Family walks out on $80 bill

[taximomfor4]

It's not just Maine, but everywhere that the law is you can't charge employees for mistakes; but the way around it is many times employers will say if there are any shortages then the employee if fired, by phrasing it this way then the employee has the choice to either pay for the shortages or lose their job. The law isn't just for wait people - if you work a register at a store they're not allowed to charge for shortages either.

Granted, I left my waitressing job at the start of nursing school...so about 2 yrs ago now. But I most definitely DID pay for walkouts, dine-n-dash, whatever you call it. I had to "pay the restaurant" for everything my tables had ordered that shift, and the leftover money was my tips. Actually, most servers I know around here have the same protocol. This is at the more mid-range sitdown restaurants. When I worked at Dennys, we did not pay for walkouts' food...we just would be fired if we had 3 walkouts in a half (6 months). I should add that at Denny's, we called the police with a description (and often we could get the license plate number through the windows.) I worked third shift, so the streets were rather empty. A few times, the police found the dashers and brought them in to pay. Dont' know why, but they never included tips.
Oh, and here, server minimum wage is NOT the same as minimum wage. I think it might have just gone up to 2.16/hr?

Yes, I had walkouts. No, I never had a walkout table with children there. Benefit of the doubt but I hope it was a mistake and that the family went back and settled up later or the next day. (I did that with a tip once....forgot to leave on, so went back and left one the next day. I had the server's name from the receipt.)

 

[momrek06]

tackyyyyyyyyyyy

YUP..so tacky..!!

I can see our future..."Sir/Ma'am, may I take your order?" Couple gives waiter their order. ""Okay, thank you, please pay 50% of your order prior to getting your food"....yup, I believe down the road, if crap like that continues, people leaving restaurants after eating wonderful meals, served by lovely waiters/waitresses, then we will need to pay for a precentage prior to having even a roll....

AND not to mention CAMERAS EVERYWHERE in order to track these scoundrels who basically "chew and screw"...... You will all be video-taped while you are dining at your favorite restaurant. "Excuse me, why the cameras all over the place?" "We have way to many patrons leaving WITHOUT paying"

 

[jtnsami]

YUP..so tacky..!!

I can see our future..."Sir/Ma'am, may I take your order?" Couple gives waiter their order. ""Okay, thank you, please pay 50% of your order prior to getting your food"....yup, I believe down the road, if crap like that continues, people leaving restaurants after eating wonderful meals, served by lovely waiters/waitresses, then we will need to pay for a precentage prior to having even a roll....

AND not to mention CAMERAS EVERYWHERE in oder to track these scoundrels who basically "chew and screw"...... You will all be video-taped while you are dining at your favorite restaurant. "Excuse me, why the cameras all over the place?" "We have way to many patrons leaving WITHOUT paying"

So true, so true. I worked as a server for 5 years both at Red Lobster and The Outback. I only had one "walk-out", but that one sticks out. I appreciated All who made tough, unbearable weekends a barrel of fun though.

 

[imagineerhopefull]

I've waited tables for the past 4 years and I've had my fair share of walk outs. Typically it will be the table that causes you the most trouble. With Friendly's (or Fy), the policy was that you wouldn't have to pay for the meal, but rather you would get written up for it and they would keep track. I've had managers though that have tried to make me pay for it just to cover their own behind.

The worst, though in my opinion, are the ones who don't tip you or who hardly leave you anything. All of my money comes from my tips, unless you count the $2.63 an hour, and it bothers me when I get stiffed on a tip. I know that that I've had tables before that I've messed up with or just couldnt get things straight. If they leave a lousy tip, thats fine because I understand that I didn't offer them the best service, but there are times when I will above and beyond and get absolutly nothing from. Perfect example, I had a party of 12 one day, they were there for a while, just talking and taking up space, and in the end I get no tip. And what tops it off is that a couple of people in the party come back looking for a piece of paper they had left. Of course I am polite and tell them honestly that I couldn't find it, nor did I ever see it. However, in my mind I was saying that it was right under the tip that you all had left.

 

[Sleepy]

Quite honestly, dealing with unfair policies of unpaid bills, potentially losing my job over what another does and depending on others to suppliment my income is the reason I never became a waitress. After hearing some of these stories, I wonder why people are still working in these positions that seem so unstable both job wise and financially.

