comment: >
  
  Where I live you have to show your ID for free food on your Birthday, so that’s what stopping me
context: This is a friendly reminder to read our rules.
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  When I used to work at a restaurant I had a couple tell me it was one of their birthdays. They ordered alcohol and I asked for their ID to check if they were 21+. Their birthday was not even close and when they realized I knew it wasn’t their birthday and they started apologizing and felt embarrassed. 
  I didn’t confront them about it because you never want to accuse a guest of something like that. It is annoying though when one person has a “birthday” and all of the sudden it’s every tables birthday. >
  
  I work in a place that doesn't do a ton for birthdays, just a little sundae with a candle. No singing no fancy plates or anything. I honestly could not care less if people want to lie to me if it's their birthday, as long as they are polite and have their shit together go ahead. 
  In fact I have sent out birthday sundaes to tables that I just liked interacting with and said we just wanted to make their night memorable. >
  
  When I worked in a decent restaurant I would often give out a birthday dessert to a very well behaved child (with the parents permission) >
  
  Nice one. I’d say positive reinforcement is the glue that binds decent and reasonable behaviour. >
  
  You'd be eating out every day, which is ridiculously expensive, and a lot of places don't give you anything for your birthday. >
  
  My first thought. Eating out every day, in this economy? >
  
  What else do people not do in this economy? Genuine question. >
  
  Fuck >
  
  Thats a good one I wouldn’t expect. Way too expensive to have a kid/kids and condoms and pills add up. >
  
  Plants are the new pets.
  Pets are the new kids.
  Kids are the new exotic animals - only the rich can afford them. >
  
  But for some reason, the people who can’t afford them have like 5 kids. There was this one crack addicted lady who had 5 kids (all taken by CPS)… the baby my family helped take care of was born addicted to crack :( At what point do you make her get her tubes tied? >
  
  You don't. You make sure every school has the same high quality sex ed and you give out birth control for free. Society will benefit far more from this than forced sterilization programs which are fucked up. >
  
  
  You make sure every school has the same high quality sex ed and you give out birth control for free. Society will benefit far more from this
  
  Ah.. I like the idea of a society that would be willing to provide quality education and birth control. >
  
  My anxiety stops me from telling any restaurant its my birthday, even when it is. >
  
  Yup!
  We went out for dinner for my husband's birthday, on the actual DAY of his birthday, but there was a wave of like 3 tables that got sung the happy birthday song by the staff. Our 6yo REALLY wanted them to sing to my husband. 
  I literally had anxiety over telling them it was his birthday, partly because second-hand embarrassment over the singing, but mostly because I thought they'd think we were lying after so many other tables had been sung to already! >
  
  So did you tell em in the end or not? >
  
  The 6 year old did! >
  
  Did he get free cake is the real question >
  
  The cake was a lie >
  
  It was a triumph... >
  
  I mean, you can also just buy yourself cake, whenever you want, for probably a fair amount less money than you'd spend eating out every day >
  
  But… but… it’s not free 🥺 >
  
  It sounds like an awful lot of driving to find 365 restaurants for "free" cake. >
  
  One of the "dumb poor folks" things my wife and I used to do was drive all over to get the free slurrpies on 7-11 day.  One day I looked at the little shot cup of frozen water and compared it to the price of gas and just wanted to die for being so stupid. >
  
  I used to sell mattresses.  Generally the cheapest queen mattress we had was $200.  I can't count how many people came into the store with a bunch of ads from different places trying to find the best deal on a POS mattress.  You might be able to save $20, but you spent at least that much in gas and like 4-5 hours of your time to do it. >
  
  You mean there aren’t 20 mattress stores on the same street where you live? >
  
  There are plenty, it's really easy to maintain a mattress store on limited sales, but you still have to take the time and effort to go to a bunch for next to no benefit. >
  
  Until they card you. 
  Tangentially, when I was in my early 20s, a couple friends of mine (also early 20s)  got engaged. He asked her over dinner at some chain place like Red Lobster or Olive Garden, and when she said yes the other diners started clapping and the manager came out and gave them half off their check. 
  They got a bright idea. 
  For the next few months, whenever they went out, when they were just about done, it was out with the ring and down on one knee. 
  They finally cut it out when their waitress took them aside and said "didn't you guys get engaged at Sizzler last month?" >
  
