Miserly friends

mum2one

We've encountered few misers over the yrs...

Yrs ago, a group of girls worked together, (18 to 25), usually I was a pint drinker, the friends were on half pints, if it was there round i would just have a half, one ngt we were out, (3 of us) this girl choosing malibu and pineapple - her rounds half a lager. I noticed it over a few times, - the next time, I got her half a lager - she says on if you had asked I wanted a malibu and pineapple - the barman was so funny, (he was my then bf) pipes up, you drank lager when you came to the bar for your round, so I poured one out for you!!

--
another miser - a friend of my mums, - we went on a coach holiday with her, 5 days in Scotland
= Drink time she always disappeared to the loo or had to nip to the room but ordered her drink en route....
Breakfast she would take food off plates (not just her own) to make a roll for her lunch
take teabags and coffee from her room to use in cafes when out
take a souveneir from service stations (coffee pot, cultery, even plates)
she walked up and down one street to save 1p on a notebook

(she was very well off)

----
An ex-friend, - she was a single mum like me, we use to have days out with the kids, get a family ticket and split the cost. If the event was a prebook deal - she forget to pay the half share, the 1st time thought ok, she's forgot not going to ask, - by the 3rd time - was cottoning on - but the best was - she'd taken the child to the loo, we were waiting outside, the kid says mum, did you give xx the money for the ticket -
mum - no she paid in advance so doing her a favour by going with her, as still cost her the same....

after that stopped the "prepay events"

Then summertime - was going horse racing with my dad, kids being kids DD was exicted and told them we were going - they asked can we come with you.

Yes - we said we're taking picnic - cheaper, - them no probs bring stuff for kids, (1 pck sweets between them)....

Got there - me and dad front of car, her and 2 kids back, - the guy on gate glanced thought she was u16 so charged for me dad, instead of saying pay 1/3rd - it was got in under 16 wow....

Picnic time - her child devoured all the best juice (capri sun (12 containers, posher than the cup drinks), all the sweets, cake bars - then complained he felt sick all the way home....

We were going racing again - it had been discussed at event, i'll come with you, let me bring some stuff picnic - said I'll get food, just put £5 each in - cover the day....
Lesson learnt - gave the kids 2 capri sun each, made up bottle juice, made the kids food into their own picnic boxes...

They never came racing with us after that....

---
To top it, we'd been out for the day, (At the time DD didn't know many kids so it was a case of through gritted teeth)... we'd been out the kid been a brat, all becuase the purse of me had learnt its lesson....

Dropped them off home, - got home myself, - looked in boot of car - missing one of my crutches, searched the car high and low (not that it could hide anywhere)... no sign of it...

Rang the venue (feeling an idiot asking), yes they'd found the crutch it had been pushed into a hedge - the last person in the boot of the car - the friend....

This person I had done a lot for her, stopped 2 companies starting court action against her, dealt with broadband (getting cancelled) getting better deal, got her computer fixed (cheap rate ), took her to see cars

Then once everything was sorted in the house that she needed sorted, she had a car - turned round and said I was o longer useful to her needs.....

beggers belief....

xx

[Deleted User]

Only once have I experienced at a works do, the junior who came from an exceedingly well off family and constantly spoke of spending all his salary on payday weekend, quietly sitting at the end of the table necking back top shelf shots all night when everyone else was just having house wine or not drinking, then the minute everyone's plates were cleared, yelling down the table, "split the bill yeah?" only for everyone else to agree to it as they hadn't clocked what he'd been doing... Back then I paid up but there's no way on Earth I'd do that now!

My best story though is a couple of old school friends who don't tip here in the UK not looking into things before going to the US with a big group. Subsequently, they had no idea how things worked over there and the vastly different tipping culture etc. On showing up at a busy restaurant in the main tourist area, the host said that as there were 12 of them, service charge of x% would be automatically applied so no need to add anything to the bill. They asked if they could split into 2 tables of 6 to avoid this service charge and the host went "none of us are here for this, get out" and threw them all out. :rotfl:They left outraged and spent the rest of the trip leaving nil and stiffing poor American servers out of cash blissfully unaware :eek:

Surbybird

Not a miserly friend but a guy I went on a date with.

We met for dinner and I always insist on paying my share of the bill on a date. We had a nice meal and when the bill came, he worked out exactly what my share would be, including my share of the tip. It came to just over £22.00 so I put down £25.00 as I didn't have any change.

He then proceeded to take the cash I'd put on the table and pay the entire bill by card. I didn't say anything because it wasn't important as I'd paid my share.

But... I then noticed that he was using a company credit card to pay and I was quite put out when he asked the waiter for a VAT receipt so that he could claim the cost of the meal on his expenses! So he ended up in profit, as he didn't pay his share AND he took my cash!

Needless to say that when he asked if I fancied a second date, I declined.

