MacPherson eatery staff 'tired' of paying for customers who dine and dash

The New Paper
Dec 6, 2023

Dine-and-dash is as bad as taking money from the till – it affects someone's rice bowl.

Unfortunately for new Indonesian eatery Warung Ijo in MacPherson, it has encountered diners who had no qualms walking away without paying after dining on its vegetarian fare.

On Dec 2, the eatery's Facebook page showed a post in which a photo of diners who left without settling their bill of $61.90. However, Warung Ijo later posted that the diners had returned to pay the amount owed. "We are glad it's a case of negligence."

Shin Min Daily News reported that the diners dined at Warung Ijo at about 11am and ordered gado-gado costing $13.20 for takeaway. 

Warung Ijo manager, surnamed Huang, said it was the fifth time dine-and-dash incident since the eatery opened in August. The unpaid bills ranged between $20 and $70 and they came to a total of about $300.

The manager added that although the eatery owner foot the first unpaid bill, he and everyone else on the shift had to bear the other unpaid bills among them. "It is not a small amount, and we are tired of paying on their behalf."

Warung Ijo initially collected payment upon ordering but decided to collect payment only after a meal as diners had complained that it was inconvenient when they wanted to place additional orders after making the payment.