What is it with restaurants thinking that we servers are responsible for covering a check when the customer decides to skip out on the bill? It’s happened to too many of us too many times and it’s not right. A reader sent me the above photo of a new restaurant rule and the memo reeks of unfairness, illegality, bad grammar and misspellings:
Due to an increase of people walking without paying, starting today, 2-9-16 Tuesday wait staff and Bartenders are fully responsible for their checks. That means, you will pay for the full amount of the check and hope that the Customers will came back and pay you. It is your job to keep checking on your costumers by making sure that they are getting the service and attention that they deserved. Thank you.
No, no, no! It is illegal for a restaurant to require a server to pay for a walk out, yet it happens over and over again. Restaurants always seem to think that the only reason a customer is skipping out on the bill is because the server, somehow, wasn’t doing his job. But here’s the thing: if a customer is planning on skipping out on their bill, no amount of “checking up on them” is going to change their mind. That customer is going to sit at the table until the perfect opportunity arises for them to get up without being seen. What are we supposed to do, stay on the floor and keep our eyeballs glued to them at every second? As soon as we do that, we’re gonna hear our manager squawking about how she needs runners in the kitchen and that is just the opportunity Shitty McShitShit at Table 209 is waiting for. As soon as you set foot in the kitchen, they are bolting out of the restaurant quicker than a Quesalupa from Taco Bell makes it through your digestive tract. And when you tell your manager that Table 209 walked, she’ll be all, “Well, I guess you weren’t paying enough attention to them, were you?”
Here is what the Department of Labor has to say about it:
Where deductions for walk-outs, breakage, or cash register shortages reduce the employee’s wages below the minimum wage, such deductions are illegal. Where a tipped employee is paid $2.13 per hour in direct (or cash) wages and the employer claims the maximum tip credit of $5.12 per hour, no such deductions can be made without reducing the employee below the minimum wage (even where the employee receives more than $5.12 per hour in tips).
But there’s a catch. In most places of employment, they have a right to terminate an employee at any time just like employees have a right to leave at any time. So they can still fire you, but they’ll find another reason.
Waiter: Excuse me, Ms. Manager? Table 209 walked out on their check for $45.
Manager: Oh, well, you’ll just have to take that out of your tips tonight. Sucks for you.
Waiter: You can’t do that. According to the Department of Labor, it’s illegal to make me pay.
Manager: Oh, you’re right. Nevermind. By the way, you’re fired.
Waiter: You can’t fire me for not paying for a customer’s walkout, that’s illegal too.
Manager: Oh, you’re right. Ummm…then you’re fired for being late last week and for questioning my authority just now. That’s insubordination and totally grounds for dismissal.
Look, if your restaurant attempts to fire you specifically because you refuse to cover the cost of a walk out, you need to call The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor. They have a toll-free line for employees: 1-866-487-9243. Or you can find your local office on this page.
As for the above photo, the restaurant needs to take that down. It’s a lawsuit waiting to happen if they are requiring their servers and bartenders to cover walk-outs. It doesn’t matter how much attention they give to the “costumers” and if it’s happening so often, maybe the manager of the restaurant needs to sit at the front fucking door and validate each and every check before she allows people to leave. Whatever she does, she needs to find another solution that isn’t illegal.
sesli
very nice sharing thanks
KrT
you can look it up for yourselves but, some states do have rules that allows the restaurant/ the company to garnish the wages of servers and, especially in cases where the server has had multiple walk-outs.
helios post
This is really messed up man…
Restaraunt Reviewer
The fact that is it illegal for an eating establishment to force a employee to pay for any type of debt is illegal. First its a clear violation of the consumer protection act. A company is seeking the repayment of debit on someone who was not the individual who initiated the debt, it was the customer. Its the eating establishments responsibility to go after the customer not the employee. The eating establishment does this, and they know it, because its the fastest way and easiest way of regaining their losses. On the other side of the coin, the only reason why eating establishments commit illegal acts is because the employee does not bother to report things like this and other illegal acts of employment fraud. People are too lazy and think its someone else’s problem and someone else will resolve the problem.
