Walk out on your tab and get a free meal?

[UptownKevin]

Outside of the Tampa Bay area, I'm not sure how much press is being given to a recent restaurant incident in the area. Ralph Paul went to dinner with his girlfriend at a local restaurant and ordered a seafood pasta entrée. He ate the seafood from the top of the pasta, then complained to the waitress and manager that there wasn't enough seafood in the dish and refused to pay the cost of $15.99. When the restaurant owner refused to take the entrée from the bill and any compromise on the cost, Paul walked out on the tab and left a $3 tip. The kicker? He and his girlfriend had dessert and coffee!

After a criminal trial, Ralph Paul was found not guilty. Check out these links to the St. Pete Times stories, as well as the responses in the discussion:

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/05/Tampabay/5_shrimp__5_scallops_.shtml

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/10/06/Southpinellas/Diner_s_acquittal_spa.shtml

http://sptimes.com/2006/10/07/Tampabay/Diner__Public_has_me_.shtml

I know what I would do... you can check out my response on www.TampaBayEats.com (my personal blog).

What are your thoughts?

-Kevin

[shauben2007]

I would have checked out how much pasta was there when I got it and If I wasn't happy I would have said something and asked for a different entree. I do think they could have taken something off the bill though.

-Steve

[toodie jane]

this really happened to me at a restaurant frequently mentioned on the Ca board. I ordered a salad with seared ahi tuna and when it came, very artfully messed up, I assumed the fish was hidden under the cascade of greens. After looking for it, I waited for our server to come back. She never did (we were seated on an outdoor patio after the lunch rush) so I went and got her. The look of "OH, sure!" she shot me made me mad, I stood my ground and the plate came back with some tuna on it.

My question is: how could the plate have come out without the fish and not be noticed by the expiditer OR the server?

[Withnail42]

The show 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' comes to mind. He is probably one of these people who will make a fuss over things and generally turn a simple situation into something very difficult.

Or perhaps he was just trying to be the big man and impress his date.

[Michele4466]

I would have run for the hills (if I did not die of embarrassment first) LOL

[uman]

This is such a maddening article to read. What kind of knucklehead is this guy? I wonder what he would do at No.9 Park?
I feel bad for his girlfriend. Geesh!
Chock one up for FLA again.

[Davwud]

Wouldn't that be EXgirlfriend??
Or at the very least, shouldn't it be??

DT

[Flour Child]

5 shrimp, 5 scallops for $15.99? That's a great deal here in Los Angeles!! When he dines out again, he is probably going to get a lot of "extras" in his meal! What a jerk!!

[uman]

I think this is a job for Dexter....

[Dommy]

ROFL... Love that show... :)

--Dommy!

[Woodside Al]

The worst thing about this whole case is that the guy tried to wrap himself in the flag as some sort of man of "integrity and honor," as he laughably says about himself in the third newspaper link in the original post. He tries to use his military background to bully people and as some kind of cover for what seems to be complete and insufferable jerkiness. At the same time trying to make himself sound like some iron man of principle, a strong, tough American sticking up for his right to eat half his meal and then skip out on the bill, rather than a publicity seeking doofus. What's really awful is that, with the application of $500 an hour, it seems to have worked.

[Michele4466]

I did not want to bring up his military background to avoid it becoming a discussion on that but that was my thought as well.

"The worst thing about this whole case is that the guy tried to wrap himself in the flag as some sort of man of "integrity and honor,""

Exactly...as if that has ANYTHING at all to do with the situation.

[Morton the Mousse]

No man of honor leaves a $3 tip on a $50 bill.

[OCAnn]

What if the service was bad?

[Davwud]

Obviously Mr. Paul is a complete moron and a total jackass.
He refuses to pay $46 for his meal and is willing to pay $500+ for a lawyer to prove he didn't "HAVE" to??
This person has too much time and too much money.
And not enough brain cells.
What a jerk.

If I owned the restaurant I'd have taken it off his bill and invited him to check out our front sidewalk.

DT

[Produce Addict]

Not $500+, $500/hr for a 7-hr trial and preparation for that trial, he likely spent upwards of 10K unless the lawyer cut him a break.

[Davwud]

Yes, I realize it wasn't for a single hour, but I had no idea how many hours were at issue here.

