‘Where did they even go?’: Phoenix server brings $400 bill to empty table. Then the mom returns and punishes her for assuming they dined and dashed
A server from Phoenix, Arizona, says her table of five mysteriously disappeared as she brought them their bill. However, they come back and leave no tip because she assumed they dined and dashed.
In a video with over 514,000 views, TikToker Shannon Marie (@shaanmarie) recounts an awkward situation she encountered at her serving job.
“The table consisted of a mom and her four kids. Her kids were probably high school or college age,” she says.
Marie notes that the family sat outside on the restaurant’s patio near an exit gate.
At the end of their meal, Marie cleans up and goes to print the family’s $400 bill. However, they aren’t sitting at the table when she returns.
“I am gone for all of 45 seconds,” she explains. “They are not there. Their stuff is not there.”
Marie turns to the table next to them and asks if they saw the table leave. The other guests say they don’t know where they went but recount the table leaving “quickly.”
What happens when a table dines and dashes?
Dining and dashing is illegal and considered a type of restaurant fraud in which customers eat the food but leave before paying. Restaurants may report the theft to authorities, and charges can lead to hefty fines or jail time, according to RestaurantWare.
While the restaurant takes the loss, dining and dashing can also impact servers. In some cases, management may tell servers they should have been more vigilant and ask them to cover part of the loss. (However, it’s typically illegal for a restaurant to use server tips or wages to cover the bill.)
On the r/TalesFromYourServer subreddit, waitstaff share their own experiences with tables that dine and dash.
“Where I work, a server will only be written up for a dine and dash if they were negligent. Basically, as long as you were on the floor doing your job, and the dashers snuck out, there won’t be a write-up,” one says.
Another writes, “I was never forced to pay said tab(it was $250) but did receive the write-up because it was in my training guidelines.”
@shaaanmarie Also their bill was $400 so excuse me for being worried ?#storytime #serverproblems #restaurant ♬ original sound – Shannon Marie
Did the table actually dine and dash?
As Marie talks to the other table, the party of five suddenly returns and hears her conversation. The mother asks what the issue is, and Marie explains that she was unsure of where they went.
When Marie picks up the check, she sees a $0 tip and a note.
The note on the receipt reads, “Next time, don’t accuse a single mother of stealing in front of your entire restaurant, and you might get a tip. That was incredibly offensive, and I will be contacting corporate.”
Despite the table coming back, viewers defend Marie’s assumption that they left.
“There’s no reasonable reason for ALL FIVE of them to leave at the same time before paying the check. None,” one writes.
A second says, “I don’t agree with her she might have done it on purpose.”
“You’re not at fault here. You just simply asked the next table where they went. How did she find that offensive? Lol,” another adds.
The Mary Sue reached out to Marie via email for further comment.
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