Dine and dash, or negligence? — Customers call restaurant to settle unpaid bill

SINGAPORE: People who eat at restaurants and then suddenly leave without paying are a burden to any eatery, especially when it’s the staff who have shoulder unpaid bills. Fortunately, a recent dine-and-dash case at a vegetarian restaurant in MacPherson was a matter of negligence, and the customers who left without paying have already settled their bill.

“Case is closed, customer has called us and done the payment. We are glad its a case of negligence, thanks for your help to share the news,” reads a Facebook post from the Dec 2 Indonesian vegetarian eatery Warung Ijo.

Earlier that day, F & B joint had appealed for help over social media, asking for help from the public to find a couple of customers in what they thought was a dine-and-dash situation. The Facebook post from Warung Ijo, now deleted, included a bill for S$61.90 and a picture of the individuals who had gone without paying.

Shin Min Daily News reported that with the latest dine and dah case, the vegetarian restaurant, which had just opened in August, had already lost a total of S$300 in five separate incidents, where diners racked up bills ranging from S$20 to S$70 for their orders and then disappeared.

The manager of Warung Ijo, Mr Huang, told the Chinese Daily that while the first incident had been shouldered by the owner of the restaurant, the others that followed had been paid for by the staff who were on duty at the time the dining and dashers visited Warung Ijo.

“It is not a small amount, and we are tired of paying on their behalf,” Mr Huang told Shin Min Daily News.

The restaurant had implemented a pay-first-before-eating process, which did not go over well with some customers, as it complicated ordering additions to their meals. Warung Ijo changed its payment process, having customers order via QR code and settle their bills at the counter before leaving.

It worked for other diners and should have also worked well last Saturday, at around 11 am, when the two “negligent” customers ordered a number of dishes for their meal as well as a S$13.20.

And while the restaurant was not overly full at the time, the staff was preoccupied with other customers, and the diners left without paying their bills, which prompted the Facebook post. Fortunately, they had the decency to pay their bill that same day.

Read also: Letter to the Editor | What kind of people would dine and dash in our society? /TISG