DT

[Michele4466]

Your scenario is the best one... "taken it off his bill and inviting him to check out our front sidewalk", however, that would not have garnered him the publicity he so obviously craved...

[Davwud]

I guess he could've kicked up a stink in the newspapers if he so desired the pub.

Either way, he's a tool

DT

[Michele4466]

LOL

And I think he did, his picture was all over the attached articles and I am sure there must have been some local news coverage...

[Michele4466]

I think this guy was absolutely wrong... not sure what he was thinking... The restaurant did not take him to court, as another poster clarified... the police asked him to pay his bill or pay the consequences. He opted for the latter "to make a point". What it was exactly is unclear to me...

If I am at a restaurant and the portions seem small, I do not eat the dish and then tell them I will pay a part of the listed price... this is basically what he did... he was wrong and the jury should not have acquitted him...

[jfood]

Correct, the resto did not take him to court, the people of the great state of florida did, after the resto askedd for him to be charged. If they wanted I am sure the resto could have asked for all charges be dropped. Both parties are nit-wits in this case and a waste of taxpayer's dollars.

[Michele4466]

Good point... about tax payers money. Though the article did not discuss what kind of interaction the resto owner and state attorney's office had.

[Hungry Celeste]

Legal point of order: after the charges were filed, the restaurant could have certainly REQUESTED that the district attorney's office drop the charges, but the DA's office certainly doesn't have to acquiesce to the wishes of a victim. The DA's office ultimately bears the responsibility of this prosecution, not the restaurant management.

[Michele4466]

That was my understanding, but I am not a lawyer so... I guess I overstated with SA, not DA...which makes more sense. Considering I am a huge L & O fan, I should have had this down.

Perhaps someone at the DA's office was trying to make a point as well...

Thanks for the input...

[jfood]

OK agreed. But what idiot ADA or DA would drop the charge if the resto owner said forget it. Although many of us have said that the owner and Paul were wrong and some have classified them as morons and idiots, we should add the DA's office into the "Idiot Bucket" for prosecuting the case.

[Michele4466]

Exactly my point...someone there, probably an ADA was also trying to make a point or get some publicity... Think about all the money (including tax payers) on ALL sides that was wasted for a $46 bill. Someone should have negotiated something prior to going to trial...

Final point of annoyance for me...why the jury let him off! Now he thinks he was in the right and that bothers me most...

I know they said something about intent but it is clear to everyone here that there was intent to be an arse!

[OCAnn]

I agree that both parties could have handled this differently. However, my thoughts/feelings would not change regardless of the "costume." Young or old, rich or poor, if you eat it, you pay.

[jfood]

Can't wait to see how CSI Miami treats this event later this season. Yup Darren needs to make a cameo or at least have CSI find a tape recording and think he's a suspect.

Personally the dish looks pretty good for $17. I think both Paul and the resto were wrong. You can not eat all the good stuff and then say Hey, I'm not paying. Likewise the resto could have handled the situation better. Taking the guy to court makes them look like a third rate resto. I'd be hard pressed to eat there.

But we have all looked at seafood dishes and said where's the beef. A resto in town sliced two sea scallops into six slices in total and fanned them on a plate for $26. Needless to say Jfood don't do that resto no more.

It's fortunate that Mr. Paul is a retired AF officer. Since it's close to Halloween, let's change the custume. If he were a 30-year old Lawyer with his date, a rock star, a couple from NY, two elderly folks from the Midwest, or maybe tourists from overseas. Let's be honest would we have the same feelings for each of these groups if this happened.

[free sample addict aka Tracy L]

'Taking the guy to court makes them look like a third rate resto'

The restaurant did not take Mr. Paul to Court. Mr. Paul requested a trial.

[jfood]

So Mr. Paul walked out of the resto and up to a police officer and asked for a trial? A few stops in the itin need to be assumed. The most important is that the resto pressed charges. They must have called the police and told them that Mr. Paul left without paying the bill and filed a complaint.

[OCAnn]

Maybe he's related to the guy who, for many weeks, harrassed his date (from jdate.com) to pay 1/2 the tab .

[Pei]

Hehe, JDate Darren? That was the funniest thing ever.

[ricepad]

I think Mr. Paul is going to have a tough time being allowed to eat in MANY restaurants in the future.