  Sounds like they deserve each other. >
  
  Hugely underrated comment. >
  
  But then when that one restaurant doesn’t give you free cake you have to sit there and buy something you don’t even want >
  
  I can buy cake >
  
  Most places ask for ID to get the freebees for your birthday. Would carrying 365 fake IDs be worth it for daily free cake? >
  
  Now I'm picturing someone at a restaurant frantically sorting through IDs. >
  
  No fucking way I’m seeing a mummy reference in 2023. That’s awesome. >
  
  Pleasant surprise, indeed! I'm also realizing I haven't watched that movie in forever, and it might be worth it to do so. >
  
  Swear it’s been like 20 years >
  
  Watched for the thousandth time last week >
  
  Morality. People who lie frivolously will lie about anything. One day its lying about your birthday to get free cake next day cheating on your spouse and claiming domestic abuse to make them look bad. >
  
  well that escalated quickly >
  
  It’s scientifically proven. 90% of couples who lie for free dessert at restaurants will experience domestic abuse and cheating within a year of the free dessert. Even worse, studies show 100% of people who lie for free dessert will one day die. These stats should deter one from lying for free desserts, at least these are the specific reasons I don’t lie for dessert. >
  
  Always trying to take more and more. Nothing is stopping you from being honest and having some integrity. >
  
  Yeah but like think about how much most people suck I’m like surprised this doesn’t happen far more often. Thinking about how people are dishonest in their most personal relationships but hold up the honor system for a treat made me think a bit idk. >
  
  “Everyone else is shitty, why can’t I be shitty?”
  Sounds like
  “All the other kids are doing it, why can’t I?”
  This exact mentality is the reason why the world is the way it is now. >
  
  People see 1 other person being shitty and have a strong reaction to it. That makes them forget the 99 other people not being shitty. It's called the Crowd effect >
  
  And this is why I try to be the change I want to see in the world. I’ve seen what  simple act of kindness can do for people, especially since now everyone’s lonely and going through some sort of struggle. It pisses me off to see people make excuses to be bad people. You have to be stronger than your emotions. >
  
  Same man. >
  
  You’re right. And as a waiter, I have encountered many such peoples >
  
  When I was in high school and college, whoever the first person to leave the table to go to the bathroom was it was always suddenly their birthday. >
  
  What if two people went simultaneously?!?! >
  
  Well, we were all guys, so that never happened. >
  
  Where do you all live where they give free cake? I don’t have a single place in my area that does more than sing you happy birthday. >
  
  Save being an fat asshole. Even if it is my bday I don’t tell the staff. >
  
  i hate going out on my bday bc i have such anxiety that some jerk is going to tell the staff its my birthday.... then i gotta wonder if theyre going to charge me for some cake >
  
  I’d also rather get French fries or chips if anything. I usually get BBQ for my bday. They never sing and clap thank the gods. >
  
  In my city, business always ask for ID before giving you free stuff for your birthday >
  
  I tried that this year, but on my actual birthday, and the real answer is none of them give you shit anymore unless you sign up for their "club" or app, and even then, you need to have done it's 3+ months in advance because if you register the day of or the day before, they can tell and won't give you anything. >
  
  Except nowadays they ask for ID.
  We used to do this (friends and I) when we were like 16 years old.
  Go to a sports bar watch the hockey, claim its someone's birthday at the table, get free dessert... On some occasions go for a cigarette before the bill comes and just leave (yeah dine and dash, we were assholes). >
  
  At the restaurant I go to they never ask for IDs. Also maybe if it’s adults or something but kids aren’t going to have IDs so how would they confirm that? >
  
  The reality is most places aren't going to care all that much. A slice of cake or scoop of ice cream costs them functionally nothing compared to the return on having a group come in and spend 70+ at the table and most people aren't going to bother lying to get it.
  The thing is, that model has already largely changed. Most want you to sign-up with an email to get a coupon or some such. In this case, the return they get is being able to ping you with emails and to collect useful marketing/demographic data. >
  
  Honestly most ppl don’t eat out enough to bother doing it, and chain places will make you sign up for it via email. It’s not really worth it for a single scoop of ice cream, when you could go to the grocery store and buy a whole tub of it. >
  
  Two things (among others):
  
  
  Not every restaurant offers that. 
  
