Dine and dash

[Isthisit2025]

Just reading about a popular tea room that had 3 groups of customers all leaving without paying their bill. This is becoming quite an occurrence.

I think establishments should take the money when they take your order. The only way to stop this disgraceful behaviour. I’d be more than happy to do this. The hospitality industry is suffering terribly especially small independent businesses.

What makes people think they can do this??

I meant the earlier poster, who couldn't pay because the cafe's card reader was down and they didn't have cash. The second story was a bit more morally shady, but still not a true dine and dash IMO.

Well yes, that would be what normal people do.

Also, if the card machine was broken and there were no cash points. I would simply give them my name, number, maybe show them my driving licence and ask them to contact me the next day for payment.

I once drove out of a petrol station, forgetting to pay. When I went back, the cashier told me they would have photo of my number plate anyway.

Years ago I stopped for petrol on my way home from work at 10pm. I picked up a loaf of bread in the petrol station shop. Stood in the queue half asleep, paid for the bread and forgot about the petrol. I only thought of it when I arrived home. Immediately phoned them and said what I’d done. They said they’d already checked the cctv and were about to report me to the police.

@PineappleheadC4 https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/25620096.customers-leave-heydon-village-tea-room-without-paying/

I like places where you order with a QR code and pay straight away. Then everyone can order what they want when they want, including extra drinks.

I have a small pub that sells food. We ran tabs inside but outside we introduced pay as you order after hitting £2k in bin payers in 6mth. The result of that was a load of 1 star reviews and complaints as to how “we made people feel like criminals” it’s so hard to get right but sadly the losses really add up

I had this happen to me when I was bar/wait staff in a chain place whilst a student. We had more than one entrance/exit so I guess opportunists took advantage.
They had a policy (not uncommon) that if a table did this, the server covered it from their pay. And their tips. I was distraught. I worked an entire week totalling over 80 hours to cover it then spend the next two weeks eating toast and whatever I could get from the bar kitchen that would have gone in the bin because I got zero wages.
It’s a fucking horrible thing to do because it’s not necessarily the restaurant/bar that carries it.

That’s a despicable way to treat staff. I hope they’ve since been named and shamed and are no longer allowed to do it.

I agree - it's just theft.

At the very least, you would tell them that you cannot/will not wait any longer, as the error was theirs; but you acknowledge that you owe them the money for the food that you ate and give them your address to send you an invoice, or otherwise arrange to come back/call them and pay another time.

Yes, the inconvenience and possible wait for their money is on them, as it's their faulty equipment; but it still doesn't magically absolve you of what you rightly owe them and somehow cancel it out.

You know exactly which kind of people would be the ones protesting and leaving 1-star reviews.

Honest diners - fully aware that not everybody is honest and that you have to protect your business - would be paying for the food and drink that they ordered, just as they had fully expected to do so, so where's the issue? They wouldn't expect Tesco to let them take a trolley-load out and then come back and pay an hour or two later.

All were of the older generation

I heard that too. I can’t remember which podcast it was though.

Yanbu. I love paying upfront as it speeds things up once I've eaten.