'Is it wrong to use your birthday as a ploy to make a profit off your friends, AITA?'
"AITA for being annoyed that my friends charged everyone full price at their “birthday party” at their own restaurant?"
Quick_Aioli6466 writes:
So recently, I (30F) attended a birthday party for a friend. The couple hosting it (let’s call them Megan and Dave) own a popular restaurant in town, and they invited about 40 people to celebrate Megan’s birthday there. They closed the restaurant for the night just for the event, so it was a private party with only their invited guests.
At the beginning of the night, Dave made a birthday toast and said something along the lines of, “Thank you all for being here to celebrate Megan. Order whatever you want!” So everyone kind of assumed it was being hosted, or at the very least subsidized. Nobody expected a free night necessarily, but the vibe was definitely “you’re invited to celebrate with us,” not “this is a group dinner and you’re footing your own bill.”
Well… fast forward to the end of the night, servers started bringing around individual checks. Turns out everyone was charged full price—food, drinks, everything. Most couples ended up paying around $350 for the night, some more, some less.
People were really thrown off. The way it was presented made it seem like we were guests at a party, not customers at a business. Megan and Dave are not hurting financially. They just built a brand new home, drive luxury cars, and take vacations.
From what we can tell, they profited around $5,000 from the night, off of their closest friends. Since then, a lot of us have been keeping our distance. It just felt super icky, like we were tricked into attending what was actually a cash-grab dinner disguised as a party.
Now Megan is confused about why people are being distant, and I’m starting to wonder—am I the a&^%ole for being annoyed and not really wanting to hang out with them anymore?
Here are the top rated comments:
Mother_Search3350 says:
LOL. So they basically scammed you all into paying for their birthday party and even made a profit from the con? Those con artists aren't anybody's friends. You all will be complete AH's and idiots if you keep them in your circle of friends after they literally stole a whole dinner bill plus 5K from you.
Salty_Thing3144 says:
NTA! If you invite someone to a party, the understanding is that the host pays! They tricked you and ambushed you. I would end the friendship over this.
ElowenThornevale says:
NAH you’re not wrong. If you’re making bank and inviting friends to your birthday at your restaurant, at least comp something. Charging full price is wild.
judgingA-holes says:
NTA - I would assume that someone who owns a restaurant, is having their bday at their own restaurant, and who says "order whatever you want" would be paying for it. I mean if not, then why announce to order whatever you want? No s&*t sherlock I can order whatever I want if I'm paying for it, like WTF was the point in saying that.