Getting back to the original subject, the employee can it easily by simply stating the Consumer Protection Act, first thing they have to prove that the employee was the one who initiated the debt physically and prove they have to pay it. There’s no written agreement, the employee was not the one who walked out. Moreover, where is the management when it happened, who was watching the door when they walked out, were is the cash register and those in charge of taking payments, location of where these things are located can easily lead to dine and dash. Again, the waiter has to leave the table, to go the kitchen, pick up food, refill drinks and check on other tables. The waiter can just say, they cant be in 10 places all at the same time. It is the establishments customer not their waiters, the waiter is under an agreement to perform x tasks for the ability to work there. How is the waiter at fault if they are in the kitchen waiting to pick up for food, as the same time the customer (who may be seated at the other end of the place), gets up and walks out. At the same time, the dine and dasher(s) could of easily belended in with the other people who are paying, and if the line is by the door, they could of easily slipped away. The second the check is dropped off and the customer gets up from the seat, the responsibilities of the waiter ends. So the place has to establish and prove the waiter was at fault because they have to prove were the customer left the establishment and prove it was during the waiter interaction. A walk out does not occur until the when the customer walks off the property, so once again its the businesses problem and debt. If they have numerous instances of it, then what did the owners do to try to prevent it. In addition, the waiter could be in the kitchen, some places will allow the waiter to process credit card payments, and what if a bunch of idiot customers walk in and then want 10 separate checks? they have to spend so much time separating the bills, collecting the cards, figure out which goes with what etc. That is a policy the place established and it was the problem the place initiated.
Anyone who is experiencing this, immediately contact your states division of taxation and labor. Until you report these crimes these diners are going to do it over and over again. They are screwing you over by paying you $5 and pocking 8x profits for items, so why should you pay for their stupidity.
Anon
Man I’m not even a waiter and I was told I had to pay for a bill because a waitress told me to keep an eye on a table when I myself was busy running back and forth hosting and seating people down.. she told management beforehand that said table was being troublesome but yet didn’t do anything about it. It because she told me I was the one that had to pay the bill …
Ernesto Turino
I worked at this restaurant for almost 7 years already, and they have put this in practice lately. It happened to me that a table walked out on a $97.00 check while I was taking care of a difficult customer. My assistant manager when I communicated to him about what happened he gave me two options:
First: he would give 50% discount on the check and I would pay the rest, or
Second: the restaurant would take care of the check and they were going to give me a write up for neglecting the table.
Between this suggestion he also told me that I should take action when something like this happens. Actions like tackling a customer since I am such a big guy.
This restaurant belongs to a real estate company that makes millions of dollars and owns more than half in the neighborhood where the restaurant it’s located. My location it’s Miami, Florida.
Vronik
I hate when the manager or register in charge or the owner take our tips and staring to count many time and and get the change for the register
Arizona
Omg LMAO. Just look out for a bartender named Helen in Arizona she will take everything you have with out you knowing!!!!! You think customers are bad.! Check that server Helen
Arizona
Omg LMAO. Just look out for a bartender named Helen in Arizona she will take everything you have with out you knowing!!!!!
Ana
I just had a table walk out a couple of days ago. I literally had turned my back for a couple of minutes to cash out another table, and when I came back, they were gone. And I got written up for it and told that if it happened again, I would be put on final notice, and then if it happened again, I would be fired. I was so angry because I hadn’t done anything wrong. Just because some trashy people came into the restaurant who likely didn’t ever intend to pay, my job is now somewhat in jeopardy. To their credit, they didn’t say anything about charging me for the food, but I don’t think I should have been penalized for that at all. The manager said that it happens at this place quite often, and that is why they are cracking down on it, but my question is why are they cracking down on the servers rather than doing anything about the criminals who are coming in and stealing their food??? I mean, as a server, you simply cannot keep your eyes glued to a suspicious-looking table. You have to go to the kitchen, to the POS stations to deal with other table cash-outs and orders, attend to other tables in other ways, Etc. So if a table wants to walk out, they are going to find a way to do it no matter how attentive you are. It’s absolute crap that the managers would hold it against the server when that happens.
