Satisfied customers choose ashtrays as favourite souvenirs
Ashtrays, vases and even designer chairs are among the items regularly stolen from restaurants and bars by one in 10 diners, according to a new survey.
After questioning 1,000 diners, research company BMRM calculated that nearly five million Britons have at some time pocketed restaurant and bar property while eating or drinking out.
Ashtrays came top of the list of stolen items with 61% of diners who had taken something admitting stealing one. Pepper pots and salt mills came second, with cutlery a close third.
More than a third (36%) of the professed thieves admitted they pilfered the tableware because they doubted they would be able to buy it on the high street.
David Sykes, managing director of PizzaExpress, said: "While we use the latest designers to help bring a contemporary and stylish feel to our restaurants, the flipside is that we are in the firing line for people wanting a memento of their visit.
"It seems that design pieces such as ashtrays have become collectors' items…although I am not sure how those people who admitted to walking off with chairs managed to whisk them away."
Who takes what
- Twelve per cent of the men and 10% of the women surveyed said they had pinched something from a restaurant
- 61% of respondents who had taken something admitted stealing an ashtray
- When asked why they did it, 26% of those who had admitted to stealing said "because everyone does it", while 49% said "because I was drunk".
- Three per cent of men and 2% of women who had taken items from restaurants claim to have pilfered a major piece of furniture, such as a chair or table.
Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 27 November - 3 December 2003
