A restaurant server revealed how she foiled a dine-and-dash plot by a group of teenagers on their prom night.
TIkTok creator Ace (@dear.ace) posted the PSA about her eventful night at work. “Please educate your teenagers on how to go out,” she says to start the video.
Ace explains that the incident started when she received an eight-top of teenagers who appeared dressed for prom. Not only did the group order mocktails and expensive menu items, but they were extremely kind to Ace.
“Like nicer than they should have been,” she says. “That should have been my first sign.”
Teenagers Attempt To Dine And Dash Before Prom
Ace says she should’ve known something was up when the group ordered a second round of dessert. As it was being prepared, Ace noticed that six members of the table had mysteriously gone missing.
Only two teenagers remained when Ace approached them to ask where the rest of the party went.
“They obviously didn’t know what to say,” Ace says. “I was like, ‘We can do it like this. You call your buddies back in here, and you have them pay the $400 tab. Or I can call the police, and we can get your parents down here to explain to them why a bunch of teenagers were about to dine and dash.’”
Ultimately, the restaurant had to call the police. When officers arrived, they learned the group had remained on the scene to collect their two friends still in the restaurant. “Parents were called soon after,” Ace says. “Prom was cancelled for at least six of them. Let’s just say those parents made sure that tip was fat.”
The Realities Of Attempting To Dine and Dash
In the comments section of the video, viewers weighed in on the concept of a group of teenagers attempting this dine-and-dash stunt.
“Did the names happen to be Kelso, Hyde, Fez, Jackie, Eric, and Donna,” joked one viewer, referencing “That 70s Show.”
“I think what bothers me the most about this though is that there’s a good chance that a lot of their parents were already footing the dinner bill so they were really just dining and dashing for the love of the game,” a second person said.
“I can’t even imagine,” a third person said. “I’d be mortified as their parent.”
It depends greatly on where the incident took place, but dining and dashing—otherwise known as walking out on a restaurant tab—is illegal. In some cases, it can be considered a misdemeanor theft charge, and, in others, it is a felony infraction.
A group of Michigan teenagers attempted such a scheme in 2023 after racking up a $400 restaurant bill. The parents of the kids found out about it and went to the restaurant to make things right.
BroBible contacted Ace via TikTok comment and direct message for comment.