A restaurant in Missouri experienced a surprising incident when a diner attempted to settle their bill using a $1,000 note.
Michael’s Bar and Grill, located in Manchester, recounted how a customer had ordered a burger and various sides before approaching the server to pay.
The customer initially asked the server for change for a $100 bill. However, while the server went to get change, the customer made an unexpected move.
According to First Alert 4, instead of waiting to pay the $40 bill, the customer left the restaurant, leaving behind a counterfeit $1,000 note.
Staff soon realized what had happened, but by then, the customer had already exited the parking lot.
Kristina Moriarty of Michael’s Bar and Grill commented, “Unfortunately, it’s happened quite a few times lately.”
The note was marked as ancestor money, which in Chinese tradition is burnt to provide the spirits with wealth in the afterlife.
Dawn Lamb, a bartender at Michael’s for 32 years, remarked, “We work for our tips, and this affects us. The profit margins are too small for this to keep happening.”
Frustrated with the rise in dine-and-dash incidents, the team decided to take action by utilizing social media.
Lamb stated, “Here’s the thing, if you do this, we are going to expose you, and we’re going to make it aware. So we again can prevent this from happening.”
Michael’s invested in cameras and additional security measures, allowing them to post online about the individual who skipped the bill.
Moriarty shared, “We have cameras everywhere. We have license plate readers, we have facial recognition that we had to invest in because unfortunately, these things keep happening to small businesses around here.”
After the restaurant shared the post, the man returned just days later to settle the $40 bill and also tipped the server.
He also issued an apology for his behavior.
Incidents of dine and dash are on the rise.
In the US, around five percent of people have admitted to walking out of a restaurant without paying.
Though it might not seem like a large percentage, even sporadic cases can significantly impact small businesses.