friends happy to steal from a restaurant

[shanefolan29]

A couple of nights ago, myself and an old friend along with 2 of his friends were eating in a restaurant/bar in London. We had drinks too and when we asked for the bill the restaurant mistakenly only charged us for the drinks. The three I was with felt great about it and when I tried to point it out to my friend that we should say something he said no they'd screw us over if they had the chance [as if he personally knew the restaurant which he did not.]

I felt too pressurised to go against the crowd so went along with it and secretly returned later and paid for the food as my conscience would not rest. However it sort of upset me of their morals here, I am no saint but has anybody else ever experienced this sort of thing in a restaurant when out dining?

It baffles me too how we often cite such behaviour to criminals or poverty stricken people from council estates etc when infact all of my friends that night had good jobs and came from comfortable families. I have seen similar behaviour too when at uni when 2 people [both of whom attended private school and came from 'good' families] both fleeced our landlord and ran out on paying their bills.

[TheQueenOfWands]

My colleagues did this. I wasn't there. They gleefully told me about it.

For some reason part of the bill was left off.

They now can't go to one of the best restaurants in the area for the sake of about £6 each.

[Jonsey79]

Ywnbu. I'd have said something at the time though, along the lines of "haha, very funny guys! Hang on while I get the waiter..."

When I was a student I worked in a very swanky pub. Their policy was to charge waiting staff the first £100 if a table in their area left without paying.

[TestingTestingWonTooFree]

I would have said something while I was there. I did this recently when all the drinks were left off the bill.

[SilverBirchTree]

They sound like bad people

[frasier]

TheQueenOfWands Why can't they go back? Because they may be recognised? Surely the restaurant wouldn't remember who the customers were, they must serve hundreds...?

It has never happened to me but I would definitely say something. I paid for uni by working in restaurants and bars and it's a difficult enough job without your wages being docked for mistakes.

[Angie169]

I would of spoken to the waiter / bar staff to make sure the bill was correct but it is not easy to do when others around you are making a joke of what they got away with.

You are right a lot of people would not consider this stealing but it is you have taken / eaten / drank something without paying for it .

[Iflyaway]

Bastards.

Just make sure never to invite them to your house. You never know what they might pocket if those are their kind of morals.

[Ivorbig1]

Did you really go back and back? For just yours ? Or pay the whole bill??

[Ivorbig1]

Back and pay

[mintkat]

What arseholes.

Especially as if you point this out you sometimes get a goodwill discount.

[FrangipaniBlue]

Not stealing exactly but I have a group of fiends who don't tip! If their food comes to say £31.75 they will take their 25p change

I hate eating out with them because I end up spending way more than my bill comes to (if the service was good) because I put the whole tip in.

I'll admit, I lose a little bit of respect for people who behave like mine and your friends.

[ERipley]

I felt too pressurised to go against the crowd so went along with it and secretly returned later and paid for the food as my conscience would not rest.

Really?! I wouldn’t have.

[shanefolan29]

I went back and paid the whole bill, the money part didn't bother me really, it was more their attitudes. It's like something you'd do if you were 14 to get a thrill and to show off but as adults it's just wrong.

[SheGotBetteDavisEyes]

and secretly returned later and paid for the food as my conscience would not rest

How did you do this?

You must have admitted leaving the restaurant without paying? The restaurant staff were okay with that?

[spacestranger]

This happened to me when out for a large group meal for a friend birthday at an independent restaurant. Over £100 worth of drinks left off the bill.

I didn't know any of them other than birthday friend.

I didn't find out until we were in the pub after as I'd paid my share to go into the poor and gone to the loo with birthday girl.

I couldn't go back and pay it as couldn't afford it and I'd had tap water to keep my bill down.

Birthday friend went back and paid it it the next day. Some present and what shitty friends she has.

[selavy]

A similar thing happened to me once but they had forgotten to charge us for the two bottles of wine we had. We pointed this out to the waiter and a few minutes later the manager came over to our table, apologised for their mistake, thanked us for our honesty and didn’t charge us for the wine after all

[SheGotBetteDavisEyes]

we often cite such behaviour to criminals or poverty stricken people from council estates etc

Do 'we'? Are 'we' really putting 'criminal or poverty-stricken people from council estates' into one can't-be-trusted box?

I think on that, you speak for yourself, despite the rest of your OP, OP.

[Qwertytypewriter]

You must have admitted leaving the restaurant without paying? The restaurant staff were okay with that?
No, they were given a smaller bill which they paid, so pretty straightforward to go back and say she realised when she got home that the amount couldn't be right.

[Redglitter]

Not stealing exactly but I have a group of fiends who don't tip

That's not even remotely like stealing

[kungpopanda]

You must have admitted leaving the restaurant without paying? The restaurant staff were okay with that?

Well as the OP was returning and paying, presumably they were, and why wouldn't they have been?

What would you have done, called the police? Doh.

[shanefolan29]

''How did you do this?

You must have admitted leaving the restaurant without paying? The restaurant staff were okay with that?''

It was an Italian restaurant and the staff did not have good English so it cut alot of the awkward questions out, they just started sifting through past orders and I saw ours and paid-again the language barrier greatly helped diffuse an awkward situation.

[PinkCalluna]

I would have paid there and then and shamed them.

The poor waiter would have been the one to suffer for the error not the restaurant.

Stealing is stealing. I wouldn’t eat with them again.

[GabsAlot]

sorry frangi thats not even the same thing

you dont have to tip anyhone in this country(shold have said unless you are somewhere else)

[mintkat]

Not stealing exactly but I have a group of fiends who don't tip

Not sure if that was a typo but if so it’s an apt one...

[Jamiefraserskilt]

A hotel I stayed at recently forgot to charge me for £40 worth of food and drink. When I was told the cost of my extras, I could have accepted the bill as was. However, I asked them to check, gave them a list and it was much more than they had tallied. I would not feel right knowing they had undercharged.