dine and dash on the rise

Interesting article. I like the coined "chew and screw".

I heard from someone recently about the practice of going to a Motel for free breakfast.

We definitely noticed it happening more frequently at Sweet Surrender in 2010 than in prior years. And it was clearly intentionally done most of those time. In 2008 and 2009, we only had three total instances. That more than doubled in 2010. One night, we had 2 parties try to get away with it, but caught up to both of them before they got away from the sidewalk out front. I have been working with my servers to keep a better eye out for it, and it seems to have helped.

Interesting article. I like the coined "chew and screw".

I call it stealing.

Jessica,
I wondering what kind of folks would do that around here.

Were they young adults? Were they well dressed? Did they pay when caught? Did they try to explain?

Sorry for the third degree. Just trying to understand this alien lifeform.

I dined and dashed one night....

Back in the 80's...I was hanging out with Hank Williams Jr. and his band after a show one night and we were having us a BIG ol' time...problem was I thought I was drinking ON the band, turns out I was just drinking WITH the band. When it came time to tab out... well lets just say my share of the tab was about 100 bucks more than I had in my pocket at the time. Soooooooo I kinda-sorta ended up stiffing The Raddison. This was the same night I kinda sorta punched the lady cop on accident. (Like I said, we were having us a big ol' time)

I dined and dashed one night....

Back in the 80's...I was hanging out with Hank Williams Jr. and his band after a show one night and we were having us a BIG ol' time...problem was I thought I was drinking ON the band, turns out I was just just drinking WITH the band. When it came time to tab out... well lets just say my share of the tab was about 100 bucks more than I had in my pocket at the time. Soooooooo I kinda-sorta ended up stiffing The Raddison. This was the same night I kinda sorta punched the lady cop on accident. (Like I said, we were having us a big ol' time)

So did you kinda sorta end in jail?

When I was server in NY I chased a guy down the street and caught him. He did it on purpose and He was totally embarrassed. I had the check in my hand and he paid it. I pointed out that he also need to pay me a tip. He gave me 25%. Today I do not know if I would chase some one down the street but I was really hungry in those days.

I dined and dashed one night....

Back in the 80's...I was hanging out with Hank Williams Jr. and his band after a show one night and we were having us a BIG ol' time...problem was I thought I was drinking ON the band, turns out I was just just drinking WITH the band. When it came time to tab out... well lets just say my share of the tab was about 100 bucks more than I had in my pocket at the time. Soooooooo I kinda-sorta ended up stiffing The Raddison. This was the same night I kinda sorta punched the lady cop on accident. (Like I said, we were having us a big ol' time)

So did you kinda sorta end in jail?

Believe it or not...no. I think she kinda looked at me the way you'd look at a puppy that peed on the carpet. You WANT to kick their ass but they're just so damn cute you can't bring yourself to do it. BTW, I went back to the Raddison years later and tipped a different server 100% on a $50 dollar tab...I think she musta thought she was doing a good job but in reality I was just trying to bury a corpse (figuratively speaking).

My second favorite server story involved a dine and dash. Was the only time I had to cut off a patron from alcohol. She was none too happy with my choice, walked out on part of her tab (the additional drinks she had after closing her dinner tab), and then called to complain to the manager. Man, I hated working at Tumbleweed, but the manager, Tex, was a stand-up guy and knew how to take care of his workers. He pleasantly invited the woman back to the restaurant to discuss the matter. Kicker was he also pleasantly informed her that the cops would be waiting to discuss the matter of theft. She never showed.

We had a good laugh at the night's end. One of the good moments in an otherwise large sea of crap. Best part was they had already tipped me pleasantly on the dinner portion of the evening, so it worked out fine for me.

He pleasantly invited the woman back to the restaurant to discuss the matter. Kicker was he also pleasantly informed her that the cops would be waiting to discuss the matter of theft. She never showed.

Its a shame he warned her about the police being there, I'd love for the story to end with them busting her for theft.

We tracked down a shoplifter once by using an entry they filled out for a contest Anheuser Busch was doing last year. You sign your contact information for a chance to win some swag and drop it in a box.

We had a high $ bottle of vodka go missing, so I started watching the previous days video.... the thief filled out a form, and then lifted the bottle. I dig the form out, and call them about the contest. They show up, I inform them that we caught them on video stealing, and they could either pay for the bottle or I'll call the cops with their information. Needless to say, she paid for the bottle. She went from thinking she was winning a tv to paying for her bottle.

