SYgle>Industry Information>Pub boss' fury as couple walk out without paying £67 tab that would 'cover staff wages'

Pub boss' fury as couple walk out without paying £67 tab that would 'cover staff wages'

Column: industry Tag: pub,without paying,cover staff wages Published: 2022-07-11 16:49 Source: www.mirror.co.uk Author: Zahna Eklund & John Jones

Pub boss

The couple left the pub without paying their £67 bill (Image: Bunch of Grapes)

A pub manager has expressed his "disbelief" and "anger" after a couple walked out in the middle of their meal without paying their £67.25 bill that he says would have helped to "cover staff wages".

Gareth Hutt, who is the general manager of the Bunch of Grapes gastropub in Pontypridd, Wales, said the unknown diners had been served drinks at the bar before they requested a table for dinner, where they enjoyed a glass of wine each and some appetisers including garlic bread, olives and Welsh rarebit.

By the time they had ordered their main courses - a 12oz steak and black pudding and ox shank - they had racked up a bill of just over £67, WalesOnline reports.

But just before their mains were due to be served, the couple decided they'd had enough and left the pub without paying a single penny of their tab, despite being confronted by staff as they walked out.

Pub boss

Gareth Hutt was left 'in disbelief' by their actions ( Image: Bunch of Grapes)

Mr Hutt initially posted on the pub's Facebook page to urge the customers to "do the right thing" and contact them to resolve the bill, as he said the total they owe is "significant enough to cover the wages of my staff".

He wrote: "To the couple who it seems had been drinking long before they arrived to us last night, and decided to leave without paying as their mains were being served, we would really appreciate you giving us a call to resolve this theft.

"The bill you owe is significant enough to cover the wages of my staff who I know looked after you in their usual friendly manner. Not to mention the upset caused. Failing that, we have CCTV images of you both, which we will willingly publicise."

The pub manager also spoke to WalesOnline about the incident and said that "everything seemed okay" when the couple first arrived, and they had even sung the praises of the starters they'd been served.

However, staff noticed that "one of them disappeared" just before their mains were ready and the other soon followed suit.

Mr Hutt added: "They came into the bar first of all and had a few drinks there. Then I think my waitress realised on the third round of drinks that she served them that they had probably had a few more before that point, elsewhere. They seemed to be arguing at the table a little bit but they had their starters and they said they were lovely and they’d enjoyed them.

"As we were waiting to take out their mains, one of them disappeared and the other one followed them out. This was the first I’d heard about it at this point because I’d just finished but I was still on site.

"My assistant manager went out to speak to them but they just walked away from her. What can you do beyond that? You can't do anything after that, and I would never expect my staff to physically stop anybody."

Some staff at the Bunch of Grapes gastropub were even left "upset" by the ordeal as they thought it was "their fault" for serving the couple drinks, although Mr Hutt insists his staff "exercised their judgement" and had already made the decision not to serve them any more.

And although the £67 bill isn't a "huge amount", Mr Hutt says the money would have covered the pay of two waitresses that night, so he's hoping that the couple will come forward.

He said: "I was in disbelief, to be honest, and angry. A bill of £67 isn’t a huge amount of money but then when trade isn’t where we’d hoped it would be by now, it is more significant. Like I wrote in the post, that would have covered two of the waitresses’ shifts that night.

"They’ve lost us money and wasted food. I just can’t understand the attitude of people who think that’s an acceptable thing to do. I’m hoping now that they do the right thing and come forward."

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