Posted on 06/29/2009 7:34:07 AM PDT by dennisw
FAST FACTS:
* Cameras show couple feasting on filet, bottles of win, then skipping out on tab * Couple told server they were 'going out to smoke' * Restaurant emails couple's pics to listserve of more than 8-thousand people
(Memphis 6/26/09) In this tough economy, the dine-and-dash has taken on a whole new twist. Now, businesses are fighting back.
When two diners at Buckely's restaurant walked out last night without paying their tab, the owner took matters into his own hands. He wasn't going to say goodbye to $100 worth of food without a fight. Apparently, the restaurant has seen it's fair share of dine-and-dashers lately. Whether it's coincidence or a statement on the economy, it's cutting into their bottom line.
Thursday, a night out on the town left one couple labeled thieves. Security cameras show the couple walk into the restaurant, order, eat, and walk out on their bill. Their bill shows they ordered the works; the filet, two bottles of wine, and extras. Then, they asked the server to get two more glasses of wine and dessert while they went out to smoke. But instead of firing up a cigarette, the owner says they fired up their engine.
"These people hit the door and hit their automobile as fast as possible," says Buckley's owner Ken Dick who waited nearly two hours for the couple to come back. Finally, after a lot of thought, he sent out a newsletter to roughly eight-thousand people -- complete with the couple's pictures and a stern warning for other businesses to keep an eye out for them. The reaction came quick.
"We've probably gotten over 700, 800 emails in just three hours," says Dick, who says customers are irate and upset. "As a community we need to stand up stick together, that's what the neighborhood watch is all about, we're utilizing all our means."
The restaurant went through the regular channels, including filing a police report. But in an era of tight budgets, Dick wasn't about to throw away profit on the age-old dine-and-dash.
"It's nothing new but you feel it more these days when you're watching every nickel, every dime," he says. "If they want to show up and bring us a check to pay the bill, I'll have no problem. I will be more than happy to send another email out and say 'Hey, these are some great people, they just made an honest mistake'."
By evening Friday, Dick says the dine-and-dasher came back to pay that bill, and to say 'sorry'. It's unclear whether the newsletter did the trick, but it certainly got a lot of attention.
Good for the business owner.
The wife and I are training for the big show by practicing
at Denny’s!
Good for the restaurant!
Part of the enjoyment of being wined and dined is being entrusted with a willingness to pay AFTER the meal!
Good for the business owner.......
These thieves thought they committed a fairly anonymous crime that is hard to prove. But when you are caught on video and photographs of you are circulated..... This is when they did a cost benefit analysis and decided it was better to pay up than to be further shamed and even arrested and tried
Were the bottles of win met with barrels of fail, in the end?
HA!!!!
The owner did the right thing.
It may have been a mistake, but ordering more wine and dessert then not coming back, doesn’t look good.
I hope this happens more often.
Good.
Dine ‘n’ dash! Lunch ‘n’ leave! Eat it and beat it :)
The distribution costs are virtually nil, and the content is quite superior. Plus, the folks on the other end are able to respond quickly to the sender.
And "newsies" wonder why they can't sell advertising to fishwrap around their Leftwingtard propaganda.
I applaud him for having a pair, since he is actually leaving himself wide open to a libel charge here (merchants have lost libel cases for posting “do not cash” lists at their registers naming people who have bounced checks...yes deadbeats have sued them and won). I am sympathetic because it is a HUGE problem in the restaurant business, and in some cases has put people out of business.
He said they hit their engine right away, so I doubt this was an “honest mistake”. However, I will say, though I’ve never done it, I am sure I am capable of getting up from a meal, lost in my thoughts and walking out without paying. It would be embarassing but I wouldn’t want to be called a “dine and dasher”.
By the way, I could only see this happening if I were alone. It would be hard to believe two people could both forget the bill.
He’ll get sued for slander because they meant to pay but “forgot”.
I knew a guy whose family were dinners and dashers. When they were on their way out of the restaurant they would pretend they were deaf and could not hear the staff calling them back to pay. What a bunch of deadbeats.
what idiots...nothing to prove or gain by doing this. The couple had the money...maybe just out for some cheap thrills...As the owner, (after they paid), I would have told them don’t EVER show up in my place again.
Instead, he should have called the police and given them a full report. Later, after filing for bankruptcy protection because of all his unpaid accounts receivable, he could have qualified for stimulus money, turned ownership of the restaurant over to the federal government and retired to a local housing co-op.
Greedy business owner, doesn’t he know he’s got to “spread the wealth” around?
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