Bob
In Maryland, it’s legal for the Restaurant to make the waitress pay for walk-outs as long as the server makes $7.25/hour overall for their time spent. That’s what the Department of Labor just told me! Walk outs happen all the time. So the Restaurant doesn’t care as long as they get their money.
mrttao
>Manager: Oh, you’re right. Ummm…then you’re fired for being late last week and for questioning my authority just now. That’s insubordination and totally grounds for dismissal.
Record the conversation, make sure there are other witnesses, sue for millions. ruin the business.
Catherine
When I was 17 I worked the overnight shift in a local diner. This place was the absolutely, worst place you could ever possibly work at. But, I had no experience and it was my first job.
So one night the chandelier in the dining room fell down, crashing onto the floor. So Camille, the owners evil wife, decides that she’s going to deduct $5 from every employees weekly pay to pay for this. The whole staff walked out. Everyone, every shift. It was awesome. She had to give everyone their money back. They went out of business not long afterwards too.
Angie g
Are there laws about wether or not they can write you up for having a walk out? If we get 3 write up for a walk out we get terminated, but I feel as if they use that threat to scare us in to just covering the bill. Is this legal?
Cindy
I wish I knew that too. We also get written up and fired after 4. They don’t even drop off. So if you get one a year for 4 Years your fired. Now we just pay the checks, it is unfair.
Robin
One night, on my day off, a guy came in, said he was my cousin, then skipped out on a $100 check. The manager called me at home and told me I had to pay it or the other server would have to pay. I told the manager that my only cousin lived 300 miles away and even if it was him, I wasn’t paying the check. I later became the Head Waitress and ended up working there for 10 years.
Pissybitch
Just had this happen to me where I was told I had to pay for their meal when they walked out. I was furious. It should not be our job to babysit these guests also to chase them down and put ourselves in danger..If I worked in retail and a teenager shoplifter do they expect us to rembearse that item ??? Never. If I signed a piece of paper that said ill do it….well fuck it fine. But I didn’t and its not in the goddamn handbook. So I was warned that next time it better not happen. Sick of places non stop fucking us. I have been waitressing 10 plus years and there is a point that I will stand up for right or wrong. Right now I have a lawsuit on being terminated for a pregnancy. There wasn’t much proof but word of mouth but so far things look good my way. Sometimes the justice system doesn’t do justice but you can’t give up. Whether it’s a resteraunt, office or any job. If you work hard and are on time…damnit you should be treated right.
Dante
lallaw has the most knowledge exhibited here yet. The only missing piece is the lack of justice that exists. Laws are made to protect and “guide” us but we are all still subject to complete failure of the judicial system. Poke and prod till you die, sometimes you win and others, you’ll never get what’s owed to you. I completely disavow mankind’s ability to create fairness, it just isn’t in our DNA. Pick your battles. I, for one, think that the battle is worth the effort. It should be the company that takes the hit on the loss, like every other retail industry. Why is food service different? You still deliver a product, you didn’t make it (as a server). Just like “so and so” clothing store didn’t make the clothes, you simply sold it. Why would a restaurant or any other food seller get to charge an employee for theft committed by a customer or patron when every other retailer doesn’t. When does the collection attempt need to end before law enforcement is involved? Is this clear cut and explained in the contract? Regardless of the existing laws, it feels downright wrong.
steve gaudreau
It is illegal to force an employee to pay for a walkout. The catch is, if you work in a fire at will state, you can be fired and given no reason.
As an owner, here are the issues we deal with:
Managers get bonuses on cost of goods sold and gross sales, when people steal, those bonuses are lower or in jeopardy.
Employees are now given more opportunity to steal. Employees can invite friends to come in, eat and leave without paying and the server says “I had a table walk out!”
Another opportunity for employees to steal is pocketing the cash payment and then claim the table walked out.
