Three diners who were seen on surveillance footage skipping out on a bill at a San Francisco restaurant have now come forward to pay their debt.
KPIX-5 reports that the owners of the K-Elements BBQ restaurant in the Richmond District say they were hit by dine-and-dashers twice over the weekend.
The first was a group of three young women who left without paying a $100 bill. After KPIX-5 reported on the theft and aired the surveillance footage, co-owner Tony Lau says they received an apology note in their mailbox with money to cover the cost of the meal.
Signed by “the 3 girls,” the note said they realized after receiving the bill that they did not have the money to cover it and made a “irresponsible and irrational decision.”
“Our act was not malicious or ill-intended toward your business. It was a mistake and a lack of judgment which we all deeply regret. We hope this expression of our regret will be a step towards making amends,” the note read. “We wish the best for you and your business and truly did not want to negatively impact you in any way.”
Owners Lau and Alfred Lee say they have had a lot of struggles during the pandemic and people who ‘dine and dash’ add insult to injury.
“The ‘dine and dash’ is just one thing that drives everybody up the wall,” said Lee. “There’s already so much that everybody has to deal with during the pandemic and having to deal with staffing issues.”
Another group of four diners left without paying on Sunday. They ate in the restaurant’s parklet and security footage shows the group leave one by one, until there is one man left at the table. After asking for the check, the man gets up and sprints across the street into a waiting parked car. Their bill was about $150.
The owners say they reported both cases to police, something that restaurants rarely do. While they've accepted the women's apology and are no longer pursuing police action in that case, they want people to be aware of the impact this kind of behavior has on their business.
They say they have also dealt with a digital version of dining and dashing, where people order food through delivery apps and then claim the food never arrived and dispute the charge with their credit card companies.
“For something that’s only $100, if you can’t afford it, just don’t come out. Save up more money,” said Lee.