Last night I went out for a meal at a new Indian restaurant with some of my colleagues. It was for someone's leaving do. It was the first time I'd ever been to this restaurant. There were 15 of us in total.
A few other people and I just had a soft drink. Some of the men just had a pint of beer or two. However, a few other people (including the organiser) down the other end of the table had ordered a couple of bottles of wine to share between themselves.
All I had was a main course and half a pint of orange juice. I assumed that we would all be paying for ourselves, as that's what usually happens when I go out for a meal with a group. So I was surprised when they said we have to split the bill equally, regardless of what we'd had. The bill came to £302 for the 15 of us which worked out to £21 each.
However, today I worked out that I actually had only had £14.45 worth of food and drink (or £16.50 including a tip of just over £2, which is what I'd usually tip).
Even though only about 3 or 4 people actually drank the wine, they expected all of us to subsidise it and they didn't offer to pay extra for it. I remember thinking the bill seemed very expensive, and even one of the men sitting opposite me said it's one of the most expensive curry nights he'd ever been to!
I was shocked that my colleagues would do such a thing, especially as the organiser of the meal is someone I've always got on well with. I was one of the youngest and most junior employees there, so I don't see why I should have to subsidise my senior colleagues. I wouldn't have minded so much if this was a meal out with my friends, but there were quite a few people there who I'd never even met before. (They are probably based in other parts of the country).
The few people who had the wine should have paid for it themselves, otherwise they're effectively stealing from the rest of us. Some of the wine drinkers are people who sit on my row of desks at work and are in my team, so I thought I could trust them. It makes me feel hurt and it also makes me feel like such a mug. I wish I could stand up for myself more. I feel like people always take advantage of me. It also puts me off going out with my colleagues any more.
What does everyone think about this? What can I do to avoid things like this happening in future?