You Booze, You Lose

My aunt is visiting us and my mom decides to take her and my uncle to our most tourist-trappy restaurant. It is a large steak joint that is located on a ranch, several miles out in the desert, and with no other buildings to be seen.

We arrive and are seated, but after about ten minutes, the table next to us starts arguing loudly with the waitress:

Angry Guy: “It’s bulls***! How hard is it to give me another drink?! You think I’m a bum who won’t pay or something?!”

Waitress: *Calmly* “No, sir. It’s just that since we know patrons have to drive to leave here, we limit how many alcoholic drinks they can have, and you’ve already had three.”

Angry Guy’s Wife: “He’s an adult! You can’t tell him what he can and can’t have! Get me your manager!”

The manager arrives and confirms what the waitress said. After some more arguing from the patrons, the manager actually tells them they can “get the f*** out.” They gather their stuff and leave, noticeably not leaving money for the drinks they have already received.

The waitress comes over to our table.

Waitress: “Whew! Sorry about that. Are you guys ready to order?”

Mom: “That was crazy! With how aggressive he was acting, I don’t think he needed any more booze in his system. He’d already had three before his food came. “

Aunt: “There were five other adults at the table. Couldn’t they have just ordered a drink and then given it to him?”

Waitress: “Technically, yes, there are no rules preventing that.”

Mom: “They didn’t pay; is that going to be a problem for you?”

Waitress: *Laughs* “Oh, no. We’re the only major business in the county so the police are always close by. He’ll pay, one way or another.”