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Walked a table at dinner last night (1 Viewer)

The number of people that think it's okay to steal from a business because they are not satisfied with the service is shocking.  If one were to create a list that ranks dooshy behavior from 1-10 (10 being the most dooshy)---  

- a restaurant being guilty of extremely slow customer service during one of it's busiest times of the year would be like an 8. 

-a person stealing from a business--and then complaining about that business after they stole from it would be a solid 10. 

The restaurant was guilty of slow customer service--this sucks--but **** happens from time to time--and my guess is that a simple conversation with a manager would have resulted in a satisfactory results. 

The OP is guilty of stealing.  Period.  Customers don't have the right to take stuff without paying because they are "dissatisfied".  The icing on the cake is that--he now has the unmitigated gall to complain about his experience/place that he stole from.  I'm sorry--but the minute that you stole something--that restaurant has far more right to complain about you than the OP does about them.  To steal something and then complain about "free" is far worse than a restaurant goer experiencing slow service at a busy time.  

 
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matuski said:
We had a couple that came in regularly and skipped out on the bill.  One night a couple police officers were eating and our manager asked them to keep an eye out.

Charges were pressed, I didn't go outside to see if they were arrested.. but I assume so.
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Close enough to the scenario described the OP, amirite?

 
I bet the OP also uses the passing lane as a travel lane and doesn't return his shopping cart to the corral.

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
The number of people that think it's okay to steal from a business because they are not satisfied with the service is shocking.  If one were to create a list that ranks dooshy behavior from 1-10 (10 being the most dooshy)---  

- a restaurant being guilty of extremely slow customer service during one of it's busiest times of the year would be like an 8. 

-a person stealing from a business--and then complaining about that business after they stole from it would be a solid 10. 

The restaurant was guilty of slow customer service--this sucks--but **** happens from time to time--and my guess is that a simple conversation with a manager would have resulted in a satisfactory results. 

The OP is guilty of stealing.  Period.  Customers don't have the right to take stuff without paying because they are "dissatisfied".  The icing on the cake is that--he now has the unmitigated gall to complain about his experience/place that he stole from.  I'm sorry--but the minute that you stole something--that restaurant has far more right to complain about you than the OP does about them.  To steal something and then complain about "free" is far worse than a restaurant goer experiencing slow service at a busy time.  
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Sorry, when I go out to a restaurant I am paying for the overall package.  No problem walking out and not paying for over priced beverages that I never would have purchased there otherwise.  My time is worth something and you have already wasted enough of it at this point. 

 
That restaurant wasted (stole) his time and his family's time. Now, if it's busy, you have to expect a wait and if you choose to stay, that's on you. But this seemed excessive and beyond just being busy. 

The expectation of receiving food was broken. I would have gotten up and spoken to a manager myself at that point but I certainly wouldn't have wasted much time in doing so. Agree with going back afterward to discuss. But don't agree with the outrage of "stealing". If he pays for exactly what he consumed, the restaurant isn't out anything but his family is with all the time wasted and still no meal that they now have to travel to a new place to still try to eat after a long time. A couple of salads and drinks? Yeah, about even to me.  I don't need a manager to "comp" me to figure out that equation. They've wasted my time enough, I'll figure it out myself.

If I feel I consumed more than that time was worth, then I'll square it (then or later). 

 
Short Corner said:
Sorry, when I go out to a restaurant I am paying for the overall package.  No problem walking out and not paying for over priced beverages that I never would have purchased there otherwise.  My time is worth something and you have already wasted enough of it at this point. 
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No offense--but that is not a decision that is up to you to make.   Every human being has a different set of standards--and this is why it is not up to customers to decide when it is appropriate to justify stealing. If you go to a restaurant--and are unhappy with the service--you ask for a manager--tell them why you are not satisfied and tell them why you don't plan on paying and then leave.  I manage a small but fine jewelry store--a business where "the overall" customer package means everything.  On the days leading to xmas--there were times where we had 12-15 customers in our shop at any given time--with our entire staff of 7 people each helping a person.  That led to cases where sometimes customers had to wait 15-25 minutes to get served.  If each of them found it appropriate to steal a Rolex or take a diamond ring because their time is money--how would you feel about that?   As the manager--when I see a customer is waiting--I'll apologize to them--thank them for their patience--and will even sometimes give them a gift card from the Starbucks that is in our same shopping center and have them enjoy a drink on me--and will personally walk over there/and or send them a text when I have an available associate to help them.  For the OP to essentially steal (he didn't say a word to a manager)--and then to complain about it is  reflective of terrible character.  Dude probably stole what would have been a bill of $30--he already said earlier that he assumes that the stuff he stole probably costed the restaurant $5. So you go somewhere--get $30 worth of food---don't pay a penny--and then turn around and complain about it? C'mon man. 