 

[ChristmasElf]

It's interesting about a couple of the posters stating that Olive Garden does not hold their servers responsible as I have been told otherwise on 2 seperate occasions. I believed this person as I used to be a server and had also on one occasion had it happen to me.
It will be an interesting discussion we have later on today.

 

[BeNJeNWaFFLe]

That is just horrible. That poor waitress. To those diners, what comes around, goes around.

I have many friends who support themselves through college by working as waiters/waitresses. The stories they tell me just disturb me. One night I went to eat at the restaurant a friend works at. I was seated and my friends section was right next to me so she came over for a short visit. She was obviously annoyed at something. Apparently just before I walked in her table of 15 just left. They were all kids about the age of 13. She told me they were noisy, rude, nasty and left a HUGE (still visible) mess. (There were opened sugar packets everywhere, salt and pepper were sprinkled all over the table, and they spilled water on top of it all. There was napkins, crayons, and food pilled under the table.) They would order food, and when she brought it out they would claim they didn't order it and made her take it back. (I'm sorry, but who does that?!) They paid their bill, down to the last penny, but they left her no tip. There were no bus boys at the time either, she had to clean the mess herself. I felt horrible. Next time she was my waitress I left her an extra large tip.

 

[poohandwendy]

It's interesting about a couple of the posters stating that Olive Garden does not hold their servers responsible as I have been told otherwise on 2 seperate occasions. I believed this person as I used to be a server and had also on one occasion had it happen to me.
It will be an interesting discussion we have later on today.

Oh, I am not suggesting that some OG managers aren't bullying their employees that way and even saying it is 'Darden policy'. Only that Darden has no legal leg to stand on by making a policy like that (and as big as Darden is, I am sure their attys know better than to have that written as policy anywhere).

I know, for a fact, that Olive Garden managers are given a specific amount earmarked for 'loss', in which walk-outs are covered under. However, as I stated earlier...their bonuses and premotions are based on the bottom line...how much profit their store made. These are the numbers they are constantly being hounded about, by the higher ups. They can make their bottom line look better by making sure there isn't as much loss.

So, for a no-so-honest manager to make employees pay for 'walk-outs', does not suprise me a bit. Some of them may even have been told by regional managers that employees are to pay for walk-outs...for the same reason.

 

[CathrynRose]

Yeah, I worked for the Olive Garden for years and that was not the policy. (it isn't now either, in my area) They do have specific protocol for walk-outs and a certain amount expected.

.

I was a trainer for the Olive Garden (this was 10 years ago, but....) it was the policy, pay it, or get fired.

And - I got fired because a group of kids pulled this (one by one, they were trickling out), and I adamently refused to pay for it! I had worked for the company for 2+ years!

I was standing by the door when the last one left - and my manager said I should have been "more aware". What should I have done? Grabbed the last kid? Asked him 'You left your bill money on the table, right?" I did what I did when everyone left - Have a good night. Walked back to the table, and by that time they were squeeling out of the parking lot.

And as a trainer - I can tell you it was their policy.

 

[poohandwendy]

I was a trainer for the Olive Garden (this was 10 years ago, but....) it was the policy, pay it, or get fired.

And - I got fired because a group of kids pulled this (one by one, they were trickling out), and I adamently refused to pay for it! I had worked for the company for 2+ years!

I was standing by the door when the last one left - and my manager said I should have been "more aware". What should I have done? Grabbed the last kid? Asked him 'You left your bill money on the table, right?" I did what I did when everyone left - Have a good night. Walked back to the table, and by that time they were squeeling out of the parking lot.

And as a trainer - I can tell you it was their policy.

Again, I am not saying that some managers are not making this 'policy' at their stores...only that legally this cannot be corporate policy as there is no legal way they can force employees to pay for walk-outs. That it happens is another story. It's taking advantage of the little people, which is very common in the lower wage job arena.

 

[Deb in IA]

Wow, I had no idea this was so prevalent.

It's despicable.

 

[Nancyg56]

It's not just Maine, but everywhere that the law is you can't charge employees for mistakes; but the way around it is many times employers will say if there are any shortages then the employee if fired, by phrasing it this way then the employee has the choice to either pay for the shortages or lose their job. The law isn't just for wait people - if you work a register at a store they're not allowed to charge for shortages either.

This is true. We were charged when we ahad people walk on the bill. Not legal, but ....

