A person took to the Reddit platform asking for advice after refusing to pay a bigger portion of the dinner bill for a smaller order.
The Reddit user claimed to have gone to a nice dinner out with a group of five friends but wasn’t too hungry.
“We went to a pretty nice restaurant, [and] I wasn’t that hungry, so I just ordered a small appetizer and a drink, which totaled around $15,” the person said.
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“However, most of the others ordered multiple courses, drinks and desserts, with their meals adding up to over $50 each.”
The user said that when the check arrived at the end of the meal, a friend at the table suggested the six of them split it evenly.
“That would’ve meant I’d be paying around $50, which is way more than what I ordered,” the Redditor wrote.
After noting he or she wasn’t comfortable paying that amount, two of the friends at the table “got annoyed” and said the Reddit user was “being cheap.”
But the person responded by standing firm and only paying for his or her specific portion of the meal.
Later on, however, the Redditor said the situation was brought up in the friend group’s text message chain.
The user said, “One of them brought it up again, saying I ruined the vibe of the night by being difficult over a few dollars and that splitting evenly is what friends do.”
The user asked others on the platform if he or she was wrong, saying it felt “unfair to me to pay for everyone else’s expensive meals when I didn’t really eat much.”
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Other users took to the comments to discuss the matter — and many agreeed with the post writer by saying the person was not wrong.
One user wrote, “It’s hilarious that they accuse OP [the original poster] of being cheap when they [the friends] were the ones who don’t even want to pay for what they ordered.”
Another said, “Your friends had a chance to do the reasonable thing at the restaurant and got irritated instead — and then they dragged it out after.”
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California-based etiquette expert Rosalinda Randall told Fox News Digital that the user should have simply split the bill if the person thought it was going to cause an issue.
“In some cases, it’s too difficult or awkward to split the check to match whatever you consumed. Pay up,” Randall said.
Randall suggested thinking of the charge as “an investment for being a part of the group and for having a good time.”
If on a tight budget, the etiquette expert suggested planning in advance for these social outings.
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“Whether it’s just drinks and appetizers or a full meal, if you have budget concerns, you don’t drink, or just order a small salad, discuss it with your friends in advance,” she said.
“Don’t wait until the check arrives to break it to them.”
She recommended cutting back on other expenses during the week, declining to go to events, requesting a separate check or bringing cash to the meal.
Overall, however, she said, “If relationships have history, you all get along, and it has many positive aspects. Don’t let an off-balanced split check split up the relationship.”
She added, “Don’t let a few dollars ruin your relationship or get you on the ‘do not invite’ list.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Reddit user for further comment.
