THIS is the shocking moment a trio of giggling dine and dashers fleece $200 from a restaurant after munching down on shrimp and lobster.
Disturbing surveillance video captured the callous thieves fleeing without settling their bill, giggling like youngsters and enraging disgusted social media followers.
The culprits absconded with a complimentary meal from the nearby Phlavz Bar & Grille in University Village, Chicago, after amassing a hefty $200 tab.
In the upsetting clip, the cruel group can be seen eating near the corner of the outdoor seating area.
One tall man is seen making a dash first, before two women follow behind him.
The third woman appears to hesitate, but quickly makes a run for it when she realises what is happening.
Andrew Bonsu, one of the establishment’s owners, expressed his disappointment to ABC7, stating, “It’s truly disheartening to witness such behavior from members of the very community we cater to.”
“We pour into the community.”
The business’s other co-owner Phil Simpson emphasised the damage done, saying: “The young lady that was serving that table, she’s got kids at home.
“She gets a percentage of that tip.
“She worked hard to serve that table. They had a lot of food.”
He added: “We are a small business, and you see this happen so often to different small businesses throughout the city, and you have to do something.”
The pair took action by posting the group’s moronic behaviour to social media.
And it didn’t take long for the online manhunt to identify the brazen trio.
Simpson said that since the insensitive act, he was actually now in contact with one of the thieves.
He added that they actually offered to pay the bill after realising how stupid they had been.
But he said this was not the first instance of a dine-and-dash happening at his restaurant.
He emphasised that his business was struggling to keep up with the costs of goods and services going up – and soulless robberies like these were not helping.
The owners filed a police report to get the issue sorted out the “right way” rather than accept the thieves’ belated cash.
Simpson said: “They apologized. They sent someone to pay the bill, but I declined to accept it.
“At that point, we are going to pursue this the right way.”
In March, a suspected thief accused of stealing nearly $1,000 in sushi and drinks from a restaurant chain was busted after his sneaky dine-and-dash tactics backfired.
The suspect, who had been a thorn in the side of two Sushi Confidential locations in California, was caught after he tried to flee once again without paying.
