A person’s social life is crucial to their personal development. Building solid connections requires having friends and spending time with them, but what happens if your friends take advantage of you?
Someone posted on Reddit about how he dealt with pals who would consistently order incredibly costly meals at restaurants and then demand that the tab be split equally.
If everyone’s orders are about the same price, sharing the bill can help assure fairness and prevent embarrassing situations, but paying for someone’s costly taste may feel unjust to those who ordered much less.
This is the man’s account.
Since essentially college, I (27M) have been a part of a small group of friends—roughly 8 persons in all. For context, two members of the group—Susan and Greg—are complete jerks. Taking a lunch date? Anticipate them to order the priciest item on the menu, then give you a heartfelt story about their financial situation before blatantly imposing half of the cost on you.
One of the group members, Dan, told me about a laid-back supper last weekend. I informed him that I couldn’t attend if Susan or Greg were present. They would be there, he says, but I should set aside my prejudices and just come once. I might be a villain in this situation. I told him I will be there and agreed with him. We all start talking as soon as I arrive. Everyone started placing their orders, with the majority spending roughly $40. Only roughly six persons were present. When it reaches Susan and Greg, they both place orders for pricey meals that cost about $200.
Everyone stared at me when it was my turn to place my order, but I simply picked up the menu, pointed to the $4 drink, and pushed the server away. I told Dan that I had lost my appetite when he questioned why I hadn’t placed an order. In order to cancel their orders and simply enjoy beverages, the other two buddies also got up. I watched Susan and Greg pick at their food after the main courses were served. The check is then brought over by the waiter. The waiter is then seized by Greg, who requests that he divide the check six ways. I go up and tell him that the check should have been divided three ways. Greg asks me why we continually part ways, looking at me bewildered.
In other words, Dan ended up with a $146.98 check at the conclusion of the evening, even though he most likely only consumed about $50 worth of food. (Yes, I do recall the precise number.) I swear, when he took up the receipt, I saw his jaw drop. I walked out after saying goodbye to everyone and sliding ten dollars toward the check.
Greg and Susan bombarded my phone with texts the following morning accusing me of being a nasty guy for not ordering any meals and making them pay more than they had budgeted. Since the steaks alone were more expensive than what they had paid, I genuinely chuckled, but each to their own. Dan also sent me a lot of mails.