‘We’re not paying the $1000 bill’: Relatives Expect to Get Free Food at Restaurant Owned By Family Member, Security Guard Gets Involved

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Briana Viser • Writer and Editor
Feb 25, 2024 4:00 PM EST

If there's one thing about family, it's that there can easily be dramatic situations. We all think our family is the craziest, the most dramatic, the silliest. But when your family drama is making it all the way to the internet for people to laugh about, then you know it's bad. 

Now let's see, if you have a family that owns a restaurant does it entitle you to free food? Depends on the amount of people, how close you are as a family member. Where's the line? If you're one person or two, then okay, a free meal is probably to be expected. 25 people? Now come on…the bill would be so high and it would be a huge loss for the restaurant if they did all that work for free. If you're stuck in a situation like this, the only thing is to be the bigger man and pay…you did eat food, cooks don't get paid for free, servers don't get paid if customers don't pay either. Check out this Reddit piece for more details.

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  • 01
    Posted by u/shadowzack_69 3 days ago AITAH for forcing relatives to pay after they dined at my dads restaurant
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 02
    My dad(44m) owns a restaurant and my mom(41f) had some of her relatives visiting our city so they made a reservation for 25 people at our restaurant.My dad handles most of the things happening the restaurant but when he's gone or tired he asked me(17m)
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 03
    and my older brother(19m) to manage everything in the restaraunt(just making sure all the ingridients arrive in the morning cross check the money in the register,the usual things)my brother has evening classes in his
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 04
    college so he would take care of the restaraunt in the morning and i would do it in the evening(we've been doing this regularly since i was 16 so i know the gist of things). Unfortunately my dad had a meeting with the investor about opening another branch
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 05
    so he wouldnt be there that week. So the day arrives and the relatives(my aunt,her family and in laws and their friends)arrive at the restaraunt and they order a lot of food and everything goes smoothly
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 06
    and they are happy with the food and service, after this they were given the bill by one of the servers and a few mins after my aunt comes downstairs holding the bill and asking me what this was for.I told her for the food that they ate and she says that she didnt expect she would
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 07
    have to pay since her parents dont pay when they dine here.I tell her thats just for two people and they only visit our city once or twice a year at this point shes I and she keeps repeating that she wont pay the bill for a large amount because
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 08
    shes family and some other bs. So idk what to do at this point, I called my brother and my dad and as expected neither picked up so i left a voicemail to both of them explaining the situation and asked them what i should
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 09
    do.During this time some of the guests started leaving and my aunt and her family (except her husband who was no where to be seen)tried to leave the restaraunt but luckily the Guard had heard the commotion and understood that she hadnt
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 10
    paid and stopped her from leaving, at this point everyone in the restaraunt is looking at her and shooting angry looks at her so she calls my mom and tells her everything and my mom asks me to exempt them from paying.
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 11
    Now this is the part where i might be the AH,I tell my mom they are gonna have to pay for what they ate and i would call the cops if they refused, my aunt started throwing another tantrum and i put went back to grab my phone to check if my brother or dad had responded but her
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 12
    family thought i was going to call the cops and she starts calling me every swear in the book for not being helpful to the family. At this point her husband comes from upstairs and he asks me how much the amount was and paid me and told
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 13
    his family to go to the car and apologised to me for the mess his wife created and left. Less than hour passes by and my brother comes to the restaraunt and i tell the whole situation to him and he tells me i did the right thing. The next day
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 14
    when i wake up and check my phone i find hundreds of text messages from relatives from my moms side calling me an for not helping family. So,AITA for making my aunt pay after she got quite the bill on my dads restaruant
    via u/shadowzack_69
  • 15
    Southern Crime . 3 days ago NTA - I get comping a two person party, but TWENTY FIVE PEOPLE????? Unless it was arranged in advance to be on the house, I would always expect to pay.
    via u/SouthernCrime
  • 16
    You did good, kid.
    via u/SouthernCrime
  • 17
    RebeccaMCullen · 3 days ago Depending on the price point, a 2 top would be maybe $100, $150 tops. But 25? You're looking at at least $750-$800 on the low end.
    via u/RebeccaMCullen
  • 18
    abstractengineer2000 3 days ago nobody told OP in advance that it was free anyway. So it likely wasn't. Anyway even if it was free, the Dad can reimburse or reverse the bill
    via u/abstractengineer2000
  • 19
    later on. No need to go off on a minor
    via u/abstractengineer2000
  • 20
    Agreeable- Work208 3 days ago Exactly. They tried to pull a fast one and got caught and now they are ganging up on a minor.
    via u/Agreeable- Work208
  • 21
    Head_Razzmatazz7 174 - 2 days ago Except for the uncle. He had the good sense to apologize and pay for the meal.
    via u/Head_Razzmatazz7174
  • 22
    Agreeable-Work208 2 days ago Maybe. I'm sure he knew that she was going to try to get it comped so I am very skeptical but hopefully incorrect in that assessment.
    via u/Agreeable-Work208
  • 23
    Efficient_Living_628 • 2 days ago It's more likely that his wife lied and said it was free and got there and found at that it wasn't true
    via u/Efficient_Living_628
  • 24
    Middle_Arugula9284. 2 days ago Send your uncle a thank you card, and invite him "and one guest" for a meal on you.
    via u/Middle_Arugula9284
  • 25
    rythmicbread 2 days ago 2 is doable to comp. 25 is not doable to comp unless you did something egregious to them
    via u/rythmicbread
  • 26
    Vic930 2 days ago Shouldn't ever assume. Just because someone owns a restaurant doesn't mean free food ever. You would always wait and see if it is offered!
    via u/Vic930
  • 27
    rythmicbread. 2 days ago I meant OP can, at their discretion, choose to comp a couple people or not. It's not a financial savvy decision to comp an entire party of 25 unless one of the
    via u/rythmicbread
  • 28
    unless one of the workers set a person on fire
    via u/rythmicbread
  • 29
    Beth21286 3 days ago How is dining out at a nice restaurant 'help'? That's not help that's a catered three course meal. Help is watching the kids or doing laundry. Freeloading cheapskates.
    via u/Beth21286
  • 30
    Away-Object-1114 · 3 days ago At $30 a piece that's more on the low end, IMO. And doesn't include alcohol. Kid did exactly correct in making her pay. $1000, more or less, would be a huge hit for the restaurant.
    via u/Away-Object-1114

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