Eating out at a restaurant - but not paying???

[Lance]

I was at a Cracker Barrel restaurant the other day with some friends for some quick food. In talking with a very friendly waitress, who was new on the team, asking if she ever ran into any non-payers. She described a whole table a couple days ago of 5 or 6 people who ordered heavily, left the restaurant and never paid. It was not her responsibility to pay, thankfully.

Given the economic conditions that seems to be on everyone's minds these days, I am wondering if this is happening more than I know. Cracker Barrel is a busy place in these parts, busses stop, large groups, and an interesting collection of foods, candies, clothing, lamps, and all sorts of things. So, after you finish your meal, you walk into the retail section of the store, look around at all the stuff for sale, use the restroom, etc., it is easy to walk out without anyone knowing you haven't paid your check. It seems to me that the restaurant leaves themselves wide open for this kind of thing to happen.

I could never do such a thing anywhere, but I suppose if people have no money, are hungry, and have a family to feed, they will try anything. Do you think this is more rampant that I realize?

[lennygoran]

Lance we don't eat out much when we're home-enjoy eating at home even if its food we order takeout style. However when we're in the city like right now not only do we always pay the bill-we even pay the high wine prices they get these days! Regards, Len

[Lance]

Having met you and your lovely other half, it doesn't surprise me that you would always do the right and proper thing. I just cannot imagine doing this kind of thing, eating and not paying and taking advantage of people this way. It's depressing to think about it.

[Belle]

There are plenty of people who do this; whether petrol, shop-lifting, restaurants, retail of any kind. The local large hardware barn said they lose circa $A50K per month from shop-lifting. That's $A600K per annum.

It's lovely to be eating out, of course, but if eat-and-run continues the restaurants will simply factor this in with price hikes to paying customers.

[Lance]

I keep wondering what has happened to the human race. It's always been here, but not near the volume I have seen in the last few years. Did most of us really come through the "best" years? So, what's ahead? Will/can it ever get better?

[Belle]

The human race is mostly what it's always been, though Steven Pinker has argued within the last decade that our centuries (20th and 21st) are the least violent in world history, notwithstanding two world wars!! I'm pretty sure he's written a book about it.

[Ricordanza]

I could never do such a thing anywhere, but I suppose if people have no money, are hungry, and have a family to feed, they will try anything.

I suspect that those who do this are not starving or penniless. Rather, they lack that part of the brain that tells them what is right and what is wrong.

[lennygoran]

Having met you and your lovely other half, it doesn't surprise me that you would always do the right and proper thing. I just cannot imagine doing this kind of thing, eating and not paying and taking advantage of people this way. It's depressing to think about it.

Lance thanks-one time we were filling up with gas late in the evening and as we were pulling in the attendant was screaming and running after a car that hadn't paid up-in NJ you still can't pump your own gas unless its diesel fuel. Regards, Len

PS-we relish the times we've met in NYC-some day you have to make another appearance here although I realize its a long trip