A waitress in the United States has posted a tearful video after a table of 11 people walked out of the restaurant without paying for their over $350 bill.
In the TikTok video, which has been viewed over six million times, waitress Vera Kent said she was the only person working, along with the overnight cook, when the group of people came in at 4am, placed their orders, ate their food, and left before she could give them their bill.
The video shows Kent clearing a table and wiping away tears. The short clip includes a text overlay with a message to the customers for their behaviour.
Kent said she explained to the customers that it was only her and the overnight cook on and the group appeared to enjoy every bite once they received their meals. But then they left just US$3 on a US$220 (NZ$352) total and walked out while she was getting the bill.
"I hope you need the money more than I do. I hope you get home safe and you feel guilty and the girl in blue who wasn't part of the group and offered to stay and help has the best life," Kent said.
"But you're mean and you weren't raised right."
Kent told Newsweek that walkouts are common and this wasn't the first one of the night. Luckily, the restaurant she works at pays for walkouts, rather than putting the onus on the worker.
"In my particular situation, I was not charged for the theft and did not receive any disciplinary action," she said, though she added that she heard other waiters had money docked from their pay if someone didn't pay for their orders.
Viewers flocked to the comments and urged Kent to report them to the police.
"Call the cops, what they did is illegal and they can be charged with theft," one person said.
Other viewers shared their personal similar experiences.
"Once the entire baseball team walked out on the bill, so my manager called their coach and ratted them out," one person commented. "It was amazing."
More commenters wondered if restaurants should change the way they charge customers for their meals.
"I've wondered if we will see restaurants start to change how they collect payment, paying upfront instead of after the fact," one said.