  
  A fair number of restaurants with a birthday offer will check your ID because of people like you. >
  
  "Nothing"
  Well, there's your personal morals.  I don't lie as much as possible.  It's important for many reasons that you have a good reputation. >
  
  yeah i was thinking, “… well there’s my dignity” >
  
  Yea exactly.  Plus, if you did it a lot there would bound to be some people to witness it multiple times, and then you've been caught.  If I do need to lie I at least make it seem like the truth. lol >
  
  They almost all card you for something free with minimal exceptions(some restaurants will give the smallest version of a free dessert with your dinner). The others now tell you that you have to have signed up on their corporate website to get a birthday coupon. >
  
  $20 for a burger and fries....but yea, you got a "free" piece of cake.  Keep telling yourself that. >
  
  "oh its my birthday"
  "oh nice happy birthday"
  "..."
  "are you gonna order something sir?" >
  
  People are generally good, and not liars and thieves. I watched this Youtuber talk about how some people did this experiment where they would call random people on the phone and tell them to flip a coin, heads looses, tails gets a gift card. The results were 50/50 heads and tails. No one lied to the person on the phone. >
  
  Some restaurants will ask for your ID, and others will ask you to bring at least 5 people to get something free for you. >
  
  yes there is.  most places stopped doing that because people were doing that very thing.  they charge for the desserts now. >
  
  Restaurants that check your drivers license would like to have a word >
  
  Except ethics?  And general concern for the restaurant business which are notoriously run with an incredibly narrow profit margin?   And concern about lack of tips for hourly waitstaff?
  I could go on.  Who raised you?! >
  
  Outside the US the fact that it's ridiculously expensive to go to a restaurant every damn day and that no one gives a shit what day it is, stops us >
  
  Isn't it classified as fraud? Wasn't a man arrested for having a lot of girfriends and having them give him a lot of presents throughout the year? >
  
  It's technically fraud, but I doubt it would ever amount to something concerning enough to charge someone with. It'd probably go as far as personal ban from the restaurant if that.
  Those restaurants are also still making money on someone who is buying a meal even if they give out a scoop of ice cream. Desserts are the highest margin items on basically any menu. It's not the pull-over that OP seems to believe it is. >
  
  I did it once at a denny's. Was a pain in the ass. First off they needed to see my ID, second off, they had to have like 3 or 4 people confirm it was my birthday, then even had the manager come out and check, and only then did they give me $10 off my order. Was so annoying I just never did it again. >
  
  Classic rookie mistake. When it’s my bday, I bring a folder with my ID, passport, birth certificate, and my old university ID (for good measure of course). Makes the process much quicker. >
  
  Money
  Ain't nobody got budget to eat out every day just to get a free cake. >
  
  We have a curry club in my friend group of about 20 people, once a month, usually a large crowd.
  Half way through the meal it’s become tradition to sing one of us happy birthday. We often get cake >
  
  My wife and I went to Disney World a couple weeks after her birthday and she got a Disney birthday pin at the hotel.  She got lots of "happy birthdays" from people and some free extra stuff, but we also spent a decent amount of money to be there so it wasn't really "free".  
  There was one day when she wasn't in a great mood and when she went to buy a pretzel and a frozen lemonade they gave it to her free for her birthday.  That really put her in a much better mood. >
  
  If you want to sit through the sing song uproar of the restaurant staff clapping and singing a birthday song to you everyday for free ice cream, then you deserve to have it. >
  
  A common sense between right and wrong... Would hardly call that "nothing" but to each their own, I guess. >
  
  My town only has three restaurants, none of which give out free anything for birthdays. I’m on a first name basis with the owners of all three.
  I’m pretty sure this stops me.