Dining and dashing is never a good idea, but with advances in technology and the power of social media the consequences of such an action are even greater now. To that end: A Wisconsin bar owner was able to shame five diners into paying their tab after calling them out on Facebook. 

After a group of bad customers left the bar this weekend without paying their $110 tab, the owner used his establishment’s Facebook page to crowdsource some justice.

On Friday night the bar posted a notice on Facebook warning two women and three men that they would face prosecution if they didn’t return to the bar to pay their bill.

“To the guys who ran out on a $110 tab at a table tonight…. We will be coming for you and will soon post video and pictures and the authorities have been notified,” the post notes.

When the group failed to return, the bar asked its social networking friends for help, offering a $30 gift card reward if they could identify the diners from security camera photos.

Facebook sleuths quickly joined the case, sharing the post more than 1,000 times.

The shaming method apparently worked, as the bar updated everyone Sunday, noting that four out of five of the diners had returned to pay the tab. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the fifth scofflaw made plans to come in later.

“They owned up to what they did and were remorseful,” the bar wrote on Facebook. “We consider this matter closed and appreciate everyone helping to close this case.”

A local police officer tells the Journal Sentinel that he’s never seen an incident like this in his time on the force, adding that the believes the Facebook pressure “obviously made a difference.”

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