Help settle a restaurant debate.

[IcedTeaForMe]

I wasn't one of the people in this scenario but I was having this discussion with a friend who was.

There are five people out to dinner and they're splitting the billl. One person(my Friend) Karen has a gift card for the restaurant given to her by her employer. The gift card more than covers her share so she generously says that the rest of the gift card can be used to deduct from the bill for the other diners meaning that they'd pay around ten pounds less than they would have without Karen's gift card. One diner objects and says that the remaining bill should be split between all five(including Karen) and not the remaining four because she hasn't actually contributed any money to the bill, only a gift card that she didn't pay for.

It seems pretty clear cut to me who was in the wrong, but I'm curious to know what MN thinks?

I can't believe anyone would think Karen should use her gift and then pay a share of the remainder too. Absolutely bonkers!

I'll give you odds even on the CF diner having run up the biggest part of the bill too.

If I'd have had my generosity picked at like that the gift card would be back in my bag and everything, including the tip, would be split equally as previously agreed. Sorted.

The polite thing to do would be for Karen to ask for the gift card to be deducted from the total, and then all the diners (including Karen) pay an equal share of what remains.
Why on earth would Karen have to pay her own share twice, effectively, grumiosmum - she was being very generous to her friends giving them the balance to reduce each of their own shares?

What exactly was Ian's objection?

PS I don't think Karen is in the wrong, but let's face it, most people would find this socially unacceptable to say "I have a gift card, no bill for me, woo hoo".

Really? If the bill is paid, and generously contributed to by the person who owns the gift card why would there be skin off anyone else's nose? Most people would think "good for you" and "thanks".

Objector is BU. And rude. And grabby.

Wow - what a cheeky fucker. I'll bet he backed off rapidly when she mentioned him paying his full amount. Some people are un-fucking-believable.

The very idea that anyone thinks she would need to then pay on top of subsidising everyone else's meal is crazy to me. If I'd been her in this situation and that was what was thrown back at me, I'd say "sorry, I've clearly complicated things, please go ahead and pay as usual and I'll use my gift card for myself."

The gift card is like cash, of course that’s her contribution and she should pay no more. She has already been generous.

Sharing bills seems to bring out the worst in some people!

I see it as a bit of a social faux pas personally to use a gift card for yourself in a group setting

I don't really see why though noonarna. These days at the big group dinners I sometimes attend some people pay cash, some people pop up to the till and pay by card then come back with their receipt (so we can make sure we've got our totals correct). I wouldn't know whether they'd paid by debit card or credit card or gift card, and even if it did I don't see how it would matter.

What if I'd bought myself a gift card because I knew we'd be going to the restaurant and wanted to set the money aside? Would that then be ok? (All right no one would ever actually do that, but you know, for the sake of argument.)

Ian is a twat.

I think some thick people are getting confused between a gift card worth actual cash and a voucher code downloaded for free/coupon cut out from the paper which hasn't cost anyone anything.

Ian's a CF.

socially unacceptable to say "I have a gift card, no bill for me, woo hoo"

Except that's not what happened at all is it? She said "This is how I'm settling my share of the bill and the balance remaining can come off your bills, so we all gain"

She didn't choose the venue and the gift card wasn't a BOGOFF or loyalty reward, it had been purchased for cash.

Neither Maths nor Manners are Ians specialist life subjects - what a knob !

Ian's objection was that my friend, Karen, hadn't actually contributed to the billl(according to him) because she used a gift card that was given to her by her employer, therefore in his eyes she hadn't paid a penny towards the actual bill.

Karen was being very generous and the other person should no longer be considered a friend.

Ian the idiot, I take it he's now known as?

The irony is if the gift card was Ian’s he would never used the rest of the gift card balance to sub other people’s meals.

Bet he’s the type to order expensive things and insist on splitting the bill equally.

Ian is an almight twat and the sort of person that complains about disabled people getting "free cars".
Ian should be disregarded and uninvited from future events, IMO - and if I was in that group, he bloody would be!

Karen did a very generous thing and they all benefited from HER gift so Ian should STFU - bet he wouldn't have been so fucking generous if it had been HIS gift card, would he - bet he'd have demanded the change from the others!

Fucking Ian.

Clearly Karen was in the right. She had paid just not in cash. What a very strange man Ian sounds???

Do they all work togethsr

No. They don't work together. They are all members of a club. There are actually 7 members but two couldn't make it.

Doesn’t matter who bought the giftcard, if the employer had given that same amount in cash to a Karen, would Ian have objected to Karen using that cash? Nope. Asshole. In those circumstances I’d withdraw the giftcard offer, pay my share of the cash and tell the others ‘blame Ian for you having to pay more than you would have.’

So Ian thought Karen’s employer should be subsidising his meal? Idiot indeed.

Karen was in the right, would the objector feel the same way that if she was using money gifted to her? Just because it's money in the form of a card makes no difference.

therefore in his eyes she hadn't paid a penny towards the actual bill.

But how does Ian know where Peter, Jane and Michael got their money from - a family member, a partner, and lottery win etc. Did he vet everyone as to their source of funds? It's quite ridiculous and not thought through at all. Incidentally had Karen not used the gift card from her employer, then presumably she would have used her salary from her employer. So either way money from her employer.

I would be over the moon if Karen were my friend.

Completely agree magnetic was just wondering if there was any professional jealousy