Here Are 37 Stories When Customers Couldn't Pay A Restaurant Bill And What Happened Next

I've only had this happen, maybe 3 times in my 25 years in the industry.

2 were regulars, and they made it good later and made sure to leave extra for the servers.

The other was banned because he was a s**t-a*s busted ner-do-well, and he was no longer welcomed in one of the last bars in town that would offer him service.

I miss the days when local bar/restaurants had a good relationship with each other and we could call and ask about a certain patron and either the manager or bartender would be the first person to tell you if they were a shitstain. Or they'd call ahead and warn you that this f****r was on the way to your place and we just wouldn't serve them.

One of my coworkers had a couple who literally ran out on a busy night and my coworker ran after them and tried to knock on there car window but the just drove off and almost ran her over. The table was only like 71 dollars and the owner knew it wasn’t her fault after watching the cameras and just let her void the check. And she proceeded to blast there photos all over local facebook groups (it was a fairly small town) and someone told us they were at the airbnb next to her house. We called the cops and they got arrested and fined like 500 bucks each! So always pay your tabs cause they might come after you!

My wife and I went out to red lobster about 15 years ago, when it was still pretty decent. When the waiter brought our bill I realized I didn’t have my wallet on me. At the time my wife didn’t carry her money if I was with her and it was before you could pay with a phone. I apologized and my wife went home to get our money. Roughly 30-40 minute drive round trip.

It just so happens that this was endless shrimp season. The waiter kept bringing shrimp out about every 5 minutes and even though I told him not to he kept delivering.

I was so stuffed but I didn’t want to waste it. He got a big tip. To this day that was the best service I ever received in a restaurant.

Other side of this- There’s a Mexican restaurant I frequent. Like these people know my order when they see me. I once genuinely forgot my wallet after a long day, and the bartender suspended my order after I found out they couldn’t do Apple Pay. He said don’t worry about, they know me, etc. Next day I showed up the minute they opened and made the bill right with a 50% tip.

I used to deliver pizza in college, never exactly saw this play out except one time. I showed up to the guy's house and he handed me a ziploc bag full of change and said "sorry, this is all I have, it should be enough." I was not about to start counting it on his porch, so I gave him the pizzas. Went back to the restaurant and told my manager, he voided the sale and just put the change in the register.

I wasn't the restaurant employee in this situation, but during college, I worked two jobs and lived with my parents. On their wedding anniversary, I wanted to surprise them with their favorite meals from a local restaurant. My dad LOVED seafood so I ordered him a lobster tail dinner that was listed at "market price." I've never ordered lobster before and I didn't know what "market price" meant. I went to the restaurant to pick it up but I didn't have enough money to pay for it. I didn't know what to do so I offered the hostess all of my money (which was around $40). She didn't know what to do either and she went in the back to get the manager. I was a nervous wreck and started crying. The manager came out and I explained to him what happened. He ended up taking my money and letting me keep the food. I felt horrible after. I was such an idiot.

In my experience it depends on the situation. If someone ran out on a small check we usually ended up doing nothing, but you'd be banned if you ever dared to show up again. 


Some customers would apologize and promise to come back and pay. We would generally just let them go, especially if they were a regular. More often than not they did come back and pay.


Even people who straight up refused to pay would generally just be banned. I remember my manager calling the police just once, on someone trying to walk out after racking up a huge check, and getting into a screaming argument with my manager when he tried to stop him.

When I was a waiter, if you ran off without paying, it came out of the waiters pay.

Only happened a couple of times, and both times the owners did the right thing and paid me out for it.

At Waffle House, you can earn your meal in the parking lot fight club. Or you can just fight your server. But be careful, they don't mess around.

Couple years ago I was working as a waiter at a sushi restaurant. Occasionally we had company conference at the hotel across the street and we would get flooded with people at lunch and dinner. One night a group of 5-6 people attending a conference in town came over to dine. They ordered like $300 worth of food and I was the only one waiting their table. They were nice and very professional. Then, i took my eyes off for one minute and they left without paying. I took the bill and ran over to the hotel lobby in hope I could catch one of them but it was in vain. None of the hotel staff know who I was trying to find. I didnt even have a name. I was so afraid of having to pay the bill out of my own pocket… I was still in college and it’s worth like 3 shifts of work… I came back to the restaurant, stood by their table and just stared into space. The other customers asked me whats wrong and I told them a group left without paying and idk what to do. The owner kept the bill open and didnt make me pay for it. Turns out the customer that asked me whats wrong found one of the guys at that table. Next day he came over to pay and apologized. He said there was some banter and the other group said they would pay for his group so they left. I got a big tip in the end..

One time I was at a local Chinese restaurant with my 10 year old son. To my horror, my wallet, was not in my purse. I did not have one cent or a credit card on me. The let me go home for my money but they made me leave my son there as collateral.

The manager comes out and tries to work something out. They will try and get you to call someone who can give payment over the phone. If you can’t do that they’ll try and hold something collateral like your ID to get you to come in tomorrow and pay.

I’ve never seen them call the cops and having you wash dishes is all Hollywood. Besides it taking too long to train you, it’s in violation of a million labor laws and osha laws.

If they truly cannot get a payment they comp the meal and ban you from returning.

My expertise is a low/mid casual dining. No idea what happens at high end establishments.

I have had to have a friend pay for my meal occasionally and I get them next time. Once I ordered at Subway and when it came time to pay I realized I had forgotten my wallet. I lived in a small town so I just ran home and got it and was able to pay, nbd. They knew me and where I lived, lol.

I had the opposite happen: the waiter walked out on me. We were at a cheap Italian restaurant, eating on the patio. We got there early so one waiter was covering the entire patio, but after he served us our food and wine, a second waiter came on and covered our part of the patio. We finished and asked for the check. The waiter now covering us said that it wasn't his table. We said that the other waiter served us and could *that* waiter give us the bill. The original waiter *also* claimed that he wasn't our server. Finally, we got tired of waiting for people to figure it out, so we tried to recall the prices of what we ordered, added 25% to cover tip and tax and left the cash on the table.

When i was a teenager, I worked at a sandwich shop that was cash only. We were across the street from a bank, so the few times customers were short, they'd usually run to the bank and come back with cash. I only had one customer that told me they'd come back with cash and didn't. This person happened to be an instructor at a film camp that I was a part of. I thought i knew her pretty well and was shocked that she didn't return with cash. At the end of my shift, i had to explain why the till was short. Not a great moment for me!

Not an employee but ate at a small local sub shop outside Bostin once. Didn't realize it was cash or check only and no card and didn't have any cash on me. I offered to walk back to my place and grab a check but they said to not worry about it and pay later. Went back there a few weeks to eat again and paid for the other sandwich. The guy had forgotten about it but I didn't want to not pay for the other meal.

Believe it or not, straight to jail.