Durban - Incidents of drinking and dining without paying the bill is a problem at several Durban restaurants.
Last week a group of four men and two women racked up a bill for almost R10000 which they failed to pay at Durban’s popular beachfront restaurant, California Dreaming. The group ordered ribs, steak, chicken, fish, pasta and alcoholic drinks.
A 27-year-old man was arrested by police and appeared in the Durban Magistrate’s Court a week ago. The hearing was adjourned to next month.
His three alleged accomplices remain at large after fleeing the scene. Police are investigating a case of bilking. According to Simphiwe Mthembu, the waiter who served the diners, the men had behaved casually. “I took over their table when my shift started. They had been at the restaurant from around midday and stayed for several hours. They ordered alcohol and food.
“Later, two women joined them and ordered food and drinks. They left with doggy bags. There was one man who was calling the shots among the group. He asked for the bill and the bank cards he used were declined four times. That’s when I called my manager,” said Mthembu. Njabulo Mlambo, manager of the establishment, said he tried to attend to the matter discreetly. “I sat down with them, and I was told the man would do an EFT,” he said.
Mlambo said he was sent proof of payment via WhatsApp and had checked if the EFT had gone through. He was advised that it had not. That was when he became suspicious. “I called our security. I followed one man to the parking lot and he was arrested by police. The others fled,” said Mlambo. The establishment was not the only one that has experienced such an incident.
David Taylor, manager of Joe Cools on North Beach, said patrons walked out of the restaurant without paying every weekend. “They pretend to be normal patrons. If they don’t have money, we try to take something of value so they come back. But most of the walkouts just disappear,” said Taylor. He said such patrons are aware of what they were doing. “It’s not that they don’t have money. It’s done on purpose, and they sneak out.
We have eyes on the customers and our camera footage allows us to tag them so if they come back we can pick them up again. “This happens with one or two tables every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. It’s a loss and ranges from R300 to R2 000 easily (per table). “Normally if people are going to act like that then they don’t spend too much, unlike the incident at California Dreaming. Those guys went for it.
You would always find people in groups doing it. One person on their own doesn’t have the nerve to do it. We lose up to R6000 a weekend and it impacts the staff and business,” said Taylor. Wendy Alberts, the CEO of the Restaurants Association of South Africa, said this type of behaviour was “disgraceful”.
“People tend to make reservations and not pitch up. Some customers walk out after waiting for a long time for their bills. Not paying a bill isn’t a high occurrence, but there is criminal recourse for such. “Establishments can put stricter measures in place for payment and can request bills be paid after an order is made,” said Alberts.
Attorney Revonia Royappen Pillay, of Harkoo Brijlal and Reddy Inc, said patrons who chose to walk away without paying a bill could face up to one year in prison for fraud or be liable to a fine and receive a suspended sentence.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE