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.

Well I think you did the right thing, but I've been in situations a few times when I've been under-charged, highlighted this, and when I've then paid the extra thought afterwards about how unfair it is that honest nice people miss out! You don't get any thanks, just a smaller pocket.

I was once sent two iPhones by mistake. When I called the phone company they were almost annoyed. It was such a hassle trying to send the other one back and the company made out I was the one being difficult! They said no ones ever returned a phone sent in error, and didn't know what to do! I eventually got it back to the company, out of pocket and using up my valuable time! - I could've easily kept it! Been a couple of hundred pounds up! No hassle etc..

Why do we bother to be honest, it gets you no-where and often ends up being time consuming and costing money. No-one ever thanks you for it

pleasebepolite
It’s shocking what some customers will do. Taking items from company premises is disgraceful.

I don’t work in food industry, I work in the leisure industry.

I take baby and parent swim lessons in a 5* residential part of Hong Kong. I have to replenish toys for the classes all the time because they are constantly being taken. People who take these toys know they take them and they don’t care. Drives me nuts.

There is, IMHO, some sort of feeling that within service industries, customers have to get something for nothing. Whether it’s that sense of entitlement, or the feeling that they have in some way been ripped off because they’ve had to pay for something when they really didn’t want to but had to.

People look for free advice from lawyers, take cutlery from restaurants, leave without paying, and feel pleased with themselves about it.

It’s so sad. OP, you did the right thing. Shame on your friends.

To those saying the waitress / waiter will have to pay - this is not legal!

Jenny

Is not legal to have less than (iirc)11 hours between shifts, or to work more than 48 hours a week without opting out of the working hours directive, or having workers who are "self employed" when they are anyhing but, or paying less than NMW by making spurious deductions.....or any of the other things that dodgy employers do. Doesnt mean it doesnt happen, people will put up with almost anything if they are desperate for work and know that their employer can bin them off with no notice and fill the job again within hours.

Good on you for going back and paying, as the poor waiter would have to pay the bill from his already low wages. As for your friend, karma has funny ways catching up on those acts...

I always hand in if I find something so when visiting Memphis I lost my camera with my days budget money in it I was really upset at the thought of losing all those photos probably more than the $$ we were driven by a free limo owned by the rib restaurant and I told some friends I'd made in the hotel about it they said they'd leave their number at the restaurant and if camera is there they'd leave at hotel reception...I wasn't hopeful, a day later the limo driver found my camera on the middle row of seats (apparently most folk sit in the back row) and handed it into the rib shack..I was elated and promptly went to the rib place the next day and gave $50 reward for his honestly, sadly it was his day off so I hope he got it. It's wrong to knowingly not pay for an item whatever it is good on you for paying next day.

Going back to pay later doesn't always make it right, no. The theft has already occurred.
Doh.

Yes it does. And when I worked in hospitality, we were always eternally grateful.
As I am sure anyone with half a brain realises, in hospo people are often overworked and underpaid and poorly trained and very often penalised for any mistakes in a way I haven't heard of in other industries. Also rarely get sick or holiday pay, seasonal work that fluctuates depending on how busy the restaurant is/the whim of the manager/ if they think you are attractive or not - you can say its illegal if you like but that doesn't mean it isn't endemic.
And then, you get assholes who think they are lording it over young waitstaff when they make mistakes under pressure.
Thanks for going back. We appreciate it. Hospo is shite I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

YANBU. I agree with you. I point out when they make an error against me and I point out when they make an error in my favor because fair is fair. I know perfectly well they will often take it out of the servers tips.

I felt too pressurised to go against the crowd so went along with it

I would still have said something.

Btw do your friends know that most big chains take the cost of the meal out of the servers wages? Horrid practice as what can they do to stop people who want to walk out without paying? Depending on size of the table and what restrent it is could wipe out anywhere between 1 week to a month of minimum wage salary.

