Man cleverly teaches colleagues a lesson about splitting bills fairly after they refuse to do so

Team lunches are typically a time when employees bond with each other. However, when it comes to splitting the bills, it is either split equally or everyone is asked to pay according to what they ate. u/realitycheck18 shared on Reddit why he felt it was unfair to split the bill equally and how he gave his colleagues a reality check. He started the post by saying that he was being paid less than everyone else at work and was pretty calculative of his spending because he had a loan to pay off and was just at the beginning of his career.

"I was invited to join the Friday lunches and I liked it as well. But, one thing that bugged me the most was the bill was split equally," the employee wrote. The reason behind it was that he was the only vegetarian in the group. "Everyone else used to eat only non-vegetarian food and would order multiple appetizers, main courses, etc., and share amongst themselves. I, on the other hand, would just order for me, one appetizer and one main dish," he explained. He added that others would take pieces from his appetizer and portions from his main dish and he would be left feeling hungry. 

The employee said that he found himself repeatedly paying way more than he ordered. He wrote, "Usually, I used to order food totaling about $15 and with tip, it would be less than $18 (this was more than a decade back). But when we split the overall bill, I usually ended up paying $23 - $25, and worst of all, I was not even getting to eat what I ordered." So, one day, he brought up the idea of separate bills or at least allowing him to pay for what he ordered. He shared, "Most of them ignored what I said, and the two who responded shot down my idea immediately, saying it was ridiculous." So, the employee decided to do something that he hoped would teach his colleagues a lesson. 

That day, he ordered two appetizers instead of one. He explained, "The next week, I ordered two appetizers and two main dishes and at the end of the lunch, I packed up the remaining veg food and took home for my dinner." The following week, he included a dessert and asked the server to pack one of the vegetarian main dishes straight in a to-go box. He said, "This is when their alarm bells started ringing. I have been ordering food worth $40+ now (including tips) and since it was getting mixed with the bigger pool, everyone's share had gone up to the upper $20s."

In the fourth week, when he was about to place his order, one of his coworkers who had called his idea "ridiculous" suggested that they get separate bills for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food. "That day, I ordered two appetizers and one main dish. I think that sent a message. I invited everyone to taste the appetizer and offered my main dish as well. I left the lunch feeling full and did not have any to-go boxes," he shared.

In the following weeks, the concept of splitting bills was gone and people started paying for what they ordered. "They would split the cost only for appetizers they shared. Everyone ended up paying less than what they usually paid, as everyone was ordering more than needed as they assumed since the bill is split equally, they were getting to pay less," the employee concluded. People appreciated how the man gave his colleagues a taste of their own medicine.

u/-inertusername0 commented, "Smart! Well done! We went to a fancy place with a big rich family one time just to be social. It was way out of our league and we ordered very conservatively because of finances, and when the bill came, it was split equally, which came as a total shock to me. I think our bill would have been $60, but we ended up paying $130. I was too young and inexperienced with such things to say something. That still makes me livid to think about."

u/myatoz wrote, "I will never understand this concept. Hell no, I'm only paying for what I ordered. Us older folks don't do this." u/verroku expressed, "Splitting the bill at a restaurant is just the most nonsensical idea. It's such an outdated concept. I assume from a time when it was genuinely hard to all pay separately." u/mxldevs said, "Yup, if they're making you pay more, then uno reverse and have them pay more. Well played."