Have you or anyone you know ever ran up a huge tab at a bar or restaurant and then bolted before paying it?
Okay, so I know this topic is not a current event, but I feel that it is definitely relevant for our age group. I know I am probably not the only server in our class, and any of my fellow servers know the consequences of dining-and-dashing: the server pays for the ticket. I feel that this fact must be shared with everyone.
I work at an upscale restaurant/bar in Omaha, and I experienced this funny little prank first hand. I had been cocktailing...in heels...from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. and I ended up making less than half of the tips I had earned that night. A foursome ended up in my section and ran up a $45 tab of wine, jack, and scotch. Apparently, the oldies either couldn't handle their liquor or they were just mean-spirited devils, but they definitely up and left before I could even give them their ticket. I informed the doormen, but it was to no avail. They had gotten away. Jerks. I had to pick up the entire ticket...and at the $2.13 I get an hour...$45 is a huge chunk of change. I am actually lucky that their ticket was relatively small, considering I had a number of $300-$400 tickets.
So, the next time you contemplate leaving your waiter or waitress with the tab...regardless of how terrible their service was...just man up and pay it. Karma will definitely repay you.
I completely agree. I used to work as a server at Texas Roadhouse in Topeka. Rarely did this actually happen to me, but on the few times it did, it was not surprisingly all younger college to middle aged people who were drinking some sort of alcohol with their meal. T-Road isn't really considered up-scale, but it's not cheap, so paying for someone else's wining and dining really sucked. Servers already have to deal with so much, so adding that almost made it not worth working. Those people should seriously consider themselves in their server's position next time they think about taking off without coughing it up.
That is so crazy that you had to pay for it. I know a few guys that have gone to restaraunts and left without paying and I definitely think that's awful. They don't do it anymore but I think if they knew that their waitress was the one that got stuck paying for it then maybe they wouldn't have ever done it in the first place. What happens if the person can't pay for it in the end??
I definitely would have been mad if i were you and I hope they get what's coming to them!!!
That last comment was from me! Not anonymous!
Can I get an amen!! I've been serving since I was 15 and have probably paid out hunderds of dollars because jerks and stingy punks think it's totally okay to just walk out. IT'S NOT! If you're that short on cash, don't go out to eat or drink! Plain and simple. Great post on how not paying affects servers... hopefully most people just don't realize we pay it, and if they do realize, I hope their food gets spit in next time they go out. Karma can be a bitch.