Thanks to social media and the help of people in Georgia – police say two dine and dashers have been caught – and claim they’ll make it right.
“It breaks your heart,” said Lisa Ritter, the manager at Big Daddy’s Oyster Bar and Pub in Peachtree City, Georgia.
Ritter says two people came in days before Christmas, spent hours at a table, racked up a huge tab, then took off.
“If you can’t afford to go out and eat, it’s bad enough you don’t get tipped well enough, waitresses only make $2.13 an hour, and it’s really bad that they dine and dash,” Ritter added.
She says this isn’t the first time this has happened, and it probably won’t be the last…but says it really hurts business.
“We have to still pay for it,” Ritter said.
Peachtree City police say the bill was more than $200, and they asked the community for help identifying the dine and dashers.
“After we posted some photos on Facebook, we received an overwhelming response from numerous people providing identification information,” said Lt. Matthew Myers with the Peachtree City Police Department.
Lt. Myers says they have been in contact with the alleged thieves and adds that you can face many criminal charges if you walk out on a bill.
He also says it’s not uncommon for establishments to make the server foot the bill.
“There are instances where the waitresses have to pay for it, because if you’re not checking on your tables, if you’re horsing around, I could see that happening,” added Ritter.
This time, they didn’t make the waitress pay, but Ritter says the waitress was still stiffed.
“She was very upset and crying,” Ritter said, “They had been here for like four hours, that’s her tip…that would have been like a $50 tip.”
Police say the dashers have contacted Big Daddy’s and offered to make it right.
That is yet to be finalized.