We now live in a time of No Personal Responsibility. I have been in the weeds and have had a table walkout before I said thank you and please come back but when I served, my job was to do just that and have the check and payment in my hand before the customer left the building.
There are criminals who enter the business with the intent of defrauding the business but bad service is usually the culprit.
Why is the owner is responsible for walk outs?
lallaw
steve gaudreau: see my reply to your stupid post above. I hit the wrong reply button, my apologies Mari Jayne. But at least it gives me the chance to call “steve gaudreau” a moron again. Moron.
Cindy
You can give exemplary service and they still walk out. There are many that walk in with the intent already. As a server I am required to go to the kitchen and pick up food, put in orders behind closed doors, and do side work throughout my shift. I can not stay on the floor at all times. If a guest wants to walk out they wait till I am in the kitchen picking up an order or at another table with my back turned. I work very hard, waitressing takes a toll on our bodies. Why should I have to pay for a criminal act done by another, sumply to keep my job. Unless I can stay within eye site of the guest at all times I should not be held accountable for their crime.
Mari Jayne
Thank you so much for this article! Ironically I had a walkout last night. I work in a hotel restaurant and when you print out a check it looks like a credit card slip so guests can charge it to their room. It confuses the hell out of guests and at least once a night I have to chase someone down to get an actual credit card. We are supposed to have a cashier but last night one of the managers was running the register (meaning me and the other servers did it) and of course he was nowhere to be found. It took me a minute to realize that I had never ran their card and that that they hadn’t put a room number so weren’t guests in the hotel. I don’t know if it was on purpose or just an honest mistake; as I said it happens all the time but usually the cashier or server will catch it before they leave. That’s actually why we have a cashier instead of servers carrying their own bank to catch mistakes like this and stop people trying to charge shit to other people’s rooms. Once I noticed the error I immediately called the Front Desk to see if they were in the lobby and went downstairs to try and find them in the parking lot. At this point they were gone and we couldn’t find them in the hotel guest registry. So as I was getting ready to cash out, the manager said I’d have to cover their check which was like $60. It was slow so I pointed out that I hadn’t even made but $50 and wasn’t paying the check. Then he offered to put a 50% discount on it. So I pulled up your fabulous blog post with the link to the Department of Labor to show him that it was illegal to hold me responsible and I was not paying for someone else’s bill. He ended up comping the check but told me I would have to talk to the F&B director and General Manager before I could work again. I may lose my job over it; but as you pointed out they’ll probably use another reason to fire me so I can’t get unemployment or pursue legal action. Luckily I live in Charleston, SC and there are hundreds of restaurants so it should be no problem finding another serving or bartending position.
I just wanted to thank you! Not only is your blog absolutely hilarious and totally relatable but has useful and relevant information about the Food and Beverage industry. On a personal note it’s also made me feel better about my choice in careers. I’ve been working in restaurant’s and bar’s since I was 16. I used to feel almost ashamed that I didn’t have a “real job” and was still just a waitress at 35. Now I’ve accepted that I do have a real job; a job that I’m damn good at and make (usually) really good money. Plus despite my bitching I actually enjoy my job! So keep up the good work my fellow bitchy server/bartender! Thank you for giving me the info to tell my boss off and stand up for myself! ?
lallaw
Because it’s the cost of doing business, moron. The server would not have the right to file charges against a walkout culprit, but you, on behalf of the business, would. Why? Because the law attributes the loss to the business, NOT the server. You, sir, may have been a shitty server who couldn’t keep up with his tables thus incurring a walk-out (which is also BS because all a table has to do is ask for a manager if they need their bill or need to pay and feel they’ve waited long enough for the server to handle it), but that doesn’t mean that is the main reason people walk out.
People walk out, 99% of the time, because either they don’t have the money to pay, or they intended to dine and dash before they even walked in the door. That’s it. And that’s the reason the business bears the burden of the loss. They stole from the business, not the server.