This is a good time to remind servers how important it is to have the check at the table in a timely manner.
We have had good experiences become disappointing because the server disappears - lots of reasons, some good. Sometimes I will have to leave and do something else while Mike waits. Or one of us looks for a manager or someone else - sorry to make someone look bad - but we're ready to leave.
And I'm not speaking about a few minutes after dining. 10 min. after finishing is too much.
No, we're not going to walk out but this could explain others sometimes. No excuse, of course.
Another reason why we sit at the bar. We get our check in a timely manner. (Mike has bartended; I have waited tables.)
Our new fav place to eat has one server now for 14 to 16 tables. And we had to wait awhile to get our check. Friend and I leave while others wait. Must be the January problem of predicting business.
(He pays for dining out, I manage the household finances. It works for us. All one account

Jessica,
I wondering what kind of folks would do that around here.

Were they young adults? Were they well dressed? Did they pay when caught? Did they try to explain?

Sorry for the third degree. Just trying to understand this alien lifeform.

A few examples...

We've had all different types. There is a couple that has done it at least twice. They come in and sit by the front door, which we normally don't use and slip out when the server's back is turned. They are dressed no differently than our regular customers and seem nice at first.

Another time we had a group of ten 12 year olds arrive in a limo with only 2 adults. They had ordered a birthday cake in advance to be served here. When they got here, they sat down and ordered drinks while we cut the cake. Half way through getting their drinks, one of the adults told us they had changed there minds and wanted everything to go, with the cake individually packaged. Of course this took a while. They then actually walked out the door, thinking we had forgotten they hadn't paid yet. We chased them down and they did pay. But it was clearly planned.

That same night we had a very well dressed couple dine. They had received their ticket and were done. Then when all three of the servers were busy with other diners, the gentleman walked up to the counter, put 2 dollars in the tip jar, smiles at the closest server and walked out without paying.

We have had people who genuinely forgot to pay before. If it's a regular, we hold their ticket and make them pay it the next time they come in. sometimes they people do get distracted by their kids or come in too drunk to realize. It's frustrating, but fortunately it doesn't happen too regularly.

I have only done this once in my life, and I do not and did not feel a bit guilty about it. I will not name names, but it was a totally horrible experience every step of the way - from getting seated, to service, to food and drinks. All were awful. My boyfriend and I waited forever for the check. We then waited forever to pay the server. Finally unable to get the server's attention to pay, we attempted going to the host station to pay. Waited there too, no avail. We went back to the table and waited some more. Finally we made the decision to just go. It was a weekend and it was moderately busy, but not like a lot of places can be on weekends. It wasn't just totally swamped w/ an hour waitlist or anything. I am sure you'll all try to give me a dressing down, but I make no apologies. For hell's sakes, we weren't even going to stiff the server on her tip. We TRIED TO PAY!!!

I have only done this once in my life, and I do not and did not feel a bit guilty about it. I will not name names, but it was a totally horrible experience every step of the way - from getting seated, to service, to food and drinks. All were awful. My boyfriend and I waited forever for the check. We then waited forever to pay the server. Finally unable to get the server's attention to pay, we attempted going to the host station to pay. Waited there too, no avail. We went back to the table and waited some more. Finally we made the decision to just go. It was a weekend and it was moderately busy, but not like a lot of places can be on weekends. It wasn't just totally swamped w/ an hour waitlist or anything. I am sure you'll all try to give me a dressing down, but I make no apologies. For hell's sakes, we weren't even going to stiff the server on her tip. We TRIED TO PAY!!!

Peg-
My dad was a fairly impatient sort and waiting around for the check or worse yet waiting to pay drove him up the wall. He was also a very honest man and wouldn't dream of theft of services. What he did on a number of occasions was put a short note on the back of his biz card explaining why he left and offering to promptly pay if the establishment would send him a bill for the meal. No one ever came after him for TOS and IIRC, most places were too embarrassed to send him a bill.
BP

Peg-
My dad was a fairly impatient sort and waiting around for the check or worse yet waiting to pay drove him up the wall. He was also a very honest man and wouldn't dream of theft of services. What he did on a number of occasions was put a short note on the back of his biz card explaining why he left and offering to promptly pay if the establishment would send him a bill for the meal. No one ever came after him for TOS and IIRC, most places were too embarrassed to send him a bill.
BP

The judging. It burns! I have been a server. I always tip well and truly am a near-infinitely patient woman. It was not simply impatience. In retrospect, however, I *do* wish I'd have thought of something like leaving a note and my info on the check at the time. By the time it got to that, I was too flustered to think of it. As I said it never ever happened before and I hope never will happen again, but if it does, I will use the note/info method. Or just try to bring a bank with me so I don't have to rely on CC service.

Peg-
I did not intend to imply you were impatient and certainly wasn't trying to be judgmental. Apologies if my post came off that way.
Bill