I stole thousands of dollars in change over 2 years working at a restaurant

When I was 19 I got a job as a host at a local casual dining restaurant. My main responsibility was seating tables and sending out the food when it came up. I also maintained the dining room by refilling the ketchup and salt and shit and replacing silverwear when it got dirty. One of the perks was that the hosts didn’t have to share their tips with anyone. <br><br><br>The restaurant was super busy, especially on the weekends. As a host, if I was lucky, I’d get around 5 tables tipping me in a night. Usually it was all coins, and usually less than $5. Most nights I went home with only around $5-$10. <br><br>The restaurant had a bar near the entrance where people would wait for their tables. On very busy nights we’d put large parties in the bar area on booths that were for 4 people but we’d fit extra chairs in for them. I’d have to run to the bar to ask people to give up their booth if a large party was waiting. So people would hang out at the bar for 30 minutes to an hour drinking beers and eating appetizers. <br><br><br>The bartender was in charge of cashing out the tickets at the bar and collecting money from people when they left. He had a change jar that he kept full incase people paid in large bills. One night I was working with a bartender that was new-ish but not brand new. He seemed like he was struggling to multitask. He was taking drink orders, making drinks, handling the cash register and trying to collect money from people when they left. Sometimes, a table would get up and leave and he’d be busy making drinks and wouldn’t even notice they were gone or would notice but be backed up on drinks and couldn’t go collect the money right away. Us hosts would usually try to help if we noticed. We’d go up to them and ask if they’d paid and collect the ticket and bring it to the bartender. <br><br><br>It was raining that night and super busy. I saw 2 men leave from the bar area but the bartender was making 5 drinks and trying to take an order. I ran up the table they had been at and grabbed the ticket. I already knew what I was going to do. I folded the ticket up and put it in my pocket, and I didn’t go back to the bartender with it. The ticket was around $50, a few beers and appetizers. Plus they had left a $10 bill on the table.<br><br><br>A few hours went by and it had slowed down slightly. I went into the bathroom to empty that $10 bill and ticket from my pocket into my apron. That was the first time I had ever stolen anything at work. It was so easy. I did it 3-4 times that night. I didn’t get caught and I took home around $60 that night in tips. I remember thinking that I couldn’t believe I had never thought of doing that before. <br><br><br>From that night on I made a game out of it. Everytime I saw a table leave the bar area and the bartender was occupied I’d go collect the ticket and money if it was there and pocket it. They put the tickets in little leather folders so I’d just shove the folder in my apron and wait for the next chance I got to empty it. I did it so many times and never got caught.<br><br><br>Sometimes the bartender would notice a table had left and he’d be backed up on drink orders. He’d just yell out to the hosts if a table had paid their bill. I’d tell him I’d go check and I’d go to the table, see if the money was there, take it, and tell him that they hadn’t paid. Then he’d mark the ticket as paid and throw it in a bin on the floor filled with the paid tickets. Sometimes the bartender would be so backed up or distracted that he wouldn’t even ask if they paid. I’d just go to the table, take the money and ticket, mark it as paid, and throw it in the bin. There was a camera above the bar but you couldn’t see the tables from the angle of the camera. It was honestly so ridiculous how easy it was to do. <br><br><br>One night I made around $200 in tips and around $150 stealing. Some nights I only made $10-$20 but that was okay because my tips were always pretty substantial. I was making around $200-$300 a week working 3 nights a week. Most nights I made $60-$100 in tips so that was a big difference for me.<br><br><br>Over the 2 years I worked there I probably stole over $10,000. Honestly it could have been more. I didn’t keep track of it and I spent it all. I never got caught and as long as you weren’t taking thousands of dollars a week you’d probably get away with it.