Didn't pay the bill

[ffsimstupid]

Stupidly went out with a bunch of 'friends' last night for drinks and food. They decided they weren't going to pay because they 'get away with it all the time' and essentially we're going to leave me with the bill because I was protesting. Long story short ended up follow them out ( I know so stupid). I'm the goody two shoes of the group because of my guilty conscience and as I suspect this morning I feel awful. I really want to ring the restaurant and let them know the situation and pay when they open but I'm scared this is the wrong thing to do and can land me in big trouble.

Please try not to flame me I know full well I was in the wrong and I want to fix this, please advise me what you would do.

I would have paid for my own food and drink.

Something similar happened to my brother years ago. He was out with friends for dinner and they decided they were going to leave without paying. The plan was to leave gradually, so my bro went along with it, made sure he was the last to leave, paid the bill in full and followed them out. To this day they all think they dined and dashed. They all work/worked in hospitality which made it all worse.

Restaurants near me would have you all on Facebook and it would be shared....

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor it great isn’t it
Except it isn’t.

The restaurant will want the whole bill paying so if the OP doesn’t do this they will take further action I suspect.

It's easy to get swept up in a group and make stupid decisions that you don't agree with, the fact that you are thinking about how to rectify it shows it is out of character for you. Personally, I would ditch your friends as they sound horrible, and be prepared that the restaurant will still view you as guilty (unless you bend the truth and say you were horrified to learn they hadn't paid).

@stophuggingme
Will be paying full as I've said multiple times

How much was the bill? If you pay it you need to get it back from them.

@ffsimstupid

Why are you singling me out for my comments?
You will need to pay the whole bill or be prepared to identify your friends. They are a business and you have stolen from them.

Surely you know this already?

maybe not good citizens but they usually aren't bad friends until last night

Not really. If people are shitty people, then they are shitty friends. They think nothing of regularly screwing over strangers.

Why would you be friends with someone like that? Because you are special and they wont screw you over?

At least you know that's not true now.

Good that you are trying to sort this out ffsimstupid. Definitely don’t go out with them in future or you will probably end up in the same position again.

A poster suggested you will have to go back in person but I don’t see why you shouldn’t be able to do it over the phone. I once forgot my card at the hairdresser’s. I had cash but there is no nearby bank so they prefer people to pay by card. I just went home and paid over the phone. Of course they knew me and had my phone number but it was all very simple.

I would give them the names of your “friends” too so they can ban them from using their services too. What a shitty thing to do!

I think more than likely the restaurant will be grateful you returned to pay. This has genuinely happened to me once, accidentally didn't pay and only realised the next day. Went back to o pay as soon as they opened and the manager was very grateful, we ended up having a drink together!

I would pay.... Then forward the receipt to your scummy pals and shame/frighten them into paying....

Along the lines of.... I've paid... Reimburse the bill... The restaurant have us all on camera...

It doesn't have to be true... I would have no issue tellk g white lies to scum like this...

In prehistory I waited table... Any tables doing a runner were paid by the staff.... So much so we refused late groups with pissed up people as they'd run up huge bills.

usually aren't bad friends until last night

But they do this regularly, it's common theft and usually hits the low-paid waiters/waitresses as many pps have said. Do you want this kind of person in your social circle?

Dump and block everyone, no exceptions even if they cough up their share. This is not OK.

If it a small independent restaurant then shame on you, if it’s a multi national or even international Company not so bad, but I think I have also heard that the waiting stuff then have to pay your bill out of there tips!! If there customers leave without paying, so I would feel just terrible if I thought some poor waitress/waiter on low wages ended up paying for my food and drinks!!

So I would pay up, also next time you go out with these not so nice friends of yours again, give the heads up to the serving stuff or the manager that they often walk out of restaurants without paying then when they do get up to leave without paying they will be mortified when then get asked to pay there bill in front of the whole restaurant.

You’re doing the right thing by contacting the restaurant and paying the bill. I’d give the so called friends a very wide berth in future.

I wouldn't be going out with those 'friends' again. I'd call and pay but only for your share. Wouldn't be paying for them too. What are the chances they will pay you back

So the way my restaurant used to work, we had to settle all outstanding items on the till at the end of each night, which meant if someone did dine and dash, we would have to take all the tips the team had been given and try to discount the items down so the tips would cover it. It was always threatened that if their wasn't enough cash in the tip jar then staff would need to chip in to cover the bill.
The only way a check would be left open on the till overnight would be if we knew we could get payment the next day either by using the card details left by the party or by calling the person/company if they had pre-booked the table.
If it wasnt a pre-booked table and therefore had no contact details for any of the party, it would need to be sorted that night using the above method.
Tbh, if you dropped cash off the next day it would just go in the safe as the till wouldn't balance otherwise, and a card payment couldn't be taken as it couldn't be attached to any items. Obviously for stock purposes you can't just put the items back on the till or your stock won't balance.

It's such a shitty thing to do. I know you feel bad and want to fix it which is great, but the staff probably lost their tips to cover your bill. I know tipping often causes arguments on here but as a former waitress, the reason I stayed waitressing rather than shop work was for the tips, and in order to get them, I had to put up with being groped, verbally abused, sometimes physically, working long and late hours (therefore having to walk home at 3am as no buses) often without an 8hr break between shifts etc. Sometimes id make an extra £25 on a shift if I really busted my arse with my hospitality persona and it used to infuriate me when, after all that, I lost it all because a party thought it was funny to run out without paying. Let's face it, most who do that can afford to pay their bill and don't give a shit about those in my position.

I bet none of these “friends” are hard up either.

Why are you singling me out for my comments?

Because she has said repeatedly that she's paying the whole bill and then you've posted that she will need to pay the whole bill! Most of us are RTFT.

I would want to phone in a situation like this to avoid embarrassment; however, on balance, going in might be better as you can pay in cash and once you've left you'll feel better knowing it's paid and they don't have your name. I would go in and say you all thought one of your friends had said she'd covered it, but since realise that isn't what she had meant. I think they'll be grateful you came in and the police would not be interested (which the restaurant will realise).
Then tell your friends the next few times you go out for dinner (if you do again), your share is on them!

I have never worked anywhere where my tips were used to cover theft by customers.

You are looking for help with what to do.

You will almost certainly be able to pay over the phone. Have your card details handy.

Say there was a misunderstanding last night with everyone thinking someone else had paid. Ask what the bill is and pay it.

Keep it simple and they won’t do anything more about it. They will just be pleased to be paid.

Then tell your friends you have paid and ditch them.

Just out of interest how much will the whole bill cost you?

Worked in numerous restaurants for years and as PP have said, common procedure is for shortfalls coming out staff tips. Even if you were to pay today, with till being cashed up every night, the money will likely have already came out the tips, so even once you've paid, there's no guarantee it'll go back to tips.
Truely shocking behaviour from adults