 
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the walking out on food = stealing expensive jewelry analogies are lol bad.

analogies in the wrong hands will be the downfall of our society yet.

 
Apple Jack said:
Especially like the but I waited tables at Olive Garden so I know things you don't angle.
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Comparing to Best Buy, Jewelry store shtick is awesome also. not close to the same experience.

The restaurant situation is likely due to being understaffed during a busy time and maybe a cook didn't show up and the manager has to fill the missing gaps and can't even get a break to talk to anyone .  

We were at an Applebee's two years ago where the table next to us took an hour to get served. The manager came by an hour later and apologized for not being able to come by  

 
the only thing OP stole is the drinks and salads.  he never received the food he ordered, so he didn't steal that.  i probably would have left a $20 or whatever on the table to cover the beers and salads, but no problem walking out after that.  jon taffer would back me up here.

 
Did we ever find out the restaurant?  I am picturing the Olive Garden as Viper pushed through the double doors. 

 
Peyton Marino said:
the walking out on food = stealing expensive jewelry analogies are lol bad.

analogies in the wrong hands will be the downfall of our society yet.
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Saying that there are no parallels between those situations is also naive.  Shoplifting from a convenience store is no different than shoplifting from a jewelry store.   The parallel is that in commerce--once a product has been taken or consumed--an agreement is necessary by both the merchant and the customer to settle that transaction.   In this case--products were ordered and consumed--and then walked out on without any input or agreement from the side of the merchant.  That= stealing--whether it is a salad--or a watch, a ring or a television.   I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. 

 
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I feel bad for the waiter.  The guy volunteered to work Christmas Eve so some of his fellow coworkers could spend the night with their loved ones.   He had to work extra hard coz the restaurant was short handed, then the Scrooge Family walked his table.   :cry:

 
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Rohn Jambo said:
I feel bad for the waiter.  The guy volunteered to worked Christmas Eve so some of his fellow coworkers can spend the night with their loved ones.   He had to work extra hard coz the restaurant was short handed, then the Scrooge Family walked his table.   :cry:
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Almost nobody volunteers to work Christmas Eve.  In the restaurant business, it's a given that you have to work that day, unless you have seniority and staffing needs and number of total employees dictates that they don't need you that day. 

If I had to guess, I would bet this restaurant was understaffed, hence the long wait time for food.  

 
Peyton Marino said:
the only thing OP stole is the drinks and salads.  he never received the food he ordered, so he didn't steal that.  i probably would have left a $20 or whatever on the table to cover the beers and salads, but no problem walking out after that.  jon taffer would back me up here.
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For our experienced servers in the crowd - what do restaurants do with the meals that were prepared but didn't get served since the OP and his crew walked the table?  Do they save them and hope someone orders the identical meal?

 
Ned said:
For our experienced servers in the crowd - what do restaurants do with the meals that were prepared but didn't get served since the OP and his crew walked the table?  Do they save them and hope someone orders the identical meal?
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If they are lucky they can fill other orders with some of the food. Otherwise they would give the food away to staff that can eat and run, or maybe some regular customers (anybody want some jalopeno poppers?!!). Most of it will get tossed.

 
dozer said:
If they are lucky they can fill other orders with some of the food. Otherwise they would give the food away to staff that can eat and run, or maybe some regular customers (anybody want some jalopeno poppers?!!). Most of it will get tossed.
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So the restaurant is out more money for that food that went unsold and discarded, plus you've got the general travesty of wasted food in a world where people are starving. It just keeps getting worse and worse. :(  

 
Ghost Rider said:
Almost nobody volunteers to work Christmas Eve.  In the restaurant business, it's a given that you have to work that day, unless you have seniority and staffing needs and number of total employees dictates that they don't need you that day. 

If I had to guess, I would bet this restaurant was understaffed, hence the long wait time for food.  
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Yes.  It is not the waiter's fault when the kitchen is overwhelmed with order at peak time.  I always try to be patient and overtip when other people have to work on holidays.

 
McGarnicle said:
So the restaurant is out more money for that food that went unsold and discarded, plus you've got the general travesty of wasted food in a world where people are starving. It just keeps getting worse and worse. :(  
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New band name  :lmao:

And managers comp food for employees and good clients all the time.  So maybe the travesty is your reaction.

