Friend brought 4 strangers to dinner and expected him to pay the bill — he asked for a separate check and walked out
One of the guys ate about $116.37 worth of food, but said he could only pay $29.09. His powerful response set them straight
A man was in his home country, Spain, for a vacation when he invited an old friend to dinner. His friend agreed and asked if he could bring four other people with him. The man was okay with the plan, and they decided to meet at a restaurant he'd suggested. They met and ordered food and drinks, but the real tension began when it was time to pay the bill. The man suggested they should split it evenly, but to his shock, everyone else backed out. In fact, they suggested he should be a gentleman and cover the bill. However, the man immediately took a stand and refused to validate their sense of entitlement. He posted the story on Reddit, which has since been deleted.
The four guests had ordered a lavish spread, including drinks, lobster, and sushi, and the bill was about $896.04 (approx.). The man suggested they should evenly split the bill, and his friend was okay with it. However, the guests had other plans. A guy told them that he was broke and wouldn't be able to pay more than $29.09 after eating close to $116.37 worth of food or more. "I knew things were about to go south," the man wrote. Two of the women at the table pretended to be on their phones during the conversation. "The other woman had the audacity to openly and confidently suggest I be a gentleman and cover the bill, as 'you are clearly doing better,'" he recalled. She assumed the man had a lavish lifestyle only because of his social media image, whereas in reality, he had never uploaded anything that screamed luxury. He told them that he hardly knew them and wouldn't pay since it wasn't a date.
"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. I suggested he deal with them, as he invited them over," the man explained. He said it was unfair that they kept ordering food as if they had a lot of money, and backed out when it was time to pay the bill. Frustrated, the man refused to split the bill and announced he would leave after paying his portion ($60.51). He asked the waiter to redo the bill, paid for his portion, and came back to the table. The man felt sorry to see the guests struggling to arrange money, but didn't help them; in fact, he chose to tip the waiter in front of them. He posted the story on Reddit, which has since been deleted.
Going out with friends can often lead to such situations. A survey of 1,001 people by Self Financial found that nearly half (43.6%) of respondents reported experiencing tension when splitting the bill with friends. In fact, a majority of them (89%) had sometimes paid full or partially for a friend with less than them. Nearly 30.7% respondents admitted doing it more often than not. This puts unnecessary strain on the person initiating the hangout or hosting it, indirectly contributing to a growth in loneliness, as these people will probably never be invited out again. 
The author received an overwhelming response with everyone praising him for refusing to pay for the entitled strangers; for instance, u/subject-toe-1042 commented, "NTA, I have never understood why people who can't afford meals outside go out. They acted like entitled and rude [individuals] and had to face the consequences. I'd suggest discussing payment before you order the food next time."
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