Dinner Shop With A Friend- Over Budget?

I have a friend who goes with me to my sports bar shops. They are simple, I can do them without her help in getting names or doing timings. I choose what we order and stay under reimbursement.

"I told myself to quit you; but I don't listen to drunks." -Chris Stapleton

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/07/2019 05:42AM by HonnyBrown.

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I am in the same position as Eileen and now have to invite friends if I want to do a nice meal shop that requires a guest.
It sounds to me like this friend you are talking about wants to make this a regular thing with you. There are times that you might want to treat someone to a nice meal and you don't mind paying the difference but this case you outline is different. This is not a one time dinner with your friend so it seems the rules need to be set. If your friend is offering to come with you on a regular basis you need to decide how much you are willing to spend over the reimbursement if anything and discuss this before hand. I have friends who understand I am working for their free meal and those who do not. I am going home to spend a few hours writing it up. They are going home to watch a movie on TV or whatever. We always complain about schedulers that claim "free meal" or "meal on us" when we are working. Friends also need to understand this if they are a regular companion and not just a this is a treat situation.
If your friend really wants to come with you regularly perhaps your friend will sign up and take you out some times.

I let my companion know beforehand what the budget is and what we must and cannot order. I am very strict about not going over the reimbursement, especially with restaurant shops since they pay so little anyway. If companion ignores me and orders lobster anyway, that person will never again be my companion at a restaurant "freebie."

I have been treating my friends to MS meals for so many years that a majority of them are well-trained now. One in particular is always problematic, though. For him, we have fallen into the pattern that for every MS meal I take him on, he owes me a lunch elsewhere. That way I don't mind going over budget with him.

Kind of an aside, but not really.... When I'm someone else's guest at a restaurant, I would NEVER even think of ordering an appetizer, alcoholic beverage, expensive entree, and dessert. I usually order one of the cheapest things on the menu or a moderately priced one and a soda or iced tea. And I always offer to pick up the tip. Unless I'm with someone who tells me, and means it, that I can "have anything I want." Even then I don't go all out. Or if I'm with my brother, who gets offended if I don't order something nice for myself!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

@ShopperFun99 wrote:

A neighbor whom I don't invite anymore never contributes anything. She won't even pay the bridge toll when I drive. And when we went over, she pretends she did not understand what I said about going over the reimbursement. She kept saying, "You get paid for this job, right?" I replied, No, the pay is the dinner. And there is a limit to the reimbursement. Anyway, I no longer invite her ever.

Sounds like a ***** from Hell. You were wise to give her the boot.

I've only ever gone with my boyfriend or my sister and Mom when they were alive and my sister mystery shopped, too, so she knew the deal. My problem was the opposite, Mom was not having it for me to pay and always insisted that she pay, knowing that I got the reimbursement. I would argue with her, but she reminded me that she was the Mother and she will do what she wants lol. I had to sneak non MS assignments in and tell the server to not take any money from here.

Shopping the South Jersey Shore

When I take someone - almost always a family member - I always talk things over with them about any limits and let them know and we see what we are gonna order ahead of time. This is one reason why I almost never take my nephew with me. When he comes I almost always go over - way over - so he almost never comes with me

I couldn't imagine taking a friend and not telling them it was a mystery shop. That is really risking a situation where they don't follow the guidelines. Lately I've been doing a lot of shopping for a boutique regional agency with a lot of unique rules so my guest friends are used to guidelines and reimbursements changing significantly from shop to shop. If I have a friend visiting from out of town or soneone has frequently cooked for me etc I don't worry about going a bit over reimbursement. The "regulars" all volunteer to put in any overage (but most are good about making sure there isn't any). I live in a liberal enclave and my friends generally shudder at the thought that they might be part of something that gets working-class servers in trouble. I've explained that the best way for them to help the bartenders/servers is if they ask for suggestions (again when encouraged/allowed by the guidelines) and several have become excellent at making product knowledge inquiries.

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Dinner Shop With A Friend- Over Budget?

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