“I can tell you that the people that are doing it aren’t the people who are coming here because they’re looking for a sandwich because they’re hungry,” said Ravi Ramberran, “It’s the people who are not afraid of consequences period.”
In the wake of the increase in dine and dashers, Ramberran said his restaurant has ramped up how they deal with it.
“We blast them on Facebook, we hold them, we make them wait for the cops…We do what’s in our power to do.”
If it’s becoming a big issue, why not ask people to put a credit card on deposit when they sit down?
“The Winnipeg Police Service said it does not track dine and dash incidents, but does say if there are threats or violence restaurants should call the police.”
Wait? They’re not supposed to call the police when they’ve been robbed? Theft of service is a crime is it not? If the police aren’t doing anything that’s the problem
They’re not supposed to call the police when they’ve been robbed? Theft of service is a crime is it not? If the police aren’t doing anything that’s the problem
I’m speculating here, but I guess it boils down to the amount of money involved combined with the absence of threats or violence.
In general it makes little sense to spend resources investigating a non-indictable offense where the perpetrator is unlikely to be found in the first place and even if they are found the cost of even finding and processing then is much higher than the monetary damage they caused.
Sure but if stealing less then $100 becomes defacto legal, then we have a much bigger problem, society collapses in a million $100 thefts
If it’s becoming a big issue, why not ask people to put a credit card on deposit when they sit down?
Restaurants that see you pay after the event are really in the experience business. Putting a card down takes away from the experience.
That’s not a problem, as such, when all restaurants are doing it, but it’s hard to go first as it compels customers to go elsewhere. Which you especially can’t afford when dine-and-dashers are already hurting you.
It will likely go that way eventually. But it’s a big risk and will no doubt claim some casualties when it comes.
“I’m sick of the crime!” The wage thieves cried.
One solution would be to pay at the time that you order, but then I’d be horrified at the concept of being asked to tip BEFORE your meal, in which case tipping switches from being mild/borderline extortion to being full-on blatant extortion. So, credit card for deposit would be better, like someone else suggested.
Or, if the point of this isn’t to ask for solutions but to complain about ‘people getting worse’… There’s always been shit-heads and there’s always going to be shit-heads out there. Maybe the percentages are shifting, but if so it’s likely the not-so-new problem of cities growing bigger and feeling less like a community, and if someone doesn’t feel like they have any connection or responsibility to the people that live around them, then this and countless other crimes and social breakdown tend to result. Maybe the nature of the internet and media etc. is making that worse, but if so it’s still only a different flavour to the old and ongoing task of maintaining social cohesion one generation to the next. I admit, some days I almost want to lose faith in that, but it’s gonna take more than an increase in petty theft to do it today.
How about ban tipping and just increase wages+benefits? Such an easy solution you found.
Urgh… ehm… we should… we should tip cashiers and self-checkouts as well?
That’s the answer, right?
Paying before is a possible solition, but it’s a double-edged sword for restaurants.
I would imagine that the sticker shock would lead to people spending less on their overpriced food and drinks, ignoring the outrageous tip on top of that.
I’d lose my appetite 😂
Also how do you handle things that pop up mid meal? Like a second beer/cocktail with your meal.
I think a deposit when you sit down makes the most sense. If paying by card, then just keep their card on file for the duration of the meal, if cash, then do a small deposit per person - less than the cost of the meal, but enough to make dining and dashing really not worth the risk/effort.
Not exactly perfect, but itd work
They’d probably do it like gas stations… put a $200+ hold on the card, then actually charge the amount you pumped.
I would imagine that the sticker shock would lead to people spending less on their overpriced food and drinks
I’m not sure sticker shock affects people when it comes to food. Maybe because they are going to buy it no matter what.
Look at the cost of cooking at home. The cost of an average property in Canada’s metros is around $1,000 per square foot. An average kitchen is 100 square feet.
