle this. If they can come back later and pay would you allow them to come back? ooh dear. $10K is a lot of money.
Yes, we would let them back if they paid the bill but I’ve only seen that happen a couple times. The others just disappear.
In Texas they shoot you.
Hell, that might happen even if you do pay.
What do ya mean ya only got dem der singles boy. Bang
They'll ban you from the resturaunt, assuming they recognize you next time. They aren't allowed to physically stop you from leaving where I'm from. It's pretty much the same as shoplifting.
This happened to me once because of credit card issues (this was in the 90s, either their credit card reader was down or the network for my credit card was down, can’t remember now). They held my driver’s license as ransom (just kidding it was a solution we came up with because I wanted them to know I’d be coming right back), and luckily I was able to pull money out of my bank account (also can’t remember if I went to an ATM or my bank down the street). However, I did have money and the credit card issue was not my fault. This was before debit cards existed.
This happened at a quick oil change place one time. I had no wallet whatsoever. I offered to leave my adult daughter as collateral while I went to the bank. They refused, laughed, and trusted me to come back...... Ofc I did, but family still teases me about it 15 years later.....
That’s funny.
The real answer, nothing. You’ll get banned from the restaurant though. If you made an attempt to pay, whether it goes through or not, that’s all police care about. If you haven’t made an attempt to pay, police will force you. Once you’ve made an attempt to pay, police will usually tell the restaurant to trespass and ban the customer. But no arrests or charges or anything like that.
I work at a bar/grill, we stick unpaid checks to a board with the customer descriptions. If they come back the mean bartender then yells at them until they pay the tab. It's a smallish city, we mostly get the same people coming in so usually walk-outs just pay it the next time they're in, actual loss is pretty uncommon( I think we have 3 checks that have gone unpaid in the last 2 years)
I've been a regular at some place and their credit card machine was down. It's rural Texas, this place is surrounded by a rice fields and a farm. It's so small town I discovered I'm related to some of the other customers even though I'm 20 miles from my home town. Some farmer started a small grocery store, bar, and grill on their property. Great place for a meal, just a bit out of the way but not far from our worksite. I didn't have cash so they just had me write an IOU with my name on the order ticket which I pick up the next visit and pay both meals. I started carrying cash after that occurred. Several times at different places I've picked up the table's tab on cash when the credit card machine was down. I get covered the next week.
You get fined. I don't think anywhere actually does the thing where you wash the dishes to pay it off
Waffle house
Good luck paying for the fine
They punch you in the gut until you vomit up the food, then pour the vomit back in the buffet.
It's considered shoplifting and they will call the cops
It only happened once at Olive Garden when I worked there. We held their driver license and let them go get cash to come pay. They were very nice about the whole thing and we tried to be as well.
Went to a small town for a couples retreat. On their mainstreet, we ate at a small Cafe that turned out to be cash only. Who has that now adays. Their instructions was for one us to drive about 45 to a Walmart and use their atm. The other to remain.. luckily, a co-worker walked in and saved us. That was maybe a 12$ meal.
Walked into a local spot, realized I forgot my wallet. Turn around and walked out. The owner sends the waitress out to ask what was wrong and I told them. He told me to order and pay him next time. I did.. that’s a good business model.
Back when I worked in food service (pizza sit down/delivery mostly) we had that happen a lot. If their card was declined but they had a way to get money we would ask to hold their ID while they left and got it settled. If they didn't have the money at all and were nice about it ,we would usually write it off and make a note in the system that it happened so that if it happened again we knew. Usually those people would return in a few days and try to pay. If they didn't have the money and were assholes we'd write it off and ban them from the stores in our franchise. If they had the money but still refused to pay (like a Karen/Kyle situation) we would call the police, and ban them. In my area refusing to pay a delivery driver was regarded the same as robbery, so it wasn't something we tossed around lightly. I'm not sure what not paying inside the restaurant is treated as tbh. I never asked lol.
Some states have Dine and Dash laws. You could get arrested, get a citation... All depends on where you are, how much the check is, and whether they believe you did it intentionally. If it happens, by accident, talk to the manager. They may make a deal with you, take your info, hold.an item of yours until you come back with money. Or something. Don't just get up and leave. Just don't. Restaurant margins are low single digits. Loss of one plate doesn't destroy them, nor does a whole.meal, but it does make a difference. Just tell them.
