Couple who dodged restaurant bill ‘had done it at Frankie & Benny’s days before’
A dine and dash couple who ran off from a restaurant without paying a £145 bill pulled the same stunt two days later.
The pair visited Josephine’s in Nottingham on Monday, and the woman did a runner after walking outside for a cigarette.
While other people were walking into Josephine’s, the man also managed to leave without paying.
The same man and woman are believed to have racked up a £145 bill at Frankie & Benny’s in Giltbrook Retail Park on Saturday and then left without paying.
The man is in his 50s with grey hair and the woman was wearing big hoop earrings and is in her 40s.
A person who works at Frankie & Benny’s who did not want to be named said: ‘It’s the same couple 1,000 per cent. I have worked at this restaurant nine years and this kind of thing happens once every three years.
‘This couple shocked me more than anyone as I was having lots of chat with them and banter.
‘I am absolutely shocked they did what they did. I’m disgusted. They need to be caught.’
At Frankie & Benny’s the pair went out for cigarettes before doing a runner.
The staff member added: ‘I didn’t think anything of it. As soon as they ordered drinks, they went out for a cigarette and were going out throughout the meal.
‘They ordered steak and salmon and a lot of alcohol. He was drinking double whiskies and she was ordering cocktails and wine.
‘They were talking to me about the Creme Egg cookie dough we sell and I said it was really nice.
‘We were laughing and joking about how much we like Creme Eggs and he said we’ll order two of them and nip out of a quick cigarette.
‘I got the two desserts and put them on the table and thought they’ve been a while.
‘I went out the front to look for them but they were nowhere to be seen and they never came back.
‘It’s so bad especially for small businesses but if they are doing it everywhere we need to find who these people are. They need to be caught. It’s theft.
‘We didn’t report it to the police – they never do anything about it but now it’s happened again, I’ll tell my manager to do it. Other cafes and restaurants need to look out for them.
‘They did call me ‘duck’ a couple of times so I presume they are local unless they came from afar and picked up on that word.’
The deputy manager added: ‘Why order pudding if you weren’t coming back? It’s a waste on top of it. There’s not a lot we can do unless we make guests pay up front but you’d have to do it for everyone – you can’t pick and choose.’
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