If you buy a house at the age of 30, you might use it for, what, 50 years? It’s not hard to get 5% interest these days, so if you stuck that amount in the bank instead you would have $1.1 M after 50 years. In other words, it costs $60 per day just to have an idle kitchen in your home.
Heaven forbid you actually use it. The average meal takes around 30 minutes to make and cleanup. The average wage is around $30 per hour. If we assume three meals per day, that’s $45 spent. We’re up to $105 per day and we still don’t have any food.
The average person spends $200 per month on groceries. So that brings us up to $111 per day, or nearly $40 per meal. Hope you are a good cook! And I didn’t bother even getting into other costs like electricity, maintenance, etc. associated with owning and operating a kitchen. Doesn’t phase people one bit.
It is true that you can improve upon those numbers if you have a family, but one-person households are the predominant household type in Canada (and increasingly).
You’d never convince me that eating at a restaurant is more economical and cooking at home, even with the math you present.
I mean, when it costs $5 to make pasta for four people at home, or $20 per plate at some cheap diner down the street, I’m not sure I’d want to pile on desert and drinks after seeing the bill before I eat.
In other words, it costs $60 per day just to have an idle kitchen in your home.
An idle kitchen in the home is a sin, especially if money is a factor. But kitchens aren’t really used 24/7. Even an hour of kitchen time per day is going to save you money and time vs multiple restaurant meals, coffee runs, or convenience store snacks.
The average meal takes around 30 minutes to make and cleanup. The average wage is around $30 per hour. If we assume three meals per day, that’s $45 spent. We’re up to $105 per day and we still don’t have any food.
Nah. Breakfast for most people might involve pouring milk into cereal. 10 seconds at most.
Lunch is often <5 minutes to prepare, add an extra minute if you’re making it for multiple people.
Dinner can take 30 minutes, if you want it to. But in less than 30 minutes of actual kitchen time, you could have had your pressure cooker making meals for the week. You could have made a wonderful cappuccino for you and your partner, and had fresh bread going ready while you did something else.
Tim Hortons 3 x a day? Make it in minutes at home using pennies worth of beans.
Any typical restaurant meal would at a minimum $25 ($10 for lunch) + the time and gas to get there to order it, eat it, then come home. Do that 6x a day (3 meals + snacks) for X number of people in the home, and you’d literally need another income just to feed your family restaurant meals.
It is true that you can improve upon those numbers if you have a family, but one-person households are the predominant household type in Canada.
I’d argue that one person can be even easier to cook for, since a meal for four can feel one person four times. And a single person doesn’t have to cater to multiple preferences.
The reality is that restaurants are among the most expensive, unnecessary things that most Canadians indulge in. In a time when people are concerned about housing affordability, job insecurity, and the cost of food, it’s almost silly to try to justify eating out these days.
It’s almost like refusing to address the cost of living crisis has victims. Can you believe it?
From the actual post.
“I can tell you that the people that are doing it aren’t the people who are coming here because they’re looking for a sandwich because they’re hungry,”
Thing is, you’re not wrong either. The cost of living crisis does have victims, but the sort of people doing dine and dash are rarely those victims.
If anything they make it worse for people on low income jobs like waiting staff. Dine and dash is like the opposite of leaving a tip. It’s like reaching into an underpaid service workers pocket and pulling the money out.
It’s tricky, especially if we want to stay non-judgemental, but there does seem to be a difference between people trying to steal bread and flour from a supermarket and folk sitting down to a three course and running without paying, and I suspect that difference might be one of class and privilege rather than not.
It does feel like we’re in a spiral of degeneration of the social contract. Of course that feeling, if it isn’t just an internet bubble thing, would be both symptom and cause so observe it with caution and distrust any who claim it exists.
I don’t think its that. I think selfish attitudes are rampant today and people today care more about what they can do for themselves regardless who gets hurt. Everybody is an other who doesn’t matter if they suffer consequences of someone else’s actions
Just have tables put a card down to open a tab, like standing at a bar