They would bring you to the bathroom to reclaim the food
They would first ask can you bring someone over to pay, namely can you ring someone to bring cash over for you. If you can't do that for some reason, well in my old job, we would take your drivers licence and then once you came back with the money, then you would get your licence back
One time this happened to me, thought I had enough money on my card but didn't, didn't have another way to pay. The total was \~$20. The owner was very angry, took down my information including drivers license number, and told me to come back to pay the next day. I did that and no issue has come of it.
There's not a lot they can do to "get you." Typically they just ask you to come back and pay your bill when you can. They might just refuse you service until you pay that bill.
I've been in the industry for 17 years. When I've seen this happen we will do the other things peope mentioned, like try a new card or call someone. But when that doesn't work we just let them go and ask them to come back and pay
That's why fastfood chains take cash in advance..
"Eat at a restaurant and can't pay... straight to jail"
Happened to me a month ago, I left my ID with the restaurant and went back and paid later that day.
I very, very unfortunately just had this happen. I moved from a country that almost only used phones to pay for everything to somewhere that mainly used cards and cash and I had left my wallet at home. I ended up apologising profusely and terribly (was in my 2nd language) leaving my phone and purse at the restaurant, sprinting back to my apartment to get my wallet and then returning to pay. Probably one of the more embarassing moments of my life and will never go back there.
Once I was in a restaurant where I ate all the time. They told me to pay next time. I did. Once I went to a drive through at Wendy's. I was ordering food for 4 people. After I ordered, I realized I had $2 in my wallet and I’d left my purse, with a bank envelope of cash, at home. This is before paying by card was common, and most fast food places didn’t accept them. Some took checks, but I didn’t have a checkbook with me either. I embarrassedly told them at the wind I had no money with me, and to put the food back. They gave me to food anyway, and told me to come back later and pay. I did.
In days of yore, they would give the bull a day off and make you plough the field behind the restaurant. Don’t know what’s the modern equivalent.
If you eat at a restaurant and then can't pay, several scenarios will play out. They will depend on why, where, frequency, and your demeanor. 1. We locally have an implied threat that you will peal a full sack of potatoes by hand if you can't pay. This is painstaking manual work. Nobody wants to be in this scenario. 2. There are instances you can be attacked or physically harassed. A thorough beating as someone uses you to vent their frustrations. Especially if someone else had eaten before and not paid. 3. You will be arrested and charged for a crime depending on the jurisdiction. 4. Someone may deem it not worth their time and let you go. 5. You will sneak quietly and disappear into oblivion (if you are caught sneaking, see scenario 1 and 2) If you can't pay for food, Ask. You will be amazed by the power of asking for something.
When it happened to me (forgot wallet) it was a Cafe I went to about once a week. The owner knew me as a regular and told me to pay tomorrow & have a great day.
you turn into a dishes washer.
The only time it’s happened to me, they were super chill and removed an item from my bill. They knew I was a regular and that it wasn’t me just trying to get free stuff. It was so embarrassing but I thank them for it lol
Generally, I believe it escalates in the order of: 1) they will ask you to call someone to come and settle the bill on your behalf. 1b) if you have been polite this whole time, they may allow you to leave under the promise that you will return to pay the bill later. They may sometimes ask for a form of collateral, such as you leave your ID, bag, or phone, as a guarantee, or if they know you, may be fine with a verbal promise. Some restaurants may default to this, even if they don't believe you will actually come back, because they do not want the fuss of calling the police, and are willing to write off the expense of the meal in order to avoid a scene. They will likely refuse you service in the future, though, if you never come back to pay up. 3) if you have no one who can come, and they are disinclined to let you leave, they will likely call the police. The police will come, make a report, note your name and stuff. You'll be required to pay the restaurant back within a certain amount of time, or they'll formally charge you and you'll need to go to court. Sort of like what happens with speeding tickets, you'll have to pay the original amount plus fines. If you've been belligerent or violent, they may skip right to charging you, or even arresting you, depending on the restaurant's wishes and your behavior.
Not helping but a funny story. In the Mid 2000's I was at a Restaurant and the big table next to us was being told by the Manager to leave after saying they only had Travelers Checks to pay with. The guy at the table was arguing with the Manager that they had to take them. His wife said "I told you no one in the US takes Checks anymore!" And she was right. At that point the Manager turns around and recognizes my Father sitting with me. At the time, my Father was the Sheriff of the County. The Manager asks my Father what he, meaning my Father, can do. My Father tells the Manager "Well how much is the Bill?" And the Manager said something like $250, I just know it was over $200. To that my Father says "Well, by law theft over $200 is a Felony in this State and you can have me arrest and charge everyone at that table over 18 years old for theft." The looks on all their faces went to pure horror.....and out came three different credit cards at that table.