K

zarf2007

Fluzz wrote: »

My best story though is a couple of old school friends who don't tip here in the UK not looking into things before going to the US with a big group. Subsequently, they had no idea how things worked over there and the vastly different tipping culture etc. On showing up at a busy restaurant in the main tourist area, the host said that as there were 12 of them, service charge of x% would be automatically applied so no need to add anything to the bill. They asked if they could split into 2 tables of 6 to avoid this service charge and the host went "none of us are here for this, get out" and threw them all out. :rotfl:They left outraged and spent the rest of the trip leaving nil and stiffing poor American servers out of cash blissfully unaware :eek:

While I do tip the going rate when in the US it does annoy me that they have a culture whereby the customer is expected to subsidise workers salaries through tips. It really is seen as a God given right over there to be tipped and I have known friends who were chased down the street by a waiter as they deemed the tip to be insufficient (this was a posh restaurant in NYC). Maybe if the government insisted on a realistic living wage for the service industry this would be avoided.

Having to tip hotel porters, car valet people, restaurants and the kitchen sink for at times crap service does become annoying and I really hope this automatic tipping culture doesn't catch on here. I think if service has been exceptional then a tip is fine, but tipping because it is expected it is wrong.

Gavin83

zarf2007 wrote: »

While I do tip the going rate when in the US it does annoy me that they have a culture whereby the customer is expected to subsidise workers salaries through tips. It really is seen as a God given right over there to be tipped and I have known friends who were chased down the street by a waiter as they deemed the tip to be insufficient (this was a posh restaurant in NYC). Maybe if the government insisted on a realistic living wage for the service industry this would be avoided.

Having to tip hotel porters, car valet people, restaurants and the kitchen sink for at times crap service does become annoying and I really hope this automatic tipping culture doesn't catch on here. I think if service has been exceptional then a tip is fine, but tipping because it is expected it is wrong.

I didn't tip in a very posh restaurant in New York (it's one of the best restaurants in the world) because I found the service poor. I didn't get chased but had I have done I still wouldn't have tipped.

squirrelchops

When my friends and I eat out we just split the bill. One of us usually tries to put in more if we've had a glass if wine but we then all agree that the next time someone else usually has more. Basically we don't worry about the odd pound or 2.

I went on a holiday once where 3 of us were happy to split bill whereas 3 others worked it out to the exact drachma. Now we all ate and drank same so it was infuriating that we couldn't just split 6 ways.

jaylee3

Surbybird wrote: »

Not a miserly friend but a guy I went on a date with.

We met for dinner and I always insist on paying my share of the bill on a date. We had a nice meal and when the bill came, he worked out exactly what my share would be, including my share of the tip. It came to just over £22.00 so I put down £25.00 as I didn't have any change.

He then proceeded to take the cash I'd put on the table and pay the entire bill by card. I didn't say anything because it wasn't important as I'd paid my share.

But... I then noticed that he was using a company credit card to pay and I was quite put out when he asked the waiter for a VAT receipt so that he could claim the cost of the meal on his expenses! So he ended up in profit, as he didn't pay his share AND he took my cash!

Needless to say that when he asked if I fancied a second date, I declined.

K

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: That is SERIOUSLY bad! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

That would be a definite deal breaker for me. A majorly tight fisted bloke. Imagine what he'd be like long-term as a live-in boyfriend/partner/husband! Fancy taking the money off you when he was claiming it from work! Unbelievable!

zarf2007

janb5 wrote: »

Why are you boing so rude to the poster- totally unnecessary!

Then he should refrain from making stupid statements that are saying "it didn't happen to me so it couldn't happen".

jaylee3

Gavin83 wrote: »

I didn't tip in a very posh restaurant in New York (it's one of the best restaurants in the world) because I found the service poor. I didn't get chased but had I have done I still wouldn't have tipped.

janb5 wrote: »

Why are you being so rude to the poster- totally unnecessary!

zarf2007 wrote: »

Then he should refrain from making stupid statements that are saying "it didn't happen to me so it couldn't happen".

I have to agree with Jan. I can't see that Gavin said anything wrong at all. He was just telling a tale of when he went to a swanky restaurant and he wasn't chased down the road for a tip. He didn't say 'it didn't happen to me so it couldn't happen.' And he certainly didn't make any 'stupid statements.'

You must be getting him muddled with someone else.

Surbybird

jaylee3 wrote: »

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: That is SERIOUSLY bad! :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

That would be a definite deal breaker for me. A majorly tight fisted bloke. Imagine what he'd be like long-term as a live-in boyfriend/partner/husband! Fancy taking the money off you when he was claiming it from work! Unbelievable!

He was genuinely surprised when I declined a second date and texted me afterwards asking if he'd done something to offend me. He really didn't have a clue.

K