22-year-old man orders $85 lobster at dinner with friends, insist they split the bill evenly despite their entrees costing $20: 'This isn't his first time mooching'

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Mar 20, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Splitting the bill can be a stressful event, even for the best of friends. The tab can run up quickly in a group, and someone's gotta pay. And there are so many ways you can do it, that it's not always intuitive to decide. 

You could give your server all your cards and let them handle it (though they might end up hating you for it). You could have one person put their card down and then have everyone reimburse you, but who's card is it and who is going to do the math? You could just decide to split it evenly, but what if some folks had cocktails and some didn't? It's enough to make your head spin. That's why we need designated bill splitters. In advance of the dinner, you designate one person whose job it is to decide how to split the bill and to execute that plan. A dictatorship of bill splitting, if you will. 

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10482016512
    via Unsplash+ (Aditya Saxena)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • That's not what happened in this situation, so things predictably got out of hand. One of the friends was left wondering if how they handled it was correct and fair. Read on for the story and decide how you would have handled it. 

  • 02

    AITAH for not splitting the bill when my friend got lobster?

    so last weekend me (21m) and my friends (i'm giving fake names so jake (22m), sarah (21f), lisa (21f)) hit this seafood joint we been hyping up. not crazy fancy, lowkey affordable for us working students. i figure we're all keeping it chill, i got crab cakes for $20, sarah and lisa get normal stuff too, like $15-
    via u/KissMeCherub
  • 03
    18 plates. then jake goes "OH H L YEAH lobster tail $85!" and orders it. i asked him if that's what he really wanted cause that's expensive as h I and i don't think we could cover for him if ever. he said yes don't worry. i don't say sh, thinking he's got it covered.
    via u/KissMeCherub
  • 04
    dinner's cool, he's flexing his lobster, whatever. bill comes... $185. i'm like ok my share's maybe $25 with tip. but jake's all "so $46 each?" and i'm WHAT. his lobster was $85! i say "nah man i'm not paying for that, i'll do $25." sarah and lisa back me up, they weren't splitting either. jake gets pissy,
    via u/KissMeCherub
  • 05
    says "we always split, you're being cheap, it's just dinner." dude it's triple my food! i stick to my guns, we all pay separate, but he's acting like i ruined everything. says i embarrassed him. texted me later all salty about it.
    via u/KissMeCherub
  • 06
    i kinda get it, splitting's simpler and i coulda just ate the cost, but $85 vs $20 feels wild to me. did he really just expect us all to split with him after he saw us order cheaper food??? he even KNEW we can't cover that much for him. now he's barely talking to us and i'm sitting here like... were we the a h les? should we have just paid it to keep the vibe good?
    via u/KissMeCherub
  • 07

    Commenters weighed in on Jake's behavior.