Also, since you seem to need a remedial education about the status of labor law, even if an employee is in an at-will State, his or her termination cannot be in violation of the law. If they have a walk-out, you demand payment in violation of the law, you fire them and give no reason or any reason, THEY CAN STILL FILE A WAGE CLAIM WITH THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR OR A DISCRIMINATION CLAIM WITH THE EEOC. It’s is considered prima facie evidence that their termination occurred as a result of his or her asserting a legally protected right. YOU have the burden of proof otherwise. So if the employee files a complaint with the supervising agency (don’t just call and be a lazy ass expecting the civil service worker to fill out the forms for you), your business WILL be fined. And it will be a lot more than the cost of the walk-out (which is tax deductible, btw). Further, in addition to the fine, the employee will be entitled to damages and have the option of getting back his or her crappy job with you.
So you were apparently a shitty server, are now a crappy manager, and have always been a dolt. But for now, at least you are enlightened.
Mishamish
I posted this, originally… I am famous!!! thanks for blocking out my name, bitchy waiter haha.
Scott
Dear BW:
I liked this piece and I like your site; but come ON…Are you really this naive? You really think that a federal agency is going to jump into action to save a bartender or server’s job? Yes, posting such a sign at work or sending out an email stating such a thing MIGHT give you some small legal leg to stand on. In the meantime, you’re still fired.
Restaurants and bars routinely get away with fucking their staffs in illegal or semi-legal manners. There sadly isn’t that much recourse.
A few years ago I applied at The Meatball Shop in Williamsburg. I have an excellent employment record. My past few jobs have lasted 17 years at one venue, 6 years at another, 2 and a half years at my current job. My references are excellent. My work ethic is strong. My interview with The Meatball shop was fairly extensive and not of the grab-your-resume-look-it-over-and-we’ll-let-you-know variety. I told the two young ladies who interviewed me that I would be happy to start even one day a week, or as a fill in…I’d dishwash, bus tables…whatever. I was confident that if I got a foot in the door, my work-ethic would shine through and I’d be able to move up.
I called to follow up on the interview a week later and was told, point blank, and I am quoting directly here “Yeah, we didn’t think you’d be a good fit with our young staff”
I was fuming. I reached out to various state, local and federal agencies that are supposed to enforce against workplace and hiring discrimination. Every agency I spoke with wasn’t terribly interested in helping me. The best I heard was “Wait 2-4 weeks for this form, fill it out and send it back and we’ll decide if it is worth investigating”
A friend who is a muckity muck at the ACLU spelled it out for me. “These agencies aren’t going to be much help to you. You might be better off if it was because of race, religion or sexual preference, as there are separate entities that help in those areas…Age discrimination is simply very tough to prove”
My point is that as a veteran of this industry you should be well versed in the various shenanigans that bars and restaurants pull on their employees, and that a phone call to the Dept of Labor is probably going to result in zilch.
Sharon
I don’t know who wrote this poem, but, Henry Gibson made it famous…
KEEP A-GOIN’
Ef you strike a thorn or rose,
Keep a-goin’!
Ef it hails, or ef it snows,
Keep a-goin!
‘Taint no use to sit an’ whine,
When the fish ain’t on yer line;
Bait yer hook an’ keep a-tryin’—
Keep a-goin’!
When the weather kills yer crop,
Keep a-goin’!
When you tumble from the top,
Keep a-goin’!
S’pose you’re out of every dime,
Bein’ so ain’t any crime;
Tell the world you’re feelin’ prime—
Keep a-goin’!
When it looks like all is up,
Keep a-goin’!
Drain the sweetness from the cup,
Keep a-goin’!
See the wild birds on the wing,
Hear the bells that sweetly ring,
When you feel like sighin’ sing—
Keep a-goin’!
Kevin Wanless
I feel terrible. I’ve done this one time when I was a teenager. A friend said he was going to take us out to eat and that he would pay. We get to the restaurant, finish our meals only to find out that he had not nearly enough money. I still feel terrible about it to this day. I just try to convince myself that it wasn’t my fault and that Matt was a douche.
