My coworkers have started charging cancellation fees for our informal lunch plans.
By @fayeish · Work
We have a group that gets lunch together maybe twice a month. Last week, someone floated the idea of 'cancellation fees' for backing out less than 24 hours in advance, and now they're actually enforcing it.
The full story
I work in a pretty standard office environment, and a few of us on my floor have an informal 'lunch club.' It’s nothing serious, just a rotating group of 5-6 people who try to get out of the office for a real lunch every couple of weeks. There's a group chat where we coordinate. Last week, one person in the group—who is, to be fair, a project manager and lives by spreadsheets—suggested we implement a cancellation fee. He argued that when people back out at the last minute, it can mess up reservations or just the 'group dynamic.' He proposed a $10 fee, payable via Venmo to whoever organized that week's lunch, for anyone who cancels within 24 hours of the reservation. I thought it was a joke, a bit of his typical dry, over-organized humor. But then today, I had to back out of a lunch planned for tomorrow because a last-minute meeting was put on my calendar. I messaged the chat, and the organizer replied, 'No problem, just send me the $10 when you have a chance.' They were serious. Now I'm sitting here wondering if I have to pay my coworker ten dollars for the privilege of not eating tacos with him.
How people voted
- Totally Cooked — 26% (33 votes)
- It’s Complicated — 40% (51 votes)
- You’re Fine — 34% (43 votes)
Readers are split: “It’s Complicated” leads with 40% — 127 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@peytonish — My fantasy league has a punishment for last place that's less formal than this.
@vinceliterally — That's not a lunch club, it's a mandatory meeting with a cover charge.
@hanky — i love the slow corporate decay of all human interaction.
@sashayy — A man's word is his bond, and that includes lunch reservations.
@kiraagain — soft.
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