The Sunday News
Peter Matika, Senior Life Reporter
HAVE you realised how awkward it gets when friends decide to go out to have a meal or drinks?
Eating out is always a blissful experience but it gets complicated when someone asks for the bill.
So who then should foot the bill when dining out? Should whoever initiates the outing pay?
This was an interesting topic, which was posed on a South African online magazine and channel, which raised the ire of Zimbabweans as well.
702 radio host Redi Thlabi a fortnight ago invited listeners to share their interesting stories on social etiquette.
“I live in Cape Town and I often come to Johannesburg to do work. I have friends who want to meet for drinks or a meal and when the bill comes they look the other way, especially women, it’s tiring,” said Solly, a caller from Midrand.
“How can you invite someone and expect them to foot the bill? That’s not an invite,” said Dario, a caller from Edenvale.
“What I do when I invite my friends, I become open. I tell them the budget is R200 and when they go overboard they pay,” Raisibe, a caller from Pretoria said.
With South Africans expressing such sentiments about the scenario, Zimbabweans, men in particular, decided to broaden the topic, asking why women bring “extra baggage” to a date.
“The question is why it is that when you invite a lady to a date, she decides to bring her friends along? It’s a single invite and not an open invite, I have a budget,” said Thabani Sibanda.
Oddly enough that is a reality and it is a phenomenon that has perplexed even some of the wealthiest of men.
Some went on to tell Sunday Life that women coming in their numbers was a sign that the one invited for the date was not sure of themselves.
“These women behave oddly. I mean I invite one person to a date, basing on a budget and three people show up? I’m not Donald Trump who can afford to pay a bill for the whole nation,” said Tafadzwa Murefu.
However, women had a quaky response to the question.
Hilda Dube said: “If I know you and I don’t like you I will bring a friend because I don’t want to be caught up in an awkward situation with you, where I have to give you a kiss goodnight or maybe even go the whole nine yards.”
Another said it was a typical way of putting one in the friend zone.
“Sometimes a girl just wants to have fun and not have a relationship, so my bringing a friend or friends signals that I’m not interested in you and perhaps you can choose from one of my friends,” said one Audrey.
Another lady said bringing a friend was to get a second opinion on the person inviting her to a date.
“She’s probably bringing her friend to get a second opinion of how hot and cool you are. Also, maybe she doesn’t know you think it’s a date? Maybe to her it’s a more casual thing. It’s in the code of girlhood.”
Another socialite who rather preferred her name off the paper said it was all about confidence.
“Most of these girls are young and insecure. They don’t know how to be independent, so they need their friends so that they feel comfortable and don’t have to get over any initial awkward moments or anything.”
What’s your take on the subject?