I don't understand why you'd go along with this, and then sneak back to pay for your own food? I bet you didn't really
Next time, have the guts to address it then and there.

makeitalargegin at 00:52 said it and I see it's just been said again by worridmum:

some restaurants charge waitstaff for a bill "their" table doesn't pay.

So OP you did absolutely the right thing. Maybe this restaurant does charge their staff, maybe not, but at least you know that waiter was definitely not charged.

And if you don't know what to say next time, then I think this one is a good point. Is your waiter their to serve AND pay for your meal?

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

Nobody has to tip and its hardly the same thing as not paying for you meal

It happened both with my sil and with friends. No one is short of a few bob. Both times I queried it and the staff couldn’t get their heads round what I was saying and checked but still didn’t change the bill. It was for nominal amounts (eg 3 cokes). On both occasions sil and friends shushed me. I’m sure they wouldn’t have said anything in the first place. Had I queried it again, I would have had to make a big scene. I felt shit, especially as sil, who is minted, claimed the deduction all to herself so I paid the correct amount.

@TheQueenofWands.

Excellent user name!

I always

1. Tell the waiter if the bill is wrong
2. Tip - unless the service has been shite

The stuff I hear from the manager/deputy manager of my local coffee/cafe/bar is beyond shocking. The general public can be total fuckers.

Also, we've had amazing service at Browns in particular. We hadn't complained and weren't annoyed in the slightest but the manager reckoned that our food had taken too long.

We paid £11.50 which covered DD's meal, her soft drink and when I pointed out that they had missed off our (not soft) drinks they said don't worry about it. and left a fuck off massive tip

I have walked out of a bar once without paying - we were waiting 45 mins for the bill and had asked 4 times. The last time I asked, I said "we've been waiting for XX minutes. If the bill isn't here in 5 minutes, we're walking out".

The waiter rolled his eyes and we waited 10 mins. Fuck that for a game of soldiers.

You went back. You paid. It's done.

As an aside you'd be surprised what people will steal from places. Like 17 nice gin glasses in one week or salt shakers. Basically anything.

I always say if the bill is wrong and we've been undercharged. I've worked in catering and hospitality and had my wages trimmed when people have done a runner - or when an item's been left off the bill in error. People make mistakes! The irony is that a good 50% of the time, you'll be thanked for your honesty and they'll honour the original bill as a goodwill gesture for being straight with them.

And for those saying it's illegal to dock wages due to underpayment and table dashers - yes it is. Doesn't stop places from doing it though! When you are dependent on every hour of work you can get to pay your bills, then you aren't exactly in a position of power to negotiate...

Not decent people. That’s appalling. I’d give them a wide berth, your “friends”.

After checking with policeman friend this is an offence. It doesn’t matter that the food wasn’t on your bill, you KNOW you’ve eaten and chosen to leave without paying. It’s be different if you’d had a meal for 10 if you with drinks and the bill had one starter and a couple of drinks missing, in that circumstance you could reasonably claim that you didn’t know the bill was incorrect, it looked ok, a massive bill with just a couple of small items missing. However, if you’ve obviously eaten and not been charged you can’t claim you thought the bill was correct, it’s obvious it wasn’t and the minute you leave the restaurant you’ve committed an offence.

The restaurant have every right to trace you (I presume form telephone number on the booking but I didn’t clarify that point) and bill you for the difference.

Aside from any of this they sound like dicks.

People from council estates

the lower classes

Eh?

I live on a council estate. I'm not "lower class". What a horrible statement. I don't appreciate being lumped into the same group as criminals, either.

i dont think its questionable either frangipane

do you tip every single person that serves you in a shop? no

theyre prob on the same wage so lets not get into that

some restaurants charge waitstaff for a bill "their" table doesn't pay.
This has to be illegal if it takes them below national wage

Bit your friends would be criminals if it weren't for you coming back and paying. Wealth doesn't buy manners or honour.

YANBU. It is stealing and an example of pretty low behaviour.