Rude customers

[simple24]

Im a student and work part time as a waitress. Last week me and my collegue were put in a very difficult situation whilst on a quiet monday night shift. A couple came into to dine with us, they sat at the bar before sitting down to a meal and were extremely...lets say tipsy...when entering the restaurant. We sat them down, they ordered one starter, two main course and two bottles of wine. When it came to paying for their bill (which the man demanded at the top of his voice) they were extremely drunk by this point. They were being very loud and aggressive with not only eachother but with other customers who were TRYING to dine in peace.

Becuase the gentleman was so drunk he couldnt read his bill properly and complained that it said two starters instead of one (which it did not) and said that because he had only had one glass of wine out of the second bottle he refused to pay for it atall. i very politaly explained that he would have to pay for ALL his bill, becuase there was nothing wrong with the food/drink he had ordered. After shouting at me and my collegue for 30minutes and casuing a ridiculous scene, we told him we would have to call the police if he was going to refuse to pay. He grabbed my collegues arm and told us to 'DELETED' then he and his girlfriend ran out of the door.

When the police came we explained the situation and they explained it was a civil disagreement and there is nothing they could do.

I find this ridiculous, if people can be arrested for stealing clothes from a shop, how is this differant? We had to use our tips to pay for thier food bill becuase they were too drunk to pay. What do people think of this? I realise that the police are very busy and this is not a major criminal offnece but why doesnt everyone just go around doing the same thing if the police arent bothered?

Edited February 22, 2009 by Classic Rock
LANGUAGE

[Pritt Stick]

Sorry bout that - sounds a nightmare. Perhaps you shouldn't have served em alocohol if they were already drunk.

 

Why did you pay for their meal?

[Guest sibon]

We had to use our tips to pay for thier food bill becuase they were too drunk to pay. What do people think of this?

 

Whilst your customers behaved disgracefully, I'd be inclined to be even more angry with your employer. How can they steal your tips to pay for the poor behaviour of a customer? I'd be furious if a tip that I had given for good service was used in this way. Would you care to name the restaurant so that I can avoid it?

 

I realise that the police are very busy and this is not a major criminal offnece but why doesnt everyone just go around doing the same thing if the police arent bothered?

 

Most people are very busy, but they manage to do their jobs properly. The police are often inclined to overlook incidents like this and that leads to a general lowering of standards.

[chinaski]

The police were right, it is a civil matter. Essentially, a meal out is a contract between the customer and restaurant and and disagreements can only be settled in the civil courts. However, in your situation the customers refusal to pay amounts to fraud, which is criminal. The police should have actually acted. The Times reviewer, AA Gill, talked about it a while back:

 

"Why don’t more people do runners? Given the quality and service offered by so many restaurants, combined with their prices, I’m astonished more people don’t refuse to pay. Tip: walk outside to answer your mobile and never return. (A lawyer writes: only try this at home.)

 

Years ago, a defrocked lawyer taught me how to do a legal runner – a meal in a restaurant is a private contract.

 

But attempting to avoid payment is fraud, and that’s criminal. So what you have to do is leave your real name and a bona fide address (your mother-in-law’s is best), then offer what you consider to be the actual value of the raw ingredients. In an expensive restaurant, this is about one-third of the menu price. For spag napolitana, it’s 20p. Minus service, of course. You don’t want to pay that. You must, though, pay the full price for wine, unless you reckon there was something wrong with it. Having done all that, they have to let you go or call the police. Plod will tell the maître d’ what I’ve just told you: it’s a civil matter.

 

Three words of warning. One: on the scale of bourgeois embarrassment, having a row about the bill comes just under having your phone ring the theme from Bonanza in the last act of King Lear. Two: the restaurant can sue you for the difference, and courts take a dim view if they think you’re trying it on. Three: don’t try this in the same restaurant twice.

 

The point of all this is that you’re not revolting enough. The modern, sophisticated packaging of restaurants makes customers feel that it’s uncool to complain, as if it showed you, like – duh! – cared. But a restaurant isn’t a teenage boyfriend, it’s a service. Shrugging and saying “Whatever” isn’t putting it in its place. If you don’t like it and if it’s not what was promised, don’t pay. Don’t be cool, be magnificent. And if they go to the mat, offer to return the goods there and then."

[tab1]

This scenario may apply to a situation on the premises but for someone to run off like that is an arrestable offence termed, "Making off without payment" from "section 3 of the theft act 1978" and generally refers to this type of situations where someone has a meal then runs off or takes a taxi ride home and then does a runner. I think this link has more detail on that http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lhc8l4KTb1cC&pg=PA91&lpg=PA91&dq=amking+off+without+paying+is+arrestable&source=bl&ots=Q3MYCNbJVv&sig=NPEokJjRqscXaHgKEQtnJQ5HSaU&hl=en&ei=gaahSfPzIJDDjAeEsq3DCw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

Edited February 22, 2009 by tab1

[Bago]

Can I ask you a question, did your employer ask you to pay with your tips, or did you personally felt responsible, so you handed your tips over?

