Sometimes it can be difficult to get the attention of a server in a busy restaurant, especially if it is understaffed or they have several large tables at once.
When less attention is being paid to customers in such situations, some are tempted to leave a very small tip, no tip at all, or even leave without paying for the meal in the first place. Several folks have previously taken to TikTok to share their consideration of dining and dashing because their server or other waitstaff didn’t deliver their bill within a reasonable timeframe.
However, one group of diners at Texas Roadhouse showed their attempt to rectify the situation—by scrambling to pull together enough cash to cover their bill so they could leave with clear consciences.
In a video posted to TikTok by user Addison (@addisonleigh22) that has drawn over 183,000 views on the platform, she and her friends are shown pulling together their cash resources to pay their bill, as their waitress at Texas Roadhouse never brought their bill. The video is set to the song, “Just a Girl,” by No Doubt.
“When our waitress forgot about us so we had to pay for the bill with random cash we had in our wallets,” a text overlay on the video reads.
In the caption, Addison wrote, “At least the meal was free,” hinting that the table may have been comped by the restaurant due to their service—or the diners didn’t pay. The Daily Dot was unable to reach out to Addison regarding the video due to the poster’s privacy settings on TikTok.
The practice of dining and dashing ranges from a simple infraction to a full misdemeanor depending on which state it occurs in, but is generally regarded as theft of services.
@addisonleigh22 at least the meal was free😇
♬ Just A Girl – No Doubt
Dining and dashing is a common problem for many servers, and several have taken to TikTok to share what the real impacts of doing so are. One waitress on the platform called out a customer for dining and dashing over a $2.18 bowl of soup, writing that she would have rather smuggled it out to them than be left to deal with the unpaid tab.
“To whoever sat at my table and didn’t wanna pay their bill so they dine and dashed… you prob shouldn’t eat out if you can’t afford $2.18,” user @kenzietg_23 wrote in the text overlaying the video.
In the caption, she adds, “Literally its $2.18, like you could [have] just asked me to smuggle you a soup.”
In another instance, a server caught her large party that ran up a tab of almost $600 trying to leave the restaurant without paying. She was able to call law enforcement and have them arrive in time to catch up with them.
She said the large party began ordering multiple drinks and reached a point of belligerence that led her and her manager to deny any more alcoholic beverages to the table. In response, they attempted to dine and dash.
She said authorities communicated with the family and found they could only pay half their bill. She surmised that the family had never intended to actually pay their bill.