Just A Poor Server
I am thankful to be working in a restaurant where the managers understand that this type of thing happens and it isn’t our fault all the time. I say all the time because there is probably an instance where a customer walks out for horrible service. Regardless of that though, you are stealing from the restaurant. If the service was bad, don’t tip the server then.
I will definitely keep this post in mind in case something comes up in the future. Things are good now, but who knows what your DM is going to do considering he has already implemented a few changes that are so stupid already.
Carey Colomb
Well that’s all well and good but if you don’t pay Theresa good chance you won’t have a job the next day. We all know it’s illegal they know it’s illegal but it’s been that way as long as I can remember and I don’t see it ending anytime soon. ?
Anonymous
Yeah, server jobs aren’t exactly few and far between. I’d rather have to start over at a new restaurant than pay for a walkout.
Bitchymanager
I am a manager at a chain restaurant, I used to server for 7 years with the same company, I NEVER had anybody ever walk out…. but then again I may have just been lucky. We never make them cover the tab. We do, however document them for it. 1- because higher ups ask about high $$ comps. 2- servers in the past have said tables have walked out and just pocketed the cash. So paper trail.
I feel like this is pretty fair. Just my 2 cents. But what do I know….
LAURA
YUP-in my 40 some odd years in this business (and some were quite odd) I have never made a server pay for a walk out. I document-or write up if the server didn’t return to get the check for an inordinate amount of time ( love those cameras). I never had a walk out when serving or bartending although a few people tried. The best one I ever saw was when 2 young girls came in-they ate, ordered desserts, and said they were stepping outside to have a smoke-left their pocketbooks behind on the seats….well they don’t come back and they don’t come back..the damned pocket books were stuffed with newspapers and probably picked up at a thrift shop somewhere…I didn’t even document that one-how the hell could a server catch that?
Chris Chandler
I went to a party once at Applebee’s. We filled up the whole bar area and were constantly up and milling around. So it got real easy to confuse bar seat #7 with #3, this table with that one, etc. since people weren’t in the same spot for long. So I ate, and drank about 10 martinis. I paid my bill and was pleased to see it was only $22. As I walked out the door, I heard one bartender ask a waitress who all the martinis belonged to if not the schmuck they were trying to stick them to. I picked my feet up and got the hell out, I sure didn’t feel like paying $60 to drink half a fifth of Beefeaters, they were short with the pours anyhow.
Kat
Wow, you are a really fun piece of garbage. Whenever I bartend for office parties with groups like yours, I take cards to start the tabs. There’s always a reason for you to justify being a dick and fucking someone over, right?
Ryan
Yeah, because you’re a bartender and can eyeball how many exact ounces are in a martini glass right? You probably had to google the standard ounce pour for a martini right now because you’re a chump. Corporate places like Applebee’s are very strict on measuring pours especially with liquor, but I’m sure they were purposely short pouring you though! Otherwise if they were FULL martinis you would’ve payed for them right?! Just another shitbag justifying his shitty moves by complaining about service!
Raichu
Congratulations on being an asshole.
If you can’t afford to pay for 10 martinis…don’t drink 10 martinis.
Jeri Velgreen
Nice work of fiction.
Sharon
Ain’t that the truth??? I haven’t seen such bad writing since Saturday Night Live in the early ’80’s.
Cindy
My last job tried this crap. The worst part was they had a paid cashier who sat at the door at all yes and yet we were still told we were responsible for our checks. This place even had a room that was away from the door and was connected to the kitchen so at no time were you ever supposed to set foot on the main floor. Just how we were supposed to follow the table to make sure they paid then was beyond me, yet there were time they would attempt to make us pay. Usually they failed, but at times they would get a server without a clue who would cough up the money. We got punished in other ways afterwards with less tables or crappy sections. So glad to be out of there.
SB
lol cincydrunk, I see you & your #briolyfe. that fucking restaurant. nonsense.
CincyDrunk
SB, who are you? You have to know me, nobody outside of my Brio store would know that story. (i didn’t shut up about it for months) I texted the only SB I could think of and she says it’s not her. I NEED TO KNOW xD
Mike
Florida has some heinous employment laws, but if they paid with a credit card, federal law applies to the situation.
