It’s no longer the case that the man is expected to pay for the meal when you go on a date, but when one man ordered extra food for his roommates, and fled, it’s safe to say his date was not happy
Dinner dates can be difficult, especially when it comes to picking up the bill – but this one really takes the cake.
It’s no longer the case that the ‘man’ is expected to pay, but some people still prefer to be more traditional, while others like to split the bill. It can be a bit awkward as you don’t know each other very well, so when one woman was left with an extortionate bill, she was far from impressed.
She claimed the man she was meeting left her with a huge restaurant bill that she couldn’t afford – in the middle of their date. According to the anonymous woman, the man had arrived at the restaurant before her, and had already ordered some food, which he claimed he would be taking back for his roommates.
He then told her he might as well go to deliver it to them now, and then come back to resume their date. But when he failed to return 30 minutes later, she realised the devastating truth – he’d done a runner with the food and left her with the bill.
Posting on Quora, the woman claimed: “I was on a blind date one time. The dude had ordered food ahead for his ‘roommates’. He left and said he’d be right back because he had to run the food out to them. He never came back. I was freaking out a little and it had been 30 minutes.
“The waitress came back and asked if everything was okay. I said ‘Well, I’m not really sure as I was on a blind date and he said he was running food out to his roommates and would be right back, but I have a feeling he’s not coming back, as he’s not answering my messages anymore.’
“The waitress said ‘Oh no’. I said ‘Yeah’. She said ‘No, it’s really bad. He didn’t pay for the food to go yet either.’ So I start to worry because this is a super nice restaurant. Like, the top of the line.”
Thankfully though, the woman was saved by the kind waitress who went and spoke to her manager about the situation and got it sorted out – as well as giving the woman a free bottle of wine to enjoy.
She added: “[The waitress] said ‘One minute I will go talk to my manager’. She came back a bit later with a bottle of wine. Told me to finish my dinner and get what dessert I wanted, and that dinner was on her. I wanted to cry.
“She said no one deserves to be treated like that. I was so grateful for her. I left her a nice tip. Never saw the guy again. Hopefully, karma got him.”
The woman’s post was made in response to someone asking what would happen in a scenario where your date walks out and leaves you to foot a bill that you can’t afford.
And several other responses urged people to bring their own money with them on dates but to make it clear they’ll only be paying for what they order – so their date can be responsible for their portion.
One person said: “My dad at a young age told me to take my own money and only eat what I could afford to buy. I did have a friend who invited me out and as usual I was frugal. I had already asked the server for separate cheques when I went to wash my hands.
“[My date] left saying he would be back. I settled my bill and the owner asked if I would talk with a law enforcement officer. The officer basically wanted to know the name of the other person who did not pay, their address and telephone number. I gave him all the information and he had me write a statement.”
While another added: “You are operating on grace and not law, but here is the position. First, you only owe for the food you ordered. Secondly, if you can’t pay even your portion, call the manager and explain the situation. Give them your contact information and what information you have for your date. They actually stole their portion. If you act responsibly like this, I can’t imagine the manager won’t work with you.”
A version of this story was first published on May 12, 2023.
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