5 ms·
Oooh, oooh, an opportunity to talk about my favorite tech related money cluelessness story. The setting: somewhere in the late 00's. I'm still in grad school
by paultopia 4y ago
Oooh, oooh, an opportunity to talk about my favorite tech related money cluelessness story.
The setting: somewhere in the late 00's. I'm still in grad school at the time. A friend of mine, a musician from New Orleans, is in town for an electronic music thing. He and I are going to grab a drink somewhere.
But my friend is also in town networking. And he eventually gets talking to a founder of a very prominent music technology company which will remain nameless. Said founder is, as they tend to be, rich as shit. My friend texts me: is it ok if we switch from grabbing a drink to going out with this founder? I, not wanting to mess with my friend's networking, say sure thing.
So fast forward a few hours. Drink has become dinner, at a very fancy restaurant. It's me, a grad student; my friend, a working musician; an undergrad who tagged along, and a rich founder. The founder orders for the table. I don't remember where we were, but I do remember that the founder ordered oysters. I remember this because I'm allergic to Oysters.
The check comes. And the asshole founder tells the waiter to split it. Somehow drinks with a buddy turned into 80 bucks a head. And I couldn't even tell the founder to go fuck himself, because, friend, networking, etc.
Really hard to not see this as deliberate, notwithstanding the argument in the post that people like this are just clueless.
- Etheryte 4y agoPerhaps I'm missing some context here, but I don't really see how this is deliberately malevolent? If you're at a restaurant you should order what you can afford to order, ordering something expensive just because you think someone else is paying is a douche move.
- rco8786 4y agoThat’s literally the point of the story. It was a douche move.
- Etheryte 4y agoI don't really see where you're coming from. If you go out to eat with someone who has more money than you why do you expect them to pick up the bill? I doubt you pick up the bill every time you go out to eat with other people.
- TazeTSchnitzel 4y agoYou seem to have missed that the people paying weren't the people who ordered?
- tedunangst 4y agoDon't invite people to dinner if you're not comfortable with what they may possibly order? If I don't want to pay for an expensive dinner, I don't invite along a big spender, and I sure as fuck don't invite myself to their dinner.
- rco8786 4y agoDid you even read the original story? I don’t think we read the same thing. Dude invites people out to eat. Orders oysters for the table. Asks to split the tab.
- tedunangst 4y agoIt was unclear to me who invited who were. Who picked the restaurant? The rich guy? Why would he invite somebody he doesn't even know to dinner?
- rco8786 4y agoI hope that one day you have the opportunity to go out to eat with people you’ve only recently met.
- rco8786 4y agoThey ordered for the table. If you order me oysters, you’re paying for them.
- tedunangst 4y agoSo tell the waiter? What's the problem?
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- ZephyrBlu 4y agoI don't understand why rich people don't pick up the tab (Or at least be willing to) if they invite people out. It costs next to nothing and buys a lot of good will.
- rco8786 4y agoPretty reasonable chance this dude wasn’t as rich as you, or OP, thinks. Having a million dollars doesn’t mean you just buy everyone meals around you all the time. And if you do, then people just come to expect it and will even seek you out just for the free shit. Crap move to order oysters for the table and then expect people to split it though.
- ZephyrBlu 4y agoYou don't have to be that rich to comfortably pick up the tab at a restaurant. I do it pretty often with friends and I'm not rich. > Having a million dollars doesn’t mean you just buy everyone meals around you all the time I specifically said when they invite people out, not "buy everyone meals around you all the time". I think you're reading into this too much.
- rco8786 4y agoSorry you said “if they invite people out”. And I took that at face value. If I invite people I know to dinner that doesn’t mean I’m paying.
- zamfi 4y agoThis guy's actions are just not particularly defensible. He ordered not just oysters, but the whole meal by the sounds of it, with people he had just met and whose financial situation he was (presumably) unaware of. Expecting a split check is not reasonable. Either he came from such wealth that he didn't realize people ever consider the cost of an evening out--not a particularly satisfying rationale--or he was just clueless.
- analog31 4y agoEspecially since the meal is a write-off.
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- redanddead 4y agoYou're a really good friend. Rich guy should've picked up the tab.