We need to normalize charging your coworkers a cancellation fee for bailing on lunch plans.
By @piakinda · Work
My work friends and I have a standing lunch thing, but one person consistently bails 10 minutes before we're supposed to leave, after we've all planned our day around it. I'm instituting a $5 fee, payable via Venmo, for anyone who cancels less than an hour before the reservation.
The full story
This sounds insane but hear me out. There are four of us at my job who are pretty close and we try to do a group lunch once a week. It's the one thing I look forward to, a break from the cubicle farm and the stale office coffee. The problem is, one person in our group chat has become the flakiest person alive. For the last two months, she has bailed on our lunch plans at the absolute last minute. I'm not talking about an hour's notice. I mean we'll have a reservation at 12:30, the group chat is confirming at 12:15, and at 12:20 she'll send the "omg so swamped, can't make it!" text. Every. Single. Time. It's infuriating because it's not like we're just walking to the cafeteria. We pick actual restaurants, sometimes a short drive away, and make reservations. Her bailing messes up the reservation number, the carpool plan, and honestly just kills the vibe. We all have to shift our work schedules around to block off the 90 minutes for this. So last week, I announced a new policy in the chat. I said, 'Effective immediately, there's a $5 cancellation fee for bailing on lunch less than an hour before we're supposed to meet. All proceeds will go toward the appetizer fund for the next lunch.' I was mostly joking but also dead serious. She immediately replied 'lol you're not serious' and I said '100% serious, Venmo requests will be sent.' Now the group is divided. My other friend thinks it's a hilarious and necessary evil. The fourth person thinks I'm creating a toxic work environment and being petty and transactional with our friendship. The flaky friend is now genuinely upset and says she feels targeted and that sometimes 'work just gets busy.' I think if it's happening every week, it's not a surprise, it's a pattern of disrespect for everyone else's time. We're not in high school, we're professionals. Is a $5 fee really that crazy of an idea to get someone to respect a plan?
How people voted
- OP Is Right — 24% (27 votes)
- Both Messy — 46% (52 votes)
- OP Is Wrong — 31% (35 votes)
Readers say “Both Messy” (46%) — 114 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@tbhmaybe — Can't wait for the follow up post about the HR meeting.
@oookay — Have you tried just not inviting her anymore?
@zanelol — My fantasy football league does this for last place and it literally saved our league. The punishment works.
@karawelp — That friend is showing some serious demand avoidance and you're just making it worse.
@danaforsure — I feel like if she's always 'swamped' maybe she just doesn't want to go and this is her way of hinting.
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