    Pimpnameslickbac... • 1d ago Jake's TA for ordering an $85 meal and expecting others to help pay for it
    via u/Pimpnameslickback64
  • 08
    Kooky-Situation3059 NTA 1d ago He said don't worry, he knew what he was doing. I'd imagine this isn't his first time mooching.
    via u/Kooky-Situation3059
  • 09
    Mysterious-Essay-... • 1d ago NTA. Ditch Jake, he's sulking because his attempt to guilt trip into paying for him didn't work.
    via u/Mysterious-Essay-860
  • 10
    CrowdControl_1 · 1d ago . Honestly, if I wanted to pay for a lobster, I'd just go out and buy one myself! Next time, Jake should consider bringing his own personal bank to dinner.
    via u/CrowdControl_1
  • 11
    Dipshitistan • 1d ago Splitting bills equally is pretty stupid unless everyone's bill would be within like $10 of one another's. NTA for not doing it here.
    via u/Dipshitistan
  • 12
    Cheezburger Image 10482026496
    via Unsplash+ (Aditya Saxena)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 13
    Individual-Cherry759 1d ago NTA. you guys warned him that you couldn't split it, which is why you assumed he's got it covered so you let him be. now he's all ped that you couldn't help him pay? he's af!
    via u/Individual-Cherry759
  • 14
    limelee666 · 1d ago . Point out to your friend that all of you could have ordered lobster, and his bill would have been what it was.
    via u/limelee666
  • 15
    Proud-Contract-8551 · 1d ago Its always the person ordering the expensive stuff complaining how embarrassing
    via u/Proud-Contract-8551
  • 16
    AdFresh8123 · 20h ago Jake reminded me of an a h le coworker group I had once when I was a very young new manager. I was recently promoted to salaried management, making far less than everyone else, and was at a different location for training.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 17
    I was married with two kids and was on a really tight budget. I was making less money short term, as I had to give up a PT side job when I got promoted to salary.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 18
    This management group went to lunch every week to a really nice place. I could barely afford the cheapest item on the menu. That wasn't an issue for anyone else, though, and they typically ordered much more expensive items and got drinks to boot. Their part of the bill was 2 or 3 times what mine was.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 19
    They fully expected me to split the cost "evenly" and were shocked when I refused to. I even had my job threatened with a bad training evaluation for not being a "team player."
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 20
    I flat out told them there was nothing in my job description that required me to get f ed over. And I sure as hl wasn't going to fund them drinking on the job, which was an automatic termination offense. I paid my fair share and told them not to worry, I wasn't going to rat them out.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 21
    I didn't get invited the next week, what a surprise. I ended up covering the entire store solo for almost two hours while they were gone. I debated dropping a dime on them to the store manager right then. He was off that day, which is the only reason they pulled this stunt.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 22
    When they came back, I told my training manager I had no issue not being included for lunch. But, if I was left being the only manager in the store again while they took a lunch twice as long as they were allowed to, I'd be calling their store manager and the ethics hotline.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 23
    He told me it would be my word, a brand new MIT, against all six of them, managers with an average of 10 or more years with the company.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 24
    I showed him a tape of the security camera footage I'd already made a copy of. I told him it showed them all leaving and coming back with time stamps. I informed him that several department managers were sick of their sh and would also verify they weren't in the building. I also grabbed the bill from the restaurant the week before, showing everything on it, including the booze.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 25
    I reminded him I was a Marine vet, knew how to cover my a, and wasnt going to let someone f me over. He turned pale and stomped off. The following week, I didn't get invited, but they left. another manager behind with me. They were back exactly an hour after they left.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 26
    I was treated like a leper for the rest of my time there. I was already fairly competent in my job. The last few bits and pieces I needed to learn, I learned from the department managers. This went on for another month until I went back to my home store. I got an outstanding evaluation when I left, too.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 27
    I kept in contact with a couple of the department managers I'd befriended. They told me that within a month after I'd left, their managers were doing the same sh. I told them the best way to report it.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 28
    A few months later, the market manager, the big boss, showed up unannounced. He timed it while all the managers, save the one, were at lunch. They all strolled back in over 30 minutes late. Everyone of them was fired on the spot, except the one left behind, and he was given a d-day.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 29
    Every store in the market had to send managers there for several weeks to cover shifts until they got people in there to replace those fired. Three department managers were promoted, including one of the ones I knew well. The manager who survived the bloodbath lasted a few months before he stepped on his and he was terminated.
    via u/AdFresh8123
  • 30
    Notahappygardener • 1d ago I just had the same thing happen with a long time friend, she ordered multiple dishes and thought it was ok to split it. I am unemployed, she works and makes a lot of money and got all pissy with me when I said I would pay for mine plus tip. NTA, your so friend needs to grow up and realise no one is going to pay for his lobster.
    via u/Notahappygardener

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

friendship relationship advice aita drama AITAH best friends splitting the bill money problems storytime friends listen to your friends reddit story relationships friend drama restaurant friend story reddit thread Reddit discourse money conflict
Scroll Down For The Next Article