Misunderstandings can happen to anyone, and they often lead to the funniest mishaps. Whether it’s because of a misunderstood word or two people believing completely different things, there’s a lot of scope for humor in each situation. Although there are a few instances where things can take a serious turn.

A Redditor found themselves in a potentially tough situation when cops were called because the restaurant staff thought they skipped out on the bill. Turns out, it was just tummy problems.

More info: Reddit

Person gets accused of dining and dashing, cops get involved, poor customer’s only crime was having a sensitive tummy

Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)

When the poster visited a Chinese buffet, their stomach started acting up, so they immediately rushed to the bathroom with all their stuff because they knew how long they’d take

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

When the person came back, they were shocked to see that the restaurant had called the cops on them

Image credits: ROMAN ODINTSOV (not the actual photo)

The police had a lot of questions to ask about where the poster was and why they took all their stuff to the bathroom, but once the matter was cleared, it all ended with a laugh

Image credits: u/Ok_Market_284

Dining and dashing is a more frequent problem than most people realize, and it can be a big hassle for restaurant staff

According to Revolution Ordering, a “dine and dash is a crime that falls within the category of theft. More specifically, it’s when a customer receives food and/or drinks, then leaves the food service establishment without paying the bill.” In this case, the poster had no intention of leaving the bill unpaid, they only wanted to rush to the bathroom.

Otherwise, skipping out on the bill can affect a restaurant’s revenue because it won’t match the kitchen inventory. In some cases, owners might even cut workers’ salaries if a customer doesn’t pay the bill. That’s because dining and dashing can lead to pretty significant losses over time. It might be shocking for people to learn that 1 in 20 people have walked out of a restaurant without paying the bill.

That’s exactly why many hotels and restaurants have systems in place to catch these petty crooks. Just like the poster mentioned, they usually get the cops involved. In many places, criminals charged with dining and dashing spend up to 6 months in jail. Some are made to pay hefty fines of up to $50,000. Such penalties aren’t worth one free meal, that’s for sure!

Restaurants aren’t the only places that get affected by people who want to run out on the bill. Apparently, bars are also at risk for such crimes. One bar owner mentioned that people try to drink and dash up to 4 or 5 times a week! Lucky for this establishment, the poster was definitely not trying to run out on the bill. They were merely trying to outrun their poor bowels.

Image credits: Ethan Wilkinson (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda reached out to the author, u/Ok_Market_284, to understand how they felt after reading all the hilarious responses to their story. The poster said, “I just thought it was funny and wanted to see other people’s reactions. It’s about what I expected.”

When asked what emotions went through their mind after the incident, the person shared, “oddly, proud…I was definitely looking forward to telling my wife I was detained by the police and seeing her face while she got more context about what happened. It felt like something that would happen in a sitcom.”

Some netizens were curious to understand how anyone’s body could react so quickly to food. The poster responded in the comments saying, “I don’t have a gallbladder. Anything cooked in grease pretty much instantly opens me up. Anything fat and greasy pretty much opens the gates of hell very quickly.”

One interesting thing to note about dining and dashing is that many people do it because they feel tired of waiting for the check. Around 25% of people surveyed admitted that they’d thought of bailing it if it took longer than half an hour for the bill to arrive. People who skip out on the check do it more often in outdoor, bistro-like spaces or establishments with less security.

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Luckily for the restaurant, their bill was paid in full, and they had a humorous story to relay afterward. As for the poster, they got bragging rights about their criminal bowels, which led to the cops being involved. The viral post got 15k upvotes, and many commenters came up with hilarious puns. Have you ever been stuck in the bathroom for so long? Share your experience in the comments, but leave out the stinky details.

Some commenters took this as an opportunity to share similar stories of their equally lengthy bathroom fiascos

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