Dine and Dash

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Nick_in_MB

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I’ve searched for it, and can’t really find anything. Obviously, eating at a restaurant and leaving is bad. It’s stealing. But is it ever justifiable?

Went to lunch today with a coworker to a bar/restaurant we frequent every couple of weeks. Just to note, we don’t actually have bars here, they all have to have an operational kitchen and serve food in order to serve any alcohol.

Anyway, after receiving our food, which is after they messed up an order (they forgot to put in my order), we waited 45 minutes for our check. We didn’t just sit there though and wait for it though. After a few minutes, we started calling the waitress over, the manager over, anybody, and every time they walked right by. Waving a $20 in the air did no better either, as they were walking by. Nobody sat still, they would come out with food, fill up somebody’s drink, and go back into the kitchen. They never acknowledged us as we attempted to call them over.

Finally, my coworker walked out. We did have to get back to work, we only get an hour for lunch, and most times we only need 30 minutes, and it was now nearing an 1.5 hours we were out of the office (and sometimes the bosses are strict, you just never know the mood if your late). I stayed for a few minutes, thinking they would have seen my coworker leave. They walked right by, even as I attempted to call them over, and proceeded to take the order of a person that just sat down.

I walked out too. I’ve never done that before, didn’t like doing it (at the most, I would just leave a not-so-good tip for being ignored). I didn’t drive to the place, and I was afraid my friend would just drive off and leave me. Yeah, I think he would do that. Sure, he’s my friend at work, but it pretty much ends there, and it’s usually somebody to just hang out with at lunch; we work together on projects and stuff, but after 5:00 the friendship ends. I thought that I could call a cab, but I didn’t have money for that, and I forgot my phone at work, and I’ve seen this place refuse to give a phone for a person to use (and no pay phones nearby).

I’m going to go back there after work to pay for my food. I’m trying to get my coworker to do the same, but he’s not budging. But is it ever justifiable to walk out after eating?
 
Nick_in_MB said:
…But is it ever justifiable to walk out after eating?
Click to expand...
Yes, sometime it is. However, this is not the case. You guys have enough brains to estimate how much money was due and you could have left the money on the table. If you did not have cash, then it is a different story. I think that leaving with the intention of going back later to pay what is due is NOT morally wrong given the circumstances, but it could be illegal. When you go back you have an obligation to explain what happened and I think that you should warn your colleague that you will give his name out if they require that information. That it is your obligation, unless you choose to pay for both of you.
 
It is wrong to steal a meal from a restaurant - you ate the food, you pay for the food.

Why did you not leave that $20 on the table when you walked out?
 
I should have clarified that.

We pay for our own. He had the $20, I was paying with a credit card. If I had the cash, I would have left it. I’m one of those people that uses the debit/credit card everywhere, never with any problems. People tell me of their problems with plastic, and I just can’t relate ever.
And I would have stayed, but he would have drove off and left me. Yeah, not a very good friend, but like I said, the friendship ends at the door at 5:00.
 
Why don’t you call, talk to the manager, and explain what happened? You can leave it up to him to decide what to do next. I would not have sat there all afternoon either, but asked the one of the servers to get the manager. That usually gets attention!
 
That’s a good suggestion, killing two birds with one stone:
  1. You pay for what you ate
  2. You let the manager know there’s something amiss in their service, and it’s costing them money.
 
Newbie2 said:
That’s a good suggestion, killing two birds with one stone:
  1. You pay for what you ate
  2. You let the manager know there’s something amiss in their service, and it’s costing them money.
Click to expand...
And if the manager has any business sense at all, he’ll not accept your payment, as a way of keeping your good will after the bad service you received.

Betsy
 
I have worked a total of 6 years in the cooking school & restrant business. I’m a serious “foodie” & eat out 2-3 times a week. I have seen lots of dining conditions, but nothing as bad as you discribed. I would have walked out too. I never leave cash sitting on the table. If in the same situation I would not have paid unless they caught me on the way out. I am not going to beg somebody to take my money when I’m waving in their face anyway. I’d probably never return unless I knew the managment & staff had changed.
 
Just an update…
I did return, and so did my coworker. He actually got there before me, apparently me saying that I was going to return all afternoon ate away at his conscience. He paid for both of us, and I just gave him the money for mine (I went and got cash). He explained it to the waitress that we were already running late while waiting, and she said she understood, knew that we left, and that next time she would “cut us,” whatever that means.
I should probably let the manager know, if that was a threat of some kind, but I just don’t really care. I kinda don’t want to go back there after that lunch experience.
And my thing is, I’m kinda amazed that she knew we left, and that even though I hung around after my friend left for a few minutes while he got to the car, she still didn’t come over and say anything.
 
I wouldn’t want to eat in a place like that myself. Lousy service is lousy service.
 
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