Now we witness a walkout at CP in the MK last January. A family of four skipped on the bill, and we noticed because we were sitting close to the door, it was freezing out! The CM's all took of out he door, and within minutes they were back inside, parked in a both paying with a CC. We were embarrassed for the kids, because they surely knew what was happening.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

ughh, some people just have no class! i witnessed this with a family of four and some of their friends at the Olive Garden. They all skipped on the check and left the waiter awestruck. It was alright in the end because they hadn't seen us, but we saw them and they were our neighbors!!!! we gave the manager all the info they needed.

 

[canwegosoon]

Wow, I had no idea this was so prevalent.

It's despicable.

THis is what I was thinking. Someone mentioned a future policy of 50% down..., but I can see a credit card open on file like at the gas stations(pre-pay). And I am totally open to that-people shouldn't be responsible for cheating lowlifes.

 

[Chicago526]

I worked for Rainforest Cafe as a tour guide (hostess) for about a year (a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...) and we had a few dine 'n' dashes that I remember. As far as I know, the servers were not made to pay, but I'm sure they were tracked and if you had to many it would not be a good thing.

But I do remember this one incident that was very funny. You know those bar stools that are shaped like animal legs? Well, I don't know if this is the case at all the RFC's, but the one I was at, those bar stools were hand carved out of wood, and hand painted too, and worth something like $1000 each. Well, I don't know if this guy just got drunk at the bar, or had dined at a table, but either way he was smashed out of his gourd, and decided that he liked one of the bar stools so much, that he wanted to take one home. So he picked up up, and started to carry it out of restaurant into the mall! He got about 50 feet out before one of the waiters and a manager ran him down. He didn't resist, he was just escourted back to the restaurant. I know mall security was called, but I don't remember what happened to the guy after that.

 

[Chicago526]

THis is what I was thinking. Someone mentioned a future policy of 50% down..., but I can see a credit card open on file like at the gas stations(pre-pay). And I am totally open to that-people shouldn't be responsible for cheating lowlifes.

They do that when you want to start a tab at a bar, so it should work for food. The one hitch is that a lot of people still like to pay at restaurants in cash, in that case they'd have to pre-pay, I'd guess.

 

[DisneyMommyMichelle]

Chicago526 that story is hilarious!!

 

[OhMari]

There are a couple of conversations going on.
1. I feel the whole waitressing issue on pay has to have something done about it. Resturants should not rely on their patrons to give tips to pay for the wages of waitresses or waiters. This has been a wrong for a very long time.

2. I went out to eat with my 3 sisters and their families We had reservations at 6:30 and didn't sit down to eat till 8:00. We all had seperate checks. My sisters bill was over $120 since they all ate steak. My families was $43, we ate lighter meals. When the waitress brought our checks she left. I sat and waited for her to return since I was paying with cash. I didn't want to leave the table, hence she thought we skipped out. My son told me, everyone was paying their bill at the bar. He took the money, went to the bar and came back to our table. Our waitress never showed up again for the check. Finally we left and I left the tip on the table. $7.00. We ginally got up and left and no one stopped us, or said good-bye. I thought, doesn't anyone check to see if we paid our bill. How wierd.

 

[garydeb]

My sister is a manager for a restaurant off I-95. The owner of her store had to invest in security camera's because the number of walks they had especially on the weekends and during spring breaks......She said it has really helped them catch the walk outs because some of the camera are on the outside parking lot....

-Debbie

 

[momrek06]

My sister is a manager for a restaurant off I-95. The owner of her store had to invest in security camera's because the number of walks they had especially on the weekends and during spring breaks......She said it has really helped them catch the walk outs because some of the camera are on the outside parking lot....

-Debbie

Yup . This is exactly what I meant by my earlier "FUTURE" post about seeing cameras all over restaurants. I mean come on, people eating and not paying their bill...wouldn't that be called...STEALING???

AND while they are doing this IN FRONT of youngsters, isn't THAT a crime of some sorts right there. #1) eating and leaving... 2) and in front of young impressionable youngsters.....DOES ANYONE ELSE THINK THAT THERE SHOULD BE SOME LEGAL CHARGES LODGED AGAINST PARENTS THAT EXPOSE THEIR CHILDREN TO THIS BEHAVIOR.

I have never been in the food service field, nor am I an attorney...but this behavior IRKS me to no end....and I am not a child psychologist but being so blatant about this in front of children and I am sure the parents have some discussion prior to LEAVING THE PREMISES.....this just blows my mind