To walk out of restaurant without paying in full?

[chocolatesaltyballs22]

Just been out for lunch, on holiday in Europe. Real locals place, no other Brits in there. My husband is fluent in the language but the staff spoke no English.

Ordered food and drinks. Drinks turned up, no food. Six other tables who walked in after us all started getting their food, but still we have none.

We chase up, and waiter looks blank faced. After about another 10 mins, one dish of four ordered turns up. No apology, or mention of the other food on its way. We chase again. Other food eventually appears. One of dishes is way too salty and inedible. We point this out to them and he pretends not to understand even though we've spoken the local language.

We give it up as a bad job and ask for the bill. Bill doesn't appear. We ask again. No bill. At this point i lose my shit and suggest we leave €20 on table and leave. The bill was probably around €30. Husband disagrees and thinks this is stealing. He eventually agrees to do that but is now in a huff as he thinks I made him break the law.

What would you have done in this situation? I think we'd still have been day there now and I can't bear bad service.

God, no wonder they can't recruit staff with these kind of attitudes from customers.

Really, I travel and eat out alone and if I saw people being served before me who came in later, I would pleasantly ask the waiting staff if they forgot me. It can happen at busy times, or the kitchen staff are stressed out.

Never mind a 2-year + Covid situation and supply chain problems.

A lot of people feel very entitled these days.

Lol this is the first thing I thought. DH is French and he would not have left a cent!

I don't think you did anything wrong and I'm a former waitress.

Although I will say that in some countries you never get a bill at the table, you pay at the bar or entrance. But they should have told you that.

That's exactly what we did, but just got shrugs in return. I don't think it's entitled to expect good service. We weren't rude to anyone. We tried to politely complain and got ignored.

That's a yes then . Why won't you say OP? Surely you can't think you'll be 'outed' for being on a summer holiday in mainland Europe?
FWIW I've spent a lot if time in Spain, business and pleasure and can't think of a single instance where the service has been crap. There have been lots of occasions in bars and restaurants where I've been plied with free food, none where they haven't brought food I've actually paid for!

You can actually. You can request items to be removed from a bill if they weren't satisfactory (and it's an honest/reasonable request).

If they refuse you can just leave partial payment and leave.

But is he as fluent as he thinks he is? 😁

In one country with notoriously bad service I asked for the bill 4 times over 45 minutes and it never came.
In the end I got up and left walking past the bar. As I was getting in my car the worried waitress asked for payment otherwise it was getting deducted from her wage.
I said that I thought it was on the house as I'd asked for the bill numerous times over 45min and being one of two tables at lunch service that they weren't too busy to do their job.
She came back out promptly with the card machine. Following visits they were much better at getting the bill.

@Sisisimone cos it's kind of not relevant to the post really. You've been very very lucky to have never had bad service, whatever the country.

Not sure I’d have left any money to be honest - it sounds shite

@MrsOwainGlyndŵr

whats that got to do with it?

Was on holiday with my parents many years ago now. We used to go to a local bar most nights and you paid at the end of the night.
My dad tried several times to catch the waiter but he ignored us (despite service being fine previous nights). In the end we got up to leave and made it to the door before the waiter rushed over with the bill. We didn't go back again.

No I wouldn’t walk out because they may get the police onto you, which is probably why you’re H is upset.

@Sisisimone, you've been lucky never to receive bad service in Spain. I'm Spanish and it's happened in multiple occasions. Maybe they treat the tourists better!

OP, I think you did the right thing!

How? They have no idea who we are.

You were you lucky they didn’t see you walking out and follow you/call the police. That’s what I would have worried about.

Got to be France!!

my thoughts exactly

What? So when the bill comes you can say ‘well yes it’s £50 but I’ll only give you £35 as the steak was over cooked and the waiter was surly.’

@PriamFarrl we did this in the UK once - everything about the meal was terrible (rude service, one dish arrived nearly an hour later than everyone else’s, and when it finally did, it was basically inedible). We refused to pay for that portion, they were unhappy but had to let us walk away as it’s a civil matter. We did have to leave our contact details though in case they wanted to pursue it. Anywhere else would have taken it off the bill, but this place had a real attitude.

I looked into it later and as PP said, it needs to be reasonable. You also can’t eat your whole meal and then complain about it, it only really works if it’s half/barely eaten! So unfortunately you can’t order several lobsters and bottles of champagne and then refuse to pay after enjoying them…

What? So when the bill comes you can say ‘well yes it’s £50 but I’ll only give you £35 as the steak was over cooked and the waiter was surly.’

The law says food and drink served in a restaurant must be of satisfactory quality and as described on the menu. This means all food should look reasonably presentable and taste good. If it does not, the restaurant is in breach of contract and you can ask for it to be changed or refuse to pay for that particular course.

Similarly if the menu says the fish is fresh or the mushrooms are wild when they patently are not, you are within your rights to speak up and complain. When something is wrongly described on the menu you can refuse to pay for it and may be entitled to further compensation for disappointment and loss of enjoyment.

Moreover, if the waiter is rude, unhelpful or careless by spilling food on your clothes, for example, the restaurant is in breach of contract. In these circumstances you can refuse to pay the service charge added to your bill. You are also entitled to claim the cost of having your clothes cleaned if the food is negligently spilt on them.

On the vexed question of service charges, if the menu indicates they will be charged then generally you must pay. You do not have to pay for service though if it is described as optional. And you must not be pressured into paying if, for example, the restaurant leaves the credit card slip open. Moreover, and this is something a lot of people fail to realise, you do not have to pay for unsatisfactory service even if it is included.

You must speak up so the restaurant has an opportunity to put things right. Ask to see the manager if the waiter won't deal with the problem. If you still cannot get satisfaction, deduct what you consider to be a reasonable amount from the bill.

There you go.

All the ignoring and shrugging ? Must be France. Or maybe French speaking areas of Belgium.

Op, how long were you actually waiting? I think the wait depends on whether your actions were reasonable or not tbh. Eg waiting 20 mins in total, YABU

Restaurants are terrible for bringing bills quickly. No I am not ordering another drink/dessert because you are arsing about. Just bring the bill and let me pay and go. I am surprised more people don't just walk out.

Someone has never worked in hospitality 🤣

Locked up abroad springs to mind! Different country, different rules and all that.

I'm sure CCTV could point you out