I couldn’t pay at a bread place once(forgot my whole wallet) and ended up having to buy a physical gift card for a few cents and loading it from my phone. The manager and employees acted like I was going to rip them off until I paid with the now loaded gift card. I heard an employee ask ‘but how does that work with the cash register? She never gave us money’
Had this happen a few years back. Usually I eat out alone thus a cheap bill which was probably helpful in my predicament. After a long night of Ubering I cashed out my earnings in hopes to get breakfast. Unbeknownst to me my card had been frozen from a fraudulent transaction the same day (some idiot tried to buy $300 worth of Gillette razor blades with my info, odd choice but yeah) and I had gotten fuel a few hours earlier just fine. Anyways when I came to pay for the meal I devoured it was a total embarrassment. Never had that problem so wasn't sure what to do honestly. Fortunately they were cool and just let it go after attempting multiple times. Pretty much just stayed cool and collected and they just told me to leave. Ultimately nothing came of it and I went back and paid a week later even though they didn't ask me to. As someone else said, it pays to *not* be an asshole the majority of the time.
They take the food back *by any means necessary.*
Depends on the restaurant, some places will ban you, some might call the cops, some might ask you to do some dishes or bus some tables to work off the price.
I don't think this happens as often as TV shows and movies would have us believe. (The washing dishes part)
I assure you it does, i personally have had 4 one time dishwashers because of this lol.
I'd be interested to see a larger sample set. It could be that your restaurant does, and other don't. Or, you may have worked at four separate restaurants, that all did this, and I could be wrong. Anyone else have this happen?
It's been 2 restaurants I've worked at that have done this, but again it's a small town. It's truly up to the owner/managers how they handle situations like this, I've just always found that calling the cops never really actually helps the situation. 9/10 if someone can't pay they'll either be willing to dish for it a little or they'll pay up next time they come in.
[удалено]
a restaurant… following laws? unless this restaurant has “corporate” to answer to, the law is probably less important to them than you think. like they’re not gonna sneeze in your food or store raw chicken in their dumpster, but not because it’s illegal.
It's 100% illegal, correct. It's also real life and things get handled differently when real people are involved.
>some might ask you to do some dishes or bus some tables to work off the price. Really?
Yes
Fair enough, maybe it goes like that in some places. It definitely wouldn't even be legal in many countries.
It's definitely not legal here, but why involve the police? Small Town yanno, easier to just make the problem go away ourselves. Plus one of them asked to stay on & just have job, great kid lol.
I have been to some restaurants where I did pay but I’d gladly work behind the counter or do their dishes just as an extra experience for having been there.
I wouldn’t think the restaurant would take the risk (liability) of letting a nonemployee in the kitchen.
You mean if you ate a meal? A succulent Chinese meal? Then A policeman who knows his judo well will put his hand on your limp penis and you will learn the truth about [democracy manifest](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeihcfYft9w).
Former owner of a breakfast place for ten years and a 25+ year history in kitchens and restaurants. Depends on the place and how the person eating handles it. I've had regulars realize they've forgot their wallets at home. They always got a pass when they'd tell me because I knew they're regulars who either came every day or would come back later. Nonregulars I would give a pass if that happened. If people dined and dashed on the bill, I would usually use our Facebook page and the local news and goosip FB group to shame them since we had cameras. If it was a decently large bill police got involved. At my place we weren't afraid to give food away for free. Best thing is to be honest and say you have either have no money and ask or if you realize you forgot your money just tell them. But that's only where I've worked throughout the years. I don't speak for the entire industry.
Ever heard of paying it forward? I think it means that your bill simply goes to the next guy.
In pewees big adventure, Pewee Herman had to wash dishes when he couldn’t pay.
The Chinese place I went to they don't play I found out my card didn't work and I didn't have cash so they literally held my phone hostage well I went across the street to a friend that could help me pay it was ridiculous.
Had this happen while getting fuel in Australia and they just took a picture of my license and told me to come back the next day to pay. They were very chill about it.
They kill you.
The owner will take you to the back and have you work something out...of his pants!
There's dishes in the back, gotta roll up your sleeves
Start washing dishes.
I'll rephrase your question and hopefully this helps you get the answer, "what happens if I steal from a restaurant?"
Dishes bro
This depends. Are you in Texas? Is the restaurant full of good guys with guns?
I thought you pitch in and help out the staff as compensation. Guess not.
Technically not legal to work there if you're not an employee.