Mike
It’s incredibly frustrating when you attend a group dinner, consciously limit your orders to save money, but still end up being expected to split the bill equally.
This exact scenario unfolded for TikToker and single mom, Remiandaryan, who recently shared a video expressing her annoyance. Despite deliberately ordering less throughout the evening, she was pressured by a friend to cover a $150 group dinner bill.
Commenters rallied to her defense, arguing that adults should be capable of settling their own bills, rather than expecting others to bear the cost, especially in situations where consumption was uneven.
“You know, that guy who went to a birthday dinner, and he didn’t know anybody there and everybody was ordering really expensive stuff. So when he got up to go to the bathroom, he paid for his meal, went back to the table.
Everybody’s arguing about the food. And he’s like, I already paid for my stuff. And his homegirl, his friend, later told him, that was so inappropriate. You embarrassed me, that was wrong. You’re rude for doing that. That happened to me.”
“This was like, a friend who modeled, she made a good amount of money. I didn’t know anybody else who was invited, but she invited me to her birthday dinner. So I went online, and I found a birthday coupon, buy one, get one free.
It was a Brazilian all-you-can-eat steak house kind of thing. So it’s $50 upfront. Does not include drinks, does not include dessert. So I go, I have no money. I’m a single mom. I have no money. And I don’t know why she thought I ever had money. But I didn’t, like, I lived in a really nice house, like, a million-dollar home with a friend. But that was not my home. That was not my family. We have no blood ties. And so why she thought, just because I lived there, like, I had money? I don’t know.
So we go to her apartment. And we’re getting ready for this birthday dinner. A few people show up. And this girl is showing me, she literally showed me her new chest that she had just paid for, cuz she models too. We get to the restaurant, a few people show up and a few people leave without paying.”
“I assumed that they left money with her. But we’re eating, we’re having a good time, I order water. And I order no dessert. And while we’re eating, I get a piece of filet mignon that is so fatty, it just- like, it was so gross. I had to run to the bathroom.
My friend calls over the manager while I’m in the bathroom. I’m in there for a minute, rinsing out my mouth. It was bad. I come out and he’s saying he’ll comp my meal. So I’m thinking, okay, so I’ll just pay the $25 for my friend, right? Wrong. They wanted me to pay $150. $150. When I just got the basic $50 meal. Plus I had the buy one get one free coupon, you know, to be used on me and the birthday girl.
So it should have been $25 for her tops if I’m paying for her meal. But because those people left and did not pay for their meals, suddenly I’m supposed to float this bill.
No, ma’am. I don’t know what happened. But I had to write a check to my friend because I didn’t even have the $50 in my account that I knew I needed a couple of days till my paycheck hit. So I just wrote her a check.”
“I said I’m not paying any more than 50 because that’s not fair. She was irritated with me. She was definitely irritated with me. But this was not my thing. I am a single mom, you did not clear this. We did not talk about this. I did not eat that food. Why would you do this to me if you’re supposed to be my friend?
I wish I had said that back then. But I really was a pushover when it came to her. And I didn’t say any of this. But I was the bad guy in the situation. She did this to me for her baby shower. She did this to me for so many other things.”
“Knowing that I’m a single mom, and she has all these other friends that make so much more money. Why was I the one she picked? Never sit down to dinner with anybody, friend or otherwise, unless you’ve already talked about how it’s getting split, what your budget is, if you’re all going to split the bill equally, never sit down to eat with a group without first clearing that with everybody.
And I would even go as far as in a big group, that if it’s going to be a $50 limit or $100 limit, that money better be cashed out to somebody in advance. So that person can pay the bill all on one tab. Or you call the restaurant up front for a large party so you all can have your separate bills. Like, duh.”
See the Tiktok here:
@remiandaryan I always ask before we even order how the bill will be handled or I dont order at all. #birthday #dinner #resturaunt #ettiquette #groupdinner #large #groups #fyp
Here’s what people had to say in the comments:
h/t: BoredPanda