Also, the issue here is that most likely, the food hadn't even been prepared yet.

 
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OP made a #### move, but not that big of a deal (from the restaurant perspective, not OP having to look himself in the mirror).

He could've spoken with the manager, but really, on a night like this, the manager did not have time to deal with listening to OP whine. Manager would've certainly comped the drinks, and was probably glad he didn't have to waste time dealing with him. Still a #### move, but really no harm done overall.

The only thing the restaurant would really care about is that he's probably not coming back. Not the worst loss, losing a customer like that, but margins are slim so you'd like to keep every customer, even the sort of people that would do something like this.

 
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pollardsvision said:
OP made a #### move, but not that big of a deal (from the restaurant perspective, not OP having to look himself in the mirror).

He could've spoken with the manager, but really, on a night like this, the manager did not have time to deal with listening to OP whine. Manager would've certainly comped the drinks, and was probably glad he didn't have to waste time dealing with him. Still a #### move, but really no harm done overall.

The only thing the restaurant would really care about is that he's probably not coming back. Not the worst loss, losing a customer like that, but margins are slim so you'd like to keep every customer, even the sort of people that would do something like this.
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A smart guy would turn a bad situation into an opportunity to make a deal, but sometimes it's hard to think when one's hungry and the survival instinct kicks in.

 
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Getzlaf15 said:
New band name  :lmao:

And managers comp food for employees and good clients all the time.  So maybe the travesty is your reaction.

Also, the issue here is that most likely, the food hadn't even been prepared yet.
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Sure, sounds good. And if you run over a pedestrian with your car, just keep right on driving. They "most likely" had it coming.

Where does it end?

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
Saying that there are no parallels between those situations is also naive.  Shoplifting from a convenience store is no different than shoplifting from a jewelry store.   The parallel is that in commerce--once a product has been taken or consumed--an agreement is necessary by both the merchant and the customer to settle that transaction.   In this case--products were ordered and consumed--and then walked out on without any input or agreement from the side of the merchant.  That= stealing--whether it is a salad--or a watch, a ring or a television.   I'm not sure what point you are trying to make. 
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I never said there are no parallels between the situations.  There are parallels between lots of situations - that doesn't mean they need to be compared.  

I get that there is some technical definition of stealing that his actions fall into.  

The point I made is that your analogy was bad and disingenuous.  He walked on salad and some beers.  No need to start talking about stealing an engagement ring.

 
Rohn Jambo said:
A smart guy would turn a bad situation into an opportunity to make a deal, but sometimes it's hard to think when one's hungry.
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Oh yeah, he could've made out like a bandit, though that would've just taken more time. 

Actually, in a situation like this, best thing to do is walk out and leave your contact info. If you have cash for the drinks, leave it, if not, leave a note and contact info. Manager will call you back when he's got time, disregard the drinks, apologize profusely, and give you enough in gift certificates to cover a few meals. 

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
No offense--but that is not a decision that is up to you to make.   Every human being has a different set of standards--and this is why it is not up to customers to decide when it is appropriate to justify stealing. If you go to a restaurant--and are unhappy with the service--you ask for a manager--tell them why you are not satisfied and tell them why you don't plan on paying and then leave.  I manage a small but fine jewelry store--a business where "the overall" customer package means everything.  On the days leading to xmas--there were times where we had 12-15 customers in our shop at any given time--with our entire staff of 7 people each helping a person.  That led to cases where sometimes customers had to wait 15-25 minutes to get served.  If each of them found it appropriate to steal a Rolex or take a diamond ring because their time is money--how would you feel about that?   As the manager--when I see a customer is waiting--I'll apologize to them--thank them for their patience--and will even sometimes give them a gift card from the Starbucks that is in our same shopping center and have them enjoy a drink on me--and will personally walk over there/and or send them a text when I have an available associate to help them.  For the OP to essentially steal (he didn't say a word to a manager)--and then to complain about it is  reflective of terrible character.  Dude probably stole what would have been a bill of $30--he already said earlier that he assumes that the stuff he stole probably costed the restaurant $5. So you go somewhere--get $30 worth of food---don't pay a penny--and then turn around and complain about it? C'mon man. 
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:lmao:

 
Ned said:
For our experienced servers in the crowd - what do restaurants do with the meals that were prepared but didn't get served since the OP and his crew walked the table?  Do they save them and hope someone orders the identical meal?
Click to expand...
I see you working, but to me that responsibility falls onto the restaurant staff after they've failed to meet reasonable expectations of their customers.  What would have been an acceptable time frame where he's OK to walk?  2 hours of waiting?  3?  Is there no period of time where he can call the waiter over and say "hey thanks just the same but this has taken too long, we don't want the food any more"?

