Should there be a New Restaurant Law?

Quote: Fleastiff

I doubt we need new laws for all this trivial stuff.

+1.

A big problem in the USA is we tell kids in Civics class that they can do something if "there ought to be a law!"

As to the "asking some people to pre-pay and not others" that is a fine line. A restaurant is not going to want to piss off customers by doing this, and they lose out on add-ons to the order. OTOH, if you have worked nights in an establishment open to the public you will know what I am talking about. Some profiles of customer regularly stiff on checks, cause trouble, etc. So you do what you must to protect your business. But you have to have lived the night shift for a year or so at least to understand this.

In my hair salon, we are now asked to prepay for hair services when we didn't have to before. I guess some thief ran off without paying after getting their hair done. In a way, this is BETTER because you have people who don't know their cards will be declined like what happened to me the other day when my bank accepted a check deposit from my job WITHOUT verifying with my job first that the check was valid, so they told me I had money in my account. I withdrew some of it and still had some money left the next day. The next day, I planned to eat at a eat first, pay later restaurant, but thankfully I got the good feeling to withdraw money from the bank first, and then go eat. Luckily, I heeded that feeling. I went to my bank and tried to withdraw money, and I was informed my account was restricted because they couldn't contact the Walgreen's Payroll Department. WTF? Thank God I hadn't eaten and then tried to pay with a restricted card! I shudder to think of what almost happened! O.O Luckily an almost 30 minute phone call where my bank was able to speak with WP who admitted that they sent me the check and my restriction was lifted and I was able to go eat! :) A pay first restaurant would have let me know right off the bat that my card was declined before I even ate anything.

Quote: KNathan

In my hair salon, we are now asked to prepay for hair services when we didn't have to before. I guess some thief ran off without paying after getting their hair done. In a way, this is BETTER because you have people who don't know their cards will be declined like what happened to me the other day when my bank accepted a check deposit from my job WITHOUT verifying with my job first that the check was valid, so they told me I had money in my account. I withdrew some of it and still had some money left the next day. The next day, I planned to eat at a eat first, pay later restaurant, but thankfully I got the good feeling to withdraw money from the bank first, and then go eat. Luckily, I heeded that feeling. I went to my bank and tried to withdraw money, and I was informed my account was restricted because they couldn't contact the Walgreen's Payroll Department. WTF? Thank God I hadn't eaten and then tried to pay with a restricted card! I shudder to think of what almost happened! O.O Luckily an almost 30 minute phone call where my bank was able to speak with WP who admitted that they sent me the check and my restriction was lifted and I was able to go eat! :) A pay first restaurant would have let me know right off the bat that my card was declined before I even ate anything.

They are not using direct deposit?

Any bank I have dealt with either waits for the check to clear or if it is a payroll check and you are a regular customer clears it. In any case it says "available balance" and that is what is available. No questions asked. I know that balance before I debit the account and no issues.

Quote: AZDuffman

They are not using direct deposit?

Any bank I have dealt with either waits for the check to clear or if it is a payroll check and you are a regular customer clears it. In any case it says "available balance" and that is what is available. No questions asked. I know that balance before I debit the account and no issues.

It was weird that they accepted the check at first without verifying where it came from. If anything, they should have not let me have ANY money from that check until they verified it first. I could have printed a fake but very real looking check and then went to a casino with the funds "available" from the fake check, won big and then claim I wanted the fake check back, claiming I "Changed my mind," and I simply pay back the money I got in the first place from the fake check with the money I won in the Casino. This is a real money laundering scam going around.

Quote: KNathan

It was weird that they accepted the check at first without verifying where it came from. If anything, they should have not let me have ANY money from that check until they verified it first. I could have printed a fake but very real looking check and then went to a casino with the funds "available" from the fake check, won big and then claim I wanted the fake check back, claiming I "Changed my mind," and I simply pay back the money I got in the first place from the fake check with the money I won in the Casino. This is a real money laundering scam going around.

That is not a "money laundering" scam it is a fraud scam. In this day and age I highly doubt a casino is going to give you funds on the finger more than a very small amount. If the check is bad and they catch you prepare to spend some time in county lockup.

Even in the late 1970s you needed an inside person at the bank to make this kind of scam work.

Quote: Wizard

I've been in situations many times where people in a big group left a dinner early and didn't leave enough money to cover their share. Ultimately, the people left at the end had to fork out the shortfall.

I don't think this is a big enough problem to need legislation. If a restaurant is has a problem with people ditching, they can always make patrons pay up front.

Yeah this can be sorted out socially between friends or, as the case may be, ex-friends

Quote: KNathan

There was a controversial episode of a popular show called,"What Would You Do?" Where Waitresses made people pay upfront for there meals. This would have been controversial enough, but the Customers were Black. Controversial enough for you yet? Hold on, there's more. They were Young Black Customers. Can't get any more controversial than that.

Two sides to every story (well, three if you ant the truth LOL)


Chiptle manager refused to serve black guys unless they paid first - turns out they had a history...

Quote: AZDuffman

That is not a "money laundering" scam it is a fraud scam. In this day and age I highly doubt a casino is going to give you funds on the finger more than a very small amount. If the check is bad and they catch you prepare to spend some time in county lockup.

Even in the late 1970s you needed an inside person at the bank to make this kind of scam work.

The most a casino has given me "off the finger" was a purple chip to double a hand so I wouldn't have to go to the ATM - it did help that the dealers and pit bosses were all friendly with me (this was at Aria)

Quote: AZDuffman

That is not a "money laundering" scam it is a fraud scam. In this day and age I highly doubt a casino is going to give you funds on the finger more than a very small amount. If the check is bad and they catch you prepare to spend some time in county lockup.

Even in the late 1970s you needed an inside person at the bank to make this kind of scam work.

I meant I could have withdrawn $200 from the fake check from my bank, went to the Casino, put say $20 on 3 Roulette, it hits and I win $700. I then go back to the bank, put $200 back into the bank, claim I changed my mind and wanted the fake check back, all the while I still have the $500 from the Roulette game, which I technically got from stolen money. So the bank gets back the $200 I never deserved in the first place.That's what I meant from money laundering scam.

Quote: KNathan

I meant I could have withdrew $200 from the fake check from my bank went to the Casino, put say $20 on 3 Roulette, it hits and win $700. I then go back to the bank, put $200 back into the bank, claim I changed my mind and wanted the check back, all the while I still have the $500 from the Roulette game, which I technically got from stolen money. That's what I meant from money laundering scam.

I understand what you are saying. But it it would be called fraud or check kiting.