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Subscribe to RSSOh, ick. Human beings have always been capable of some pretty slimy behavior, but a recent story out of New York is seriously disheartening -- in part because of the kinds of people who are being so slimy.
The New York Post just highlighted numerous accounts of older, well-heeled patrons -- including at least one millionaire -- who brazenly skip out on their restaurant checks. They’ve become highly skilled in the art of “dine and dash” -- also known, according to the article, as “lick and split” and “chew and screw.”
The number of people getting busted doing this has jumped nearly 20 percent in the past year, according to the New York Police Department. Of course, that statistic doesn’t include all the people who get away with it.
The ruses being used by well-dressed, professional-looking people know no bounds. Some step outside to smoke and then saunter off. Others pretend to be taking unruly children outside for a moment. Still others say with embarrassment that they’ve forgotten their wallets at home and promise to return right away -- and never do.
Especially slick patrons leave cell phones, purses, coats and credit cards at their tables -- but the items in question are often stolen, dead, maxed out or generally worthless. Another move: Disputing a whopping credit-card charge -- often over $1,000 or so -- after the fact. Restaurants often lose such battles and have to eat the bills.
The 50-something millionaire referenced in the article justified his actions thusly: “You know what? When I’m done with my meal and I’m ready to go, I walk out. And if the server isn’t paying attention, I walk away. If they’re interested in me or my money, they’ll pay attention.”
Okaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay. But here’s a quick question for you, millionaire: Where’s your moral compass?
Skipping out on a restaurant check may seem convenient, even clever, to some, but the consequences are painful for hardworking waiters and other restaurant employees who hustle and toil hour after hour on their feet. Most waiters rely on tips to supplement very low hourly wages, and they have to tip out hosts, bussers, runners and bartenders from the tip money they receive.
Read the full story for yourself and see what you think. If you have the stomach for it, that is.
Leave a Comment:
Surprised?
And I thought only poor people did that kind of thing.
/sarcasm
A full scale class war is about to erupt in America.
Brace yourself.
Really? And on which side will the middle class fall in this "war"? Keep in mind that Obama considers $172,000 per year a relatively modest salary.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2011/01/no-pity-for-robert-gibbs-and-his-modest-salary/68943/
(But if you make another $25,000 per year, you're suddenly "rich", according to this gigantic hypocrite.)
Class war was started back in 2008.
actually, it started in 2000.
Not only do servers have to tip hostesses, food runners, and bartenders from their own tips, but they also have to do this based on a percentage of food sales for the night. How much a server must tip has nothing to do with how much she has made.
Try again, I was tipped based on what the waiter received (2 different restaurants). Making them tip based on the food sales is bs since they get varying amounts.
The millionaire justifies his behavior as "not paying attention"; wonder how he would feel if he were being ripped off??!!
Justice??
Vicki,
He pays attention and trusts no one. He probably cares nothing about his customer, goods or services; but you know damn well he cares about his money. Probably would have stiffed the tip had he been forced to pay the bill. Why do think so many restaraunts add the tip into the bill now?
good solution if the customer chooses to pay. maybe they should require a credit card for a tab like some bars do.
Let them eat cake.
Unbelievable. No wonder no one has any morals any longer. I wonder how many people realize in many restaurants those servers have to pay those checks. That millionaire(not that great in NYC by the way) is a jackass of the first order. One day karma will catch up to him.
They should post the name of that millionaire. If he owns a retail business, we'll all go in and swipe some goods - if his staff wasn't paying attention, it's their fault. If he owns a car dealership, we can just drive off with a car, if they weren't paying attention, their loss. What a shameful stingy man!
Inthe same vein, Rachel Ray used to have a show on FoodTV called "$40 a Day"! The only way she made it was to leave a skimpy tip, many times less than 10%! Towards the shows end, she didn't indicate the tip - probably out of embarrassment. I sent an email to FoodTV, that was just wrong!
it probably costs more than $40 a day to keep that big, beautiful A$$ of hers in tip-top shape. Feed it baby.......Feeeeeed it
clearly this guy can't be paying attention to his home if he's out for a bite? if wonder if the same rule applies?
Rich people got rich by screwing someone out of their money. I'm amazed that anyone is surprised that rich people would skip on the check.
If caught, rich people can buy their way out of the mess. Poor people go to jail for the same offense.
There is no justice. Life is not fair.
LMAO! iNTERESTING, so the Sam Waltons, Bill Gates and Colonel Saunders of the world screwed people like you, eh? Well try and stop shopping at Walmart, buying computers with Windows software (which no doubt you are using right now) and don't eat Kentucky Fried Chicken! Oh and don't buy any products or services in Warren Buffet's portfolio. Matter of fact, don't buy anything. Just grow your own food and make your own cloths and walk everywhere with burlap sacks tied around your feet because as soon as you purchase something your helping to create the next millionaire!!! UNBELIEVABLE!