 
And please keep a few things in mind when you find yourself in a situation where a restaurant is clearly understaffed and wait times are horrible. These are underpaid, no benefits jobs here. The only way a restaurant could afford staff itself for every massive rush is to charge prices you don't want to pay. Even that wouldn't work, of course, because the drop in business would make it worse. So, this is what you get. We try to avoid these situations, but sometimes, it just happens.

Speaking of no benefits. We don't get and can't provide all this fancy paid sick and holiday leave. Staff goes out of town on the holidays leaving you short? Not much you can really do. We don't give holiday pay, and therefore can't complain much when they take their own unpaid holiday leave. If there's a handy way to replace them quickly, we can do that, but outside of that, them's the breaks.

Signed, restaurant owner that just got home from work on Christmas day after getting up at 4:30am to work and prep for an upcoming week where half the staff is out of town. A week where no matter how much I tried to prep beforehand, #### is just going to go haywire, and possibly to a Tom Skerritt situation.

 
Peyton Marino said:
I see you working, but to me that responsibility falls onto the restaurant staff after they've failed to meet reasonable expectations of their customers.  What would have been an acceptable time frame where he's OK to walk?  2 hours of waiting?  3?  Is there no period of time where he can call the waiter over and say "hey thanks just the same but this has taken too long, we don't want the food any more"?
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That would've been awesome if he did that. Instead he just left without paying.

It's not like the entire staff left to go to the movies. He could've flagged anyone down and asked for a manager. That's what non-horrible people do when they have a dispute with a business.

:no:  sigh

 
Peyton Marino said:
I never said there are no parallels between the situations.  There are parallels between lots of situations - that doesn't mean they need to be compared.  

I get that there is some technical definition of stealing that his actions fall into.  

The point I made is that your analogy was bad and disingenuous.  He walked on salad and some beers.  No need to start talking about stealing an engagement ring.
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At what monetary value do you justify stealing? Just wondering. If he walked out on $150 worth of salads and drinks at Mortons- then what?

 
McGarnicle said:
That would've been awesome if he did that. Instead he just left without paying.

It's not like the entire staff left to go to the movies. He could've flagged anyone down and asked for a manager. That's what non-horrible people do when they have a dispute with a business.

:no:  sigh
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well sure, that's the better way to go about it.  

I can see it from both sides.  he probably owes them the courtesy to tell them that he's going to leave.  but, they already wasted a significant portion of his time.  why should he spend any more of his letting them know what he's thinking?

but, for the purposes of whether or not it's 'stealing', it doesn't matter whether he tells them before he leaves, does it?   my point was that at some point, enough of his time has been wasted with no food where it's OK for him to leave without paying for the entrees.  again - he already ate some salad and had some beer, so that should have been paid for.  but as far as being on the hook for the entrees - nah.

 
jvdesigns2002 said:
At what monetary value do you justify stealing? Just wondering. If he walked out on $150 worth of salads and drinks at Mortons- then what?
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$0.  I already said he should have left cash for the drinks and salads before walking the table.

 
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Not that this happened but this reminds me of a story where a buddy and I witnessed a waitress crying over a couple guys walking out without paying their bill.  This was several years ago when on Sunday we would watch football at a local bar and people would eat and drink all day long.  Asked the waitress why she was crying and she told us that the manager informed her that she would have to play the bill on the skipped tab.  

 
Peyton Marino said:
well sure, that's the better way to go about it.  

I can see it from both sides.  he probably owes them the courtesy to tell them that he's going to leave.  but, they already wasted a significant portion of his time.  why should he spend any more of his letting them know what he's thinking?

but, for the purposes of whether or not it's 'stealing', it doesn't matter whether he tells them before he leaves, does it?   my point was that at some point, enough of his time has been wasted with no food where it's OK for him to leave without paying for the entrees.  again - he already ate some salad and had some beer, so that should have been paid for.  but as far as being on the hook for the entrees - nah.
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I don't think anyone here thinks he was on the hook for the entrees.

At minimum he could leave a note on the table with his cell and say "the service is terrible, if you feel I owe you for anything call XXX-XXXX"

 
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