Man refuses to pay after being forced to cover restaurant bill for strangers

Dining out with friends and acquaintances is typically a fun and relaxing experience—until someone refuses to pay their share. Reddit user u/SEO403 shared a viral story about a dinner gone wrong when a group of guests balked at covering their portion of the bill. The post resonated with many, racking up 9.1K upvotes.

The post opens with the user explaining that he’d been dealing with a lot of extra drama lately. While visiting his home country on vacation, he invited an old friend to dinner. The friend asked if he could bring three women and another man along, and the individual agreed.

He suggested a place to hang out after dinner, where he had made reservations. He also chose the restaurant, which everyone agreed to. They all arrived, ordered food, and enjoyed their time until the bill came. It was $825. While his friend was willing to split the bill, the others were not.

One of the guests said he could only pay $26, despite having consumed $107 worth of food. Realizing the situation was about to "go south," the individual noticed that two women remained silent, engrossed in their phones. Another woman audaciously asked him to "be a gentleman" and cover the bill, assuming he was financially well off.

He writes, "I asked her why she'd assume that and she said, 'That's what it seems like on Instagram.'" The individual clarified that he did not have any pictures showing how rich he was on his account. Not wanting to pay, the individual told them that he barely knew them and that it wasn't a date. The woman replied that she wasn't expecting to pay.

Even his friend refused to pay, explaining that he only knew the others from work. He says, "I was getting upset at the entitlement and asked my friend whether he told them anything pointing towards me paying, he said he didn't and that each of them always pays for their own things." Not wanting to make a scene, the individual asked his friend to deal with them as he had invited them.

The group offered flimsy excuses, calling the bill "unfair" and "too expensive," despite having no hesitation while ordering lavishly. Frustrated, the user declared he wouldn’t split the bill and would only pay for himself. This decision somehow offended them even further.

Tired of the entire ordeal, the individual gets up and goes to the counter to pay his share and tells the waiter that the others will pay what they owe. It turned out that only his friend had enough to pay for himself, while the others did not have any money. The individual even went to the extent of giving a big tip to the waiter in front of them. He mentions feeling some empathy for them initially but decides to stick to his decision ultimately. 

People on the platform expressed their support for his decision in the comments section. u/Subject-Toe-1042 commented, "I never understood why people can't afford to go out for meals. They act entitled and rudely and have to face the consequences. I'd suggest discussing payment before you order the food next time."

This article originally appeared 1 year ago.