Really? ALL rich people got rich by screwing someone out of their money? It's great that the liberals have convinced so many fine morally-upstanding citizens such as yourself that this is a perfectly reasonable position to take. It's a lot easier to help yourself to the money other people earned if you can keep telling yourself crap like this.
Pull your snoot out of the lefty blogs and get a blasted clue.
I know two rich people. Truly rich, not "millionaire-in-nyc" rich.
They are both very volatile people. Either of them can be incredibly generous one moment, and a total selfish jackass the next. One time we were out and one of them left a $100 for a $50 lunch, and a different day made the waitress cry for being 'adequate at best'.
Now that's too small of a sample to draw any conclusions from, but I'd be willing to guess most wealthy self-made men tend towards the emtionally-unstable side of things.
These people that do this are nothing more than Thieves and Criminals and should be treated the same as if they robbed a store or mugged someone. They are Scumbags.
I'd like to see them try that in one of Gordon Ramsay's restaurants...
Yeah, no @!$%#! He'd beat the living hell out of them and THEN make them pay the bill.
If caught, poor people go to jail.
If caught, the rich buy their way out.
Life is not fair. There is no justice.
These people that do this are nothing more than Thieves and Criminals and should be treated the same as if they robbed a store or mugged someone. They are Scumbags.
As Dylan said - steal a little and they take you to jail; steal a lot and they make you a king.
This country is filled with dirt bags. Thanks Hollywood and rap music for creating a generation of scum
I'd say if it's true that the country is filled with dirtbags, bad parenting is to blame, not Hollywood or rap music. (Keeping in mind that I'm no big fan of either the Hollywood crowd or rappers.)
You're an idiot if you think the country suddenly became filled with dirt bags because of Hollywood or 'Rap' music.
Not everyone listens to 'Rap' music, and there are different genres of movies.
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LMAO! iNTERESTING, so the Sam Waltons, Bill Gates and Colonel Saunders of the world screwed people like you, eh? Well try and stop shopping at Walmart, buying computers with Windows software (which no doubt you are using right now) and don't eat Kentucky Fried Chicken! Oh and don't buy any products or services in Warren Buffet's portfolio. Matter of fact, don't buy anything. Just grow your own food and make your own cloths and walk everywhere with burlap sacks tied around your feet because as soon as you purchase something your helping to create the next millionaire!!! UNBELIEVABLE!
Perhaps, If "sit down" restaurants adopted the fast food model of "pay first", these "miscreants & neer do wells" would be thwarted up front instead of having to chase them down on the back end. In theory less rip offs should engender lower prices.
One thing the article fails to mention us usually the service person that is waiting on you is usually on the hook for the meal. In many restaurants the owners make the waiter or waitress pay for the cost of the meal.
I wouldn't work for a restaurant like that. Fortunately, not all restaurants try to do this to the servers.
I wonder how many of these deadbeats get on comment blogs and put people down who need food stamps, UI benefits, and Medicaid...That might be a real story...
I was a server for 5 years on and off as I worked through school. I've worked in various types of restaurants (from casual to fine dining). I think what they should've noted on the article is that most servers across the nation get paid $2.13/hour which is typical and expected hourly wage for a server. The article only said "paid low hourly wages", it's not just low but under minimum wage in most places nationwide. Servers really do depend on tips, and yes, they do have to tip out to other services depending on the type of restaurant (e.g. hostess, dishwasher, bartender, etc.) It's often a thankless job where you not only deal with customers but screaming cooks/chefs in the kitchen (this is especially true in fine dining). As a former server I now always tip 20% off the bat when I go out to eat. If the service was poor because they weren't a good server and not just because they got busy because the restaurant go crowded I'll go down to 15-18%. I'm hoping when people realize how little servers make per hour and how important tips are for livelihood people will be less inclined to leave such thoughtless tips and not skip out on a bill. Then again, I'm an optimist.
Wow - Got all that money but still No Class!! And I thought the little old lady w/a fly in a matchbox was bad!! This is WHY I got out of the Service Industry because Humans have the capability to get "lower than Whale Sh-it"!!! Never Trust the Public when it comes to money, food, and bling because they bring out the worst in people!!!
this article is trash. it is slanted and contains little factual information. the author has slanted it to make one guy in particular look bad.
has nobody ever had the experience of trying to find the waiter so you could get your check and having it take so long that you wanted to just leave?
maybe thats what the villian in the article actually did. showed the guts to do what most of us just think about....
Sounds like the restaurants in question should be pre-authorizing credit cards for the amount of the meal in advance of serving. In our hotel we pre-charge guests for their stay. We can't afford to "trust" that they will pay when checking out.