Vancouver restaurant sees 3 dine-and-dash incidents in 1 month
It’s been a bittersweet few weeks for Amar Maroke. The Vancouver restaurant owner installed his outdoor patio at Four Olives Restaurant at the start of June, but since then, he’s had three incidents of customers dining and dashing.
After the first two, Maroke decided to install a security camera outside. The third incident, which happened around 3 p.m. Saturday, was recorded.
In the video, a man can be seen seated on the patio. Maroke says the customers ordered a couple of beers and a full meal, totalling about $75. As a family walks past on the sidewalk, the man stands up from his seat, walks with the family and leaves.
“It hasn’t happened often, maybe once a year inside, but outside it’s been three times in one month,” Maroke said. “That’s probably $200 in one month … What can you do? Do you have a choice? You can’t run after them.”
Maroke says each time a customer ran off without paying their bill there was only one server working.
Ian Tostenson, president of the B.C. Restaurant and Food Services Association, believes the staff shortage could be a contributing factor.
“You could just survey the situation and see there’s not really anyone supervising, so you could eat, drink and get out of there,” Tostenson said.
Across B.C., the service industry is short about 40,000 workers, both front-of-house and back, according to Tostenson.
He says many people left the industry during the pandemic because work was unstable. Others are afraid to comeback due to COVID concerns, and others are working “minimal hours” to still receive federal benefits, such as the Canada Recovery Benefit, or CRB, Tostenson said.
When it comes to incidents of dining and dashing, Tostenson says there has not been a significant increase.
“It’s popping to the surface a bit more than normal; we haven’t talked about dine and dash for years,” he said. “But thank god it’s not at pandemic levels, if you will.”
His simple message to restaurant-goers is to “stop being a jerk.”
“Go enjoy yourselves, but pay your bill too,” he said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.