Are they intentionally under ringing the items, or are the customers pulling a fast one and sending the cheaper items back?
michelle
Can you make a server pay for their mistakes they rang in wrong? I hear it all the time I’m sorry I rang in a cheeseburger when he wanted a grouper sandwich? Just curious from a Florida employee
Debbie Morella
Michele, it’s my understanding that if you are paid $8.05 (or less with the tip credit) they can’t require you to pay because they’d have to take the money from your wages (hands off your tips) and that would bring you below FL state minimum wage. They also can’t demand or coerce you into paying for it out of your tips. However, *you* can do whatever you want with your tips, so if you make enough in tips (after the tip credit is calculated), you can *voluntarily* agree to pay it—and therein lies the rub. But even that can be a slippery slope because the Feds have their own rules, and they’ve been known not to honor agreements if they get so much as a whiff of coercion. At my first serving job I was told I had to pay for a mistake and I told the owner that was against NY’s laws (my dad told me) and they never bothered me again. I was only 16 and didn’t care if they fired me, but the other girls just kept paying for fear of losing their jobs. That’s a horrible position to be in. 🙁
Lee Chambers
I remember being in my 20’s and hanging out with someone who made it a habit of “chewing and screwing” in restaurants. Sometimes it has nothing to do with service. Some people (I’m assuming mostly 20-something year olds who have not yet paid their dues in the work world and seen how awful this behavior is) PLAN to bolt on checks because it’s a kick for them (or whatever). No server should have to make good on a check that’s been left behind, especially in a case like this.
Aaron
I can confirm that one, although according to my sister, she’s seen people of all age groups do it. Most notoriously, a certain church keeps leaving fake dollar bills with scripture on them as payment and tips.
I’m not entirely sure it has anything to do with “paying your dues”- some people are just cheap bastards.
Chris
Great article! Thank you for always putting great info out. I’m a huge fan!!
25 yrs in the industry.
Dw
Costumers?
Sharon
Yeah. They wear a costume that is supposed to be a customer… but all the world’s a stage, so they don’t pay like a customer… they bow and walk off stage like a costumer.
Deb
I saw that–not just nasty bastards but illiterate too your comment, however, is pure gold Thank you.
Anonymous
Damn, I’ve had it good, the only time I ever had a walkout (for $300, too… They were crafty, they gave me an empty visa gift card to “pay” with and ran the second I turned around to swipe it), the manager voided it right off and told me there wasn’t anything I could have done.
Raichu
Sounds like you have/had a decent manager. Wish there were more of those!
Joey B
Working graveyard at Denny’s in Hollywood CA I was a”key person” responsible not only for my tables but for everyone’s checks and payments too .Why ? I didn’t get a dime for it .People were skipping on paying their tabs all the time and I would run like hell after them and grab them by the sleeve and collect .One time I catched this dude by Ralph’s which was good block and a half away as I stood there shaking from running ,adrenaline and anger -I thought to myself : Jo , u can get killed for it …U put yourself in danger so u can get that 13.85 .Ppl are psychos …Why are you running to collect for whom? Next night I decided -it is NOT my job to be a bill collector & I don’t need to compromise my safety .Next thing I was in the office an Mr.Cano – our GM was giving me a shitload of trouble ( and I was semi legal to work in U.S. At the time -so u can feel the pressure ) .He asked about the ppl that walked out and I knew I was to scared to chase them so I said -Well mr. Cano mayby they were too fast …mayby u can buy me a skateboard … And also I kinda don’t wanna get shot by a psycho .He told me to “just watch it ” . All story is true and correct and I have witnesses to it .I sometimes can’t believe I went thru this corporate shit …
CincyDrunk
This so much. I work in a nicer Italian place, and while our “special occasion” desserts (birthdays, anniversaries, etc.) are only supposed to be our smaller “dolcinos” by corporate, for my previous two years of employment we were always just told to give them whatever the hell they want, we got it.
