People who dine and dash are so rude on so many different levels. There’s the obvious factor of, “ok, you came into a restaurant, ordered food, interacted with the waiter, and are now ripping off both the waiter and the restaurant.” I understand that not all waiters are all that great, but there are a lot of them that really do work hard, and really do care about the customers that they have. There are ones that make sure your drink is filled up, and that you don’t need anything else. They’ve worked for you; they deserve something better than just picking up after your ungrateful ass when you run out on the check. Not to mention, “the thrill of the chase” as they run after you in the parking lot doesn’t count either.

Then there’s anybody that’s in your way while you’re trying to leave before the staff can notice. If you’re trying to ditch out on the check, you might want to wait until there aren’t four other people shuffling towards the door, especially people that are regulars. They can tell pretty fast what you’re up to, and will be trying to help the waiter catch you. You can also try to not be so freaking obvious. When you pull up and tighten your pants, retie your shoes, and pull the hood up over your ball cap? We know you’re trying to avoid being seen. What you don’t seem to realize, is that you’ve made yourself something to look at. When you have your head hanging down while you’re bumping into, and shoving past, people on the way out the door? You’re being a huge douchebag to more than just the restaurant now, you’re involving people that didn’t need to get involved.

Dining and dashing is something I’ve seen, unfortunately, more than once at the restaurant I habitually frequent. The first time I was there to witness one, we were sitting in the back of the restaurant with them. They went out the side emergency exit to their car that was parked right by the window. We had a waitress there, taking down their plate number to give to police, who were already on their way. Those guys did get caught, and were brought back to the restaurant to be identified. The most recent time I witnessed one, a guy and his friend were shoving their way past us trying to get out of the door. This guy literally shoved me out of his way with his shoulder, which almost landed me face first into a half wall that separates some booths from the entrance.

Had we caught it a second earlier, the people in the front of our group would have been able to block the door or grab the guys. But we were literally a second too late. By the time they made it to the door, they were shoving with their hands. The waiter told us later on that their meal wasn’t worth getting into a fistfight over, since these guys looked like they’d try to put up a fight over a $20 check, which is why he didn’t yell “Hey, grab him!” like his first instinct was.

I have as strong of a hatred for dine’n'dashers as I do for the people who tip poorly because the waiter, who’s also serving 15 other tables, didn’t get them a refill on their drink, before it hit just over half empty (another rant for another time). It may seem like a victimless crime, but let’s be realistic here; on the end of any crime, is a victim.