He said it was impossible and offered the money if I did it so I did it. Now he’s claiming it was “just a joke” and won’t pay up. A bet is a bet right?
This happened at our work lunch yesterday and it’s turned into a whole office drama. We were at this mexican place and I ordered like 6 tacos which apparently seemed like a lot to my coworker grant. He started going on about how nobody could eat 20 tacos and it was physically impossible. I said I could probably do it if I really tried and he laughed and said “I’ll give you $200 if you can actually eat 20 tacos right now” I asked if he was serious and he said absolutely. So I ordered 14 more tacos. Took me about 45 minutes and I felt like I was going to die but I ate every single one. The whole table was watching and cheering me on. Grant seemed impressed but also kind of horrified at what was happening.
When I finished and asked for my $200 and suddenly it was all “dude I was obviously joking” and “you can’t seriously expect me to pay for that” But he made a clear bet in front of witnesses after I specifically asked if he was serious. He encouraged me to keep going when I was struggling around taco 15.
Now half the office thinks I’m being ridiculous for expecting payment for a “joke bet” while the other half thinks grant should honor what he said. I’m out the cost of 14 extra tacos plus I felt sick for the rest of the day.
AITA for holding him to a bet he’s now claiming was just joking around?
Comments
Should’ve shook on it.
I vote NTA…
He could have stopped you at anytime, and you even asked if he was serious. Obviously if you order 14 more you didn’t take it as a joke.
He should at least pay for your tacos if not the $200!
Nope, homeboy needs to pay up. I would never let this go. Stalk him until he pays up. You have witnesses. A deal is a deal. Shame him for it, Bully him for it, tell everyone, they’ll think he’s an ass. You deserve the money.
Edit to add: totally forgot to say, but damn. Props for eating 20 tacos! That is an amazing achievement lol. Bet you can’t see the sight of tacos for a while now.
It was a bet, but it’s one of those “Does it raise to the bar where people should be held accountable,” type of bets. No, it sounds like a joke from the very beginning. He’s more of the asshole here, but this is really stupid.
I vote you’re both TA. He should honour the bet, you shouldn’t be taking bets at lunch. Now you’ve both caused a ruckus in the office.
He’s a welcher and a wimp
NTA because you even confirmed beforehand that he was serious. But, I also want to say E S H because this is such immature bullshit that I think y’all must be 15 years old. lol
someone owes you $200
NTA. No one likes a welcher
NTA but I don’t think it’s worth it to persuade further
NTA – my coworker said its impossible to tell the difference between coke and pepsi, so they did a randomized test with 20 glasses and if i had more than 90% right i won the bet and money – if not i had to pay the money. gg ez
NTA but I’d eat some fruit today
It stops being a joke when there’s a clear offer, acceptance, and you actually follow through. That’s like me saying “I’ll give you $50 to jump in the pool right now,” you do it, and then I say “oh, I was just kidding.” Nah, that’s not how that works.
Just order 200 dollars of pizza from his work phone.
Bet is a bet and he’s a welching fink.
send him a video of “beard meets food” that guy could eat 20 tacos in 15 minutes and then 20 more. then have some dessert.
NTA Grant is a punk bet welcher at least you know he’s a lying pos who is too be avoided at all costs just like the rest of the stains arguing in his favor.
> I asked if he was serious and he said absolutely
> “dude I was obviously joking”
Ah yes, the words of a man who wrote a check he couldn’t cash. Possibly literally.
Is small claims an option? 🤧
Shouldn’t make bets with coworkers. Just drop it and take this as a lesson. If in the future you go making bets, make a third party hold onto the cash from both of you.
I would at the least expect him to pay for those 14 extra tacos, assuming that’s less than the $200.
You asked if he was serious, so if it was a joke that was the time for him to clarify that. Not after the bet was made and won.
AI should pay since I made up this story .
For continuing to “demand “? Yes.
He is showing he is not a person of his word. We can always rely on others to do the right thing. Avoid him and basically give him the cold shoulder even if he was joking he should see what he did and pull out the 200 and give it to you. It’s only $200.
Every…single…time…you see this liar you say — “Where’s my $200?” — every single time.
When co-workers complain, just say, “Hey, you can pay his debt.”
See him arriving at work — and ask.
See him in the restroom — and ask.
See him at lunch — and ask.
See him working — and ask.
See him leaving for the day — and ask.
See him at a bar — and ask.
Every
Single
Time.
Guess there’s no other course of action than to steal his car.
NTA. All of those who witnessed it could chip in for the experience, but he clearly owes you $200. Anyone siding with him isn’t to be trusted in the future.
NTA. Play stupid games, lose $200.
He owes you $200.
NTA You aren’t getting that money, but your coworker has proven to multiple people his word doesn’t mean shit. And I’d tell people all the time about this as a funny story, then slide in that he never paid at the end. Subtle but effective
You clarified he was serious before hand it wasn’t a joke NTA collect your damn money
NTA
He is a massive asshole though. If he wasn’t planning to pay up, was his intention to make you suffer on purpose? Is he a bully? Does he like hurting colleagues in this way? Ask him these questions loudly in the office in the presence of others.