Enter GM Fuckface McFucktard, who I didn’t like from the get-go for being a manipulative, I’ll-say-anything-you-want-to-appease-you-to-do-whatever-I-want poop schute. A month or two into his being at my store, I had a four-top rack up a $350 tab. Three bottles of our more-to-most expensive wine, apps, salads and soups, entrees, and finally a dessert, for the birthday girl.
They wanted our Torta di Ciocolatta (fuck me I’m drunk and probably spelled it wrong) which is our chocolate lava cake ala mode. I split it off per usual, and informed Fuckface McFucktard that I had a birthday dessert on 30 that I needed comped.
He looked me in my eyes and said:
“Well, you shouldn’t need me for a special occasion dessert.”
Me: “Well, they wanted the chocolate cake.”
FFMcFT: “Did you ASK if they could have it?”
Me: “No… in two years I’ve always been told to give them whatever they want, regardless of it’s a dolcino or not.”
FFMcFT: “I guess you’re paying for it then.”
I almost walked out and quit. I probably could’ve gotten the young team leader to comp it. But I cashed the $7.35 cake out to cash on me, and looked up those same laws that night. I read it as that they can’t charge you for anything resulting in you making less than minimum wage, which 7 fucking dollars won’t do to me. So I left it at that, and despised said Fuckface McFucktard until he left my store nearly three months ago.
He did buy me a pork chop dinner a couple months later when through the grapevine he learned that was why I disliked him so much. I won’t lie, our pork chops are fucking dank, but I still hated him after that. Good luck Alabama, at least he isn’t here anymore.
-Drunk Waitress who just wrote a fucking novel. LOVE YOU BITCHY!!!
Tamara
OMG CincyDrunk, you’re as funny as the Bitchy Waiter!!!!
CincyDrunk
Thanks! Glad someone enjoyed my drunken ramblings. 😀
Nick Rospapa
That sucks. If he had a problem with that policy, he should have confirmed with another, older manager to see and once he/she told him that it was true, he should have comped it and said “I may be changing that soon. Just a heads up.” Glad he isn’t there anymore.
Nadia
Well I work in Japanese Buffet my employer is telling asking starting August if anybody walks out without paying we need to pay. Also who ever brakes wine or beer glasses we need to pay $5 each of them. Whoever wants to run out they will wait the perfect time to escape. It’s really ridiculous. I’m so glad searched for this information. I don’t know if any other restaurants takes 15% off from your tips? Actually it’s 15% from how much sales you did. Which means no matter customer gives you tip or not you have to pay some percentage. I really think this is not right.
michele dasti
if you are in the US that is illegal and called wage theft, report them.
Sharon
Does this mean that it will be okay then for servers to get a conceal and carry permit and carry a gun while at work?
I live in Texas… and I do believe I am the only person in this state that does not have a gun.
But, if I am going to have to run a collection agency or risk having low life pigs take my hard earned money, I just might start packin’ heat!
Brandy tonkin
I live in ontario Canada. I just had a dine and dash. Owner says I have to pay it. Love your comment!!. I am ticked right off. Seven yrs at this establishment no dnds. Owners a world class prick!!! Guess I should have jumped in front of of their car to stop them. It was it a geo piece of crap.
Danika Fleming
Hey! I’m also from Ontario Canada!! I had 2 walk outs tonight, and my manager refused to void the checks. I refused to pay for the bills. Are the rules the same for Canada as the states?
Donna
Hello I work at Denny’s on s.w miitary and barlite beside Carl’s jrs,i went to work at 7-3 & around 9 a.m I helped a co-worker run her to the table 11 and it was as they say the wrong eggs and they had to remake it ,I had to be the one to pay for it ,and it was not even my table ,I told the manager Juanita I was not going to pay for it,she told me yes I was ,I was so pissed off ,I still am ,now I’m scared to help anybody,some servers she likes and they don’t have to pay for there mistakes what can I do about it,the co-owner says that we have to,
Donna
I think that is messed up