 

 

What do I think of this? I think that it does happen in the dining industry, and depending on your location, you will find some very unreasonable customers overall. Each different scenarios, and for different reasons.

 

I also think that the police may not seem to want to do more than their remit, in this kind of scenario. I also feel that as a student, you guys seem to have lost out on this, than anything else.

 

Why doesn't people do this if the police are not bothered? Because people have integrity, and are not unreasonable beings. They are polite to most extent, and don't try to con you outright, and that is the difference between a person who is out to con, to a person who was not out to con, but wants a reasonable answer from the establishment.

 

I've waitressed before, but it was for family, and it is so much easier to deal with such situations, and I completely empathsize. With people who were already drunk, you do have to humour them, because at that stage, they do not have their full faculties to know what they are saying, or implying. You really do have to have a lot of patience, and a high EQ to deal with them without getting upset, frustrated, or lose your temper either.

 

You also have to be alert that they don't leave without payment, or at least have partial payment. If you have a very understanding boss and owner, then they may absorb the cost, but this is an area as a waiter/waitress, you have to be on the alert for. As an employee working for someone else, you may not have the authorisation to write-off such amount. This is why I said it was easier to work for families, as I know what they would expect me to do. You need to have this understanding with your boss.

 

Also, if you think that someone has drunk too much, then do not serve any more to them. As it can lead to more problems later on, and you have every right to do this. If you think that someone is about to kick off, then find your manager and alert them of the situation. Cos they should be the ones who deal with such situations, as part of their job role. Most managers are experienced in this area, and can coax and calm the customers down.

 

and said that because he had only had one glass of wine out of the second bottle he refused to pay for it atall. i very politaly explained that he would have to pay for ALL his bill, becuase there was nothing wrong with the food/drink he had ordered.

From quoting you above, and I hope you don't mind me saying this from experience... this could possibly be because the guy was not out to con you, but in the end, did end up leaving and conned you any way. I think he wanted to pay for what he ordered only, because he seems to be sulking on what seems to be a rather large bill. A lot of people will do this especially around the end of the night, so this is also another area to look out for. Though I do understand that you do not open non-house wines without asking and checking first. Maybe the guy is not prepared to pay for the whole bottle. I think that is his rant.

 

You shouldn't have said that there was nothing wrong with the food, as that is his judgement. That could have annoyed him more, and increased his frustration. It seems that what he wanted to do was to pay by per glass, and I guess you don't normally see this in any establishment, especially if it is a more expensive bottle. You should have asked him and re-asked him if this is okay to open. Or at the point of dispute tell him the reason as to why you charged the bottle, because it was something that he asked, and that you don't sell by per glass. (Some people can be quite fickle in the drinks area. You really have to engage in their mindset if that is okay and so forth. It is a very intuitive thing to do. That is why in some better establishments, you will have a specified wine sommelier to deal with the requests and so forth.)

 

I would not be too disheartened, and remember that you have done well under the circumstances, cos you seem to be new to waitressing. I would put it down as a learning experience, and that there could be more potential areas that may arise, and you won't know what to do. Just be mindful to keep a look out, and avoid situations. I think this is true in any jobs, to be honest. Or so I have come to learn any way.

Edited February 22, 2009 by Bago

[ladyacademic]

I think there's a serious possibility that an offence was committed under the 2003 Licensing Act by serving to alcohol someone who was already obviously drunk. The person who served the alcohol was committing an offence for which they could face proceedings - summary conviction can lead to a fine of up to £1000. The buyer of the alcohol was also committing an offence.

 

And if you'd have refused to serve him wine before he drank the stuff, the chances are they would have walked out without ordering and eating a meal as well. Learn well from the experience.

Edited February 22, 2009 by ladyacademic
added detail

[BasilRathbon]

If someone steals something from a shop, runs out and is caught they're forced to return the goods they've taken. So surely if someone has a lovely meal in a restaurant and runs off without paying they should be forced to come back into the premises and throw up in the kitchen.

[Raeven]

It doesn't seem like you had backup from management at any time during this altercation. Where was your manager? Let management deal with stuff like this - that's why they are paid more than you!

 

The majority of responsible managers will back up staff, and should not expect them to take abuse from customers who are clearly in the wrong. If you don't get this at your workplace, then i'd seriously consider looking for work elsewhere.

[Rioja]

It doesn't seem like you had backup from management at any time during this altercation. Where was your manager? Let management deal with stuff like this - that's why they are paid more than you!

 

The majority of responsible managers will back up staff, and should not expect them to take abuse from customers who are clearly in the wrong. If you don't get this at your workplace, then i'd seriously consider looking for work elsewhere.

 

This is totally right. Managers should support their staff in instances like this otherwise all that happens is that staff become upset and stressed and hate their jobs. That's not good for the business, the staff or the customers.