The survey of 1,500 UK adults by card payment solutions provider takepayments found that men are more likely to dine and dash, with 9% admitting to it compared to 7% of women, and that the 35-44 age group is the most likely to leave without paying.
Research among people who admitted to leaving a restaurant without paying found that 39% simply forgot to pay while 12% said they did it for the thrill. Other reasons for not paying include not being able to afford the meal (3%); being in a rush (13%) and believing someone else had paid (16%).
London recorded the highest number of dine-and-dash incidents, accounting for 21% of all reported incidents, however the East Midlands has the highest number of dine-and-dash incidents when adjusted for population size.
“We found that dining and dashing could be a growing concern for UK restaurants,” says Darren Larkman, field sales director at takepayments.
“Even though 8% of diners admitting to leaving a restaurant without paying the bill might sound like an insignificant percentage, it could lead to a total loss of £8bn for restaurants.”
The survey of people’s dining habits also reveals that two-thirds of diners (66%) are deterred from booking when a restaurant asks for a deposit, with 21% going so far as to say they’d book elsewhere.
One in eight diners said they’ve been a ‘no show’ for a restaurant booking, with nearly two-thirds (60%) saying they simply forgot to cancel. Another 15% said they were too embarrassed to contact the restaurant, and the same amount said that it was ‘too much effort’ to get in touch.
When it comes to tipping, one in six diners (17%) said they never tip restaurant staff, while 33% said they always tip to support staff and 37% said they leave a tip depending on the level of service. More than 70% of respondents said they wanted more clarity over whether tips are fairly distributed throughout the staff.
More than a third (37%) of respondents strongly believe that service charge shouldn’t be added automatically to their bill, and nearly 10% said they actively avoided a restaurant after this practice (9%).