Customer Does Everything to Avoid Paying His Bill At Restaurant, Even Trying to Use Sporting Goods Store Credit

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  • 01
    Font - Had a guy try walk out on his bill, and when we blocked the exits and threatened to call the cops he tried to pay with Big 5 Sporting Goods receipts Long Yes, you read that right. This guy seemed kinda sketchy from the start: poor hygiene, mumbling his words, avoiding eye contact, etc, but I figured maybe he was just having a bad day and wanted to be left alone. Then gradually over the course of serving him I got the sense that he was gonna try to leave without paying, and sure enough I w
  • 02
    Font - First he tried to duck out through the back exit near the restrooms, but by that point we had caught on and a couple coworkers and I were camped out there. He saw us waiting for him and went back to the lobby to try leaving through the front, but I ran back around and was waiting there for him too. Deprived of a clean escape, he sulked back to his table in the corner of the restaurant and I brought him his check.
  • 03
    Font - He spent a long time looking at it, presumably trying to figure out how to get out of paying it, if not just delaying the inevitable. Between helping my other tables I saw him pull some pieces of paper out of his pocket and start cross- referencing them with the check; weird, but hey I like to give people the benefit of the doubt and figured maybe he was checking a bank receipt to see how much money he had or something.
  • 04
    Font - NOPE! Eventually he had the gall to just get up and try walking out of the front exit again, which I was again waiting for him at, and reminded him that he needed to pay his bill. He pulled the papers out of his pocket and showed them to me - they were receipts for Big 5 Sporting Goods, and he pointed to them and assured me that "the numbers are all there". I was taken aback by this display of sheer stupidity, but maintained composure and calmly informed him that, surprisingly enough, our
  • 05
    Font - This went on for about five minutes: him trying to convince me that somehow his $5 store credit at a sports retailer would cover his $50 tab at our bar, and me fluctuating between frustration and stupefied amusement. Eventually some other coworkers had gathered around and we collectively made it clear that he needed to either pay or we would call the police, at which point he defaulted to his backup plan, which was to attest that he "was not aware this was a restaurant". The? Bro you came
  • 06
    Font - I looked him in the eyes and sternly said "You're not talking your way out of this." and he finally seemed to get the hint. With his genius plans foiled, he just shrugged and said that he couldn't afford to pay the bill. However as our manager prepared to call the police someone at a nearby table offered to pay it for him, and so he walked out a free man. I had mixed feelings about this because if the guy doesn't have the money to pay for food then he's clearly in a bad spot and getting b
  • 07
    Font - All-in-all that's probably the most baffling interaction I've ever had with someone at my job. People be wild!
  • 08
    Font - Tricky RickyDoo - 15 hr. ago Sounds like he has mental health issues, I suspect no consequence would deter him. 285 Reply Share
  • 09
    Font - 4-ton-mantis This was my first thought halfway in, sounds like mental illness. 13 hr. ago
  • 10
    Font - xCelestial 10 hr. ago This 100%. Sucks because people make it sound like it was personal but this is very different then some Karen trying to get a free entree or teenagers skipping out on a check.
  • 11
    Font - KiwiCharles 4 hr. ago Even those with MH issues need consequences. If he was trying to plan escapes he knew what a bill was, that he has to pay at a restaurant, ect. Unless someone's MH issues are so bad they should be in a hospital as they can't take care of themselves most people have a sense of right and wrong.
  • 12
    Font - tarak8isgr8 10 hr. ago I always have a hard time with this but when I was too poor for food I did the honorable thing and robbed a big name grocery store, not stiff someone on service 68 Reply Share
  • 13
    Font - Plague_Evockation 4 hr. ago This is far too relatable. I stole food from walmart all the time in my early 20s, and nowadays look the other way if I see someone else stealing or not ringing up items in the self checkout.
  • 14
    Font - Xyex 9 hr. ago . Sounds like someone with a mental illness. If so, he wasn't trying to get you to believe nonsensical lies, whatever he was saying made perfectly logical sense to him. This, in particular: he pointed to them and assured me that "the numbers are all there". Stands out to me. Matching the number on the receipts to the numbers on his bill. It not a great leap for the mind to make a connection between the two and come to the idea the receipt should help with the bill. 42 Reply
  • 15
    Font - MMorrighan 11 hr. ago Man I wish there was a better number to call them the cops for situations like these 58 Reply Share
  • 16
    Font - arrow_root_42. 7 hr. ago I do, too. People like this guy need help, not jail. I worked in mental health care for a couple of years and encountered several patients who were mortified about their past behavior once they were treated and had retaken control of their lives.
  • 17
    Font - RaniPhoenix 5 hr. ago . That's the whole point of the effort to "defund"* the police. Dealing with the mentally ill is not something they should have to do, and they're not set up properly for it.
  • 18
    Font - KTB1962 17 hr. ago Sounds like he may have been homeless. No excuse obviously, just a possible explanation. 46 Reply Share

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