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?

Also, wasn’t Ian one of the names that no one named their baby son, in the U.K., in 2018? Because if so, I think we all know why now.
(Disclaimer, my DB is called Ian and he is adorable and kind, unless he’s living a double life, he isn’t this Ian).

I think the objector must've had too much wine!

The objector is a nasty arse, and stupid to boot.

@Judashascomeintosomemoney (excellent name)
I once read on a baby names thread on here that Ian wasn't a name it was just a noise.
Made me laugh

@Morgan12

You and your friends be crazy people

“Cocksmack”

Honestly as I get older I realise some people don’t understand the concept of favours. They think the “favouring” person owes them it, it’s so weird.

I know a guy who - being turned down for a lift - has been annoyed enough to complain NOT ONLY to the driver (whose car was full) but to various other friends as well. The fact that we all said driver was perfectly allowed to say no to giving him a lift in HER CAR didn’t cut any ice with him. It’s baffling.

Karen was being generous and the friend is a greedy twat who wanted to keep their cash tbh. Expecting her to pay her share, and a tenner of everyone elses, then also pay again? Nah. Gift card is the same as cash.

Ian is a stingy cunt. Ian expects acquaintances to fund his socialising. Ian is rude when called out on his bizarre expectation. Don't be like Ian.

I'd add a stickman drawing of Ian if I could.

@IcedTeaForMe please show Karen the thread. There are only a few other CF's like Ian who have responded, but ultimately we all love Karen.

The Amazon voucher is a good comparison. If, say, a colleague was leaving and the team had decided to buy a certain present at £10 each and another colleague piped up and said "I have a voucher for £50 so I'll put that in and everyone else can pay £5." would anyone have complained? I doubt it and I don't see why it being a restaurant meal should be any different.

This is only rude if the voucher was a two-for-one and she was having the free meal, or if it was a spend £50 and get £10 off ... that sort of voucher. Things like meerkat meals should be evenly split, for example, as the benefactor is relying on everyone else paying to get their freebie.

A cash card/gift card is totally different. Just a cash substitute, Ian is wrong.

@NannyRed take your cynical troll hunting elsewhere.

I think we were talking about Ian (or his brother) in another thread a while ago where he went to an Italian with 2 friends . They had their usual pizza and wine and he ate everything around him. Two starters, the most expensive of everything and when the bill came they decided to go dutch and Ian kicked off bigtime calling them tight. This is like another version of that.

No contest...the objector. Karen should have removed card and forced everyone to pay to extra £10...

The objector is socially inadequate. I'd have withdrawn the kind offer.

I have a friend like him, her and her dh as exactly the same.

I get a lot of gift cards through work, whenever I offer to use the GCs to pay for a portion of the bill they will always expect the GC amount to be knocked off the bill and then the remaining balance split, ‘because it should be treated like a money off voucher as it was free’

The GCs are always for a lot more than my share so they would still benefit from a discount like your friends ‘friend’ but they are never happy about it.

Every single time they will try to argue, no matter how many times it has happened, now I often just don’t bother to suggest using the GC so they don’t benefit at all.

If I was the friend with the gift card cunt friend would get nowt off his/ her bill

Here (US) lots of places will let you bring your giftcard and exchange it for cash. So, if you got a giftcard to a restaurant you didn't like much, you could take it in there, they would check the balance, and give you the cash for it.

I wonder what Ian's reponse would have been if Karen had done that? Object to her paying cash for her portion of the bill?

Here most of the time if you're paying separately, the server gives you separate checks, just for what you ordered. It's better, I think. There seems to be a lot of consternation over splitting the bill. Which I get; I don't want to pay a portion of someone's expensive mixed drinks and steak if I only had a salad and a soda.

when the bill came they decided to go dutch and Ian kicked off bigtime calling them tight

‘Going Dutch’ means splitting the bill - I guess you meant they just wanted to pay for what they’d ordered?

Just trying to follow the story

Karen was being very gracious giving them a discount too. I wouldn't think twice about doing exactly the same if I was Karen. The objector having a problem with her not spending any actual cash is ridiculous.

I’d be bloody grateful to save £10, the last thing I’d do is complain, I wouldn’t dream of it!! I can’t believe the cheek of some people

@QueeniesPotOfRouge You're correct of course. Thanks for that. You obviously remember that thread also. I love a good CF story.

What would be cheeky would be if someone had a bogof voucher and used that without splitting the bill but a gift card is not this. A gift card is the same as cash. I wish someone would explain the logic behind why it is not deemed socially acceptable in some circles.

that I would be unnerved if someone used a voucher to cover their share whilst everyone has paid

Get a grip. If I had a voucher, I’d use it to pay. What does it matter to you where someone else gets money for their share of the bill? They still paid AND instead of keeping the rest for another visit generously offered the remainder to the others.

What of one of the diners had used money gifted for their birthday? Is that ok?

Poor Karen. She sounds lovely and considerate. I think it is very clear she is in the right here. In Ian's scenario she would effectively pay twice.

I hope everyone else told Ian to eff off.

Love the idea that the name Ian is just a noise.

I'm properly cracking up at 'unnerved'. Bahahaha!

I used to work with an Ian. He managed to turn our company's new initiative where employees got an extra paid day off for their birthday into a negative thing. Miserable sod.