Students confess to stiffing restaurants

By ANNE SAVANICK
Collegian Staff Writer

Dave West would not go into a restaurant without any money, eat dinner and walk out without paying. But West has left a check before.

West (senior-hotel, restaurant and instutional management) said he and friends once went out to eat. After dinner, West's friends waited outside while he stood in line to pay the bill.

West stood by the register for 10 minutes, and no one helped him or the people waiting to be seated. Out of frustration, West said he left without paying the bill.

West is not alone. J.A. Babay, general manager of Ye Olde College Diner, 126 W. College Ave., said walk outs occasionally occur during the later shifts. She said people just leave when no one is watching.

But the Diner is not the only victim of this crime.

"During certain times of the year, it happens with some severity -- about four times a week," said Hal McCullough, owner of Cafe 210 West, 210 W. College Ave. If a check is not paid by customers, the waiter or waitress has to pay the bill, McCullough said.

During busier times, McCullough said the server will ask to see a credit card when the customers are ordering. If they are paying by credit card, the server gets authorization to charge an estimated amount on the card. If the customers order more than the estimated amount, the server gets a new authorization, he said.

The Deli, 113 Hiester St., has a different system to prevent walk outs. Lorrie Badali, personnel director, said one precaution is that servers take care of the bill at the table. Using this method, walk outs do not occur often, she said.

"If we have a walk out," Badali said, "it's when we have a lot of transients in town, like on a home football weekend or during Arts Festival."

Most walk outs at the Gingerbread Man, 130 Hiester St., also happen during those weekends, said Kim Snyder, general manager. She added that it usually occurs after 9 p.m. -- when people are drinking rather than eating.

The Gingerbread Man also takes steps to reduce the number of walk outs. She said the servers are usually at their stations so they can watch their tables.

If the restaurant knows who walked out, the crime can be reported to the police. Walking

out on a check is considered theft of services by the law, said Lt. Carmine Prestia of the State College Police Department.

The maximum penalty for not paying a check worth less than $50 is up to a $300 fine and 90 days in jail, according to the Crime Codes of Pennsylvania book. For walking out on checks worth between $50 and $200, the maximum penalty is up to a $5,000 fine and two years in jail.

However, walk outs are not reported to the police often, said Marge Johnson, data processing manager for the State College police. Most thefts of services reported to the police are people driving away without paying for gas or not returning a rented videotape, she said.

No matter what the circumstances might be, some students still think leaving without paying is wrong.

Angela Vogt (junior-exercise and sport science) didn't mean to walk out without paying, but she said she thought her friends had paid the bill. Later, they discovered their mistake.

"The only thing we felt bad about is if the waitress had to cover (the bill)," Vogt said, adding that she would never do it purposely.

Allan Vives (graduate-clinical psychology) would not walk out without paying.

"I think it's immoral. It's wrong to cheat the waiter or waitress who has to foot the bill," he said.