NTA. Remind him and everyone around him about it at every chance you have and never let it go until he pays up out of sheer frustration
Unfortunately I think you’re both going to lose a bit of credibility in the office with that stunt, but at least everybody will know he’s a man who doesn’t honor his word or promises.
You’re probably not seeing that money. But a bet is a bet, and only a low life would renege and break their word.
So I would treat him like the shifty con man he is going forwards.
You should’ve called him out on not being a man of his word.
Refer to him as tool bag from now on. Jk jk
It wasn’t a “joke bet” while he sat there and watched you eat 20 tacos, only when he lost the bet.
Lesson learned, lol make them show you their balance next time. That being said 20 tacos is bad ass. You could potentially rank at actual eating contests and get guaranteed pay. Could be a new hobby.
You are likely never getting that money back through social pressure.
BUT! You can find ways to make him pay up. Maybe next time you go out to eat, you run up the bill (not $200 but at least AN amount), and you get up to go to the restroom and leave him with the check. “Hey dude, you can get this check as you owed me $200 for the tacos, I didn’t hit the bathroom I just left”
A verbal contract is still a contract
He owes you $200 and has earned his “work nickname”, Welcher Boy.
As a gambling man, this sickens me. Double or nothing on 40 tacos. Someone get an escrow. Seriously though yeah NTA. He owes you 200, and I wouldn’t let it go. But you can give him ways out like hey buy me lunch 20 bucks 10 times until we are square. Or something like that. The issue might be he doesnt have 200 up front, but by no means let him off the hook.
Play stupid games win stupid prizes. 😛
NTA but you’ll probably never get that $200. Instead, also amongst coworkers and slightly too loud, say that you understand it might not be in his immediate budget to just drop $200 all at once, so he can just buy you lunch on any future outings. Be gentle, smile cheerfully and obliviously, make it seem like you’re doing him a favour. You can get that money from him a little at a time. Keep strict records and receipts, have him split the bill so he pays the exact remaining amount for the final lunch.
If he attempts to flip this in a tit for tat (“c’mon, I bought you lunch all those times”), smile widely and say it’s not in your budget. Nothing more to do with money around that shirker. And no more bets! He could’ve easily insisted that you pay him $200 if you lost.
“Im totally serious” “it was obviously a joke” i can see how people think you’re ridiculous/s
Grant should pay you, but I’m not sure how you enforce that. You should have demanded he show you the $200 right then and put it on the table, so when you were done, he didn’t “owe” you money. Because he was never going to pay you, and he doesn’t think he owes you anything. If you know them well enough, and you should since you went to lunch with them, ask the coworkers who think he should pay to say something to him once a day until he pays up. But in the end, I think you’re going to have to eat the $200 just like you ate all the tacos.
Should have puked on his desk.
NTA. He owes you the 200.
That said, I’d never behave like this in the workplace…
NTA. But entirely not worth pursuing.
He is not going to honor the bet and you will not get the money that was verbally agreed upon. Nobody wins in these situations where good faith is not shown.
Bro can hate having to pay you, but should own up.
Question is, does he literally not have $200?
How is it that “half the office thinks I’m being ridiculous for expecting payment” when he literally said in front of them that he was being serious about the bet? NTA but that doesn’t make sense.
I like the idea of this coming back around on him. Like, years from now.
NTA
But I had a similar incident.
A “friend” (acquaintance) of mine was building a “motorcycle” he has issues building the motor and couldn’t get something to align how it should.
We used to have a larger friend group and would spend time together in the garage building stuff.
I watched and helped sometimes and he got so frustrated he asked me to try. I said sure but what do I get if I make it work?
I’ll give you 100 in cash was his answer.
Well I made it work and asked for the cash he said no I took the thing apart and told him good luck.
His face was priceless, no we weren’t friends for long.
He wrote a check with his mouth.
You need to cash it.
He needs to pay you.
Let me tell you a story. The year was 1993. It was lunchtime. A girl had a banana pudding that was gross, and said she’d give me $5 if I ate it. It took me the entire lunchtime and then she never paid up.
In 1994 I wrote in her yearbook, “you owe me $5,” and several girls said it was wrong to sign that, but I was like, SHE OWES ME FIVE BUCKS!
Years have passed and I wonder if we’re ever going to be in a conference room together. If so, nothing will proceed until she makes this right.
If it was a joke, he should have stopped you when you ordered the other 14 tacos.
He owes you $200. He didn’t stop you from ordering the extra tacos and he never said he was joking. It became a joke when he realized HE wasn’t the one getting $200.
NTA but naive.
Don’t take a food eating bet. Good way to physically suffer.
Don’t take any bet without the money on the table, in someone’s trusted hands.
He stated ill pay you $200 if you eat 20 tacos right?
He bet that because he was positive you’d fail. So your call. Either keep on about the money, or place another bet.
If he eats 15 tacos (because he’s clearly a wuss) you’ll drop the bet. But he’s paying for the tacos.
“Are you serious? Absolutely!” NTA. Enough said. It isn’t a joke when someone says they are serious.
He’s an idiot. He also owes you $200.
No a bet is a bet
Ntah.. a bet is a bet period
So fuck that guy, go run his name in the mud.
your out the cost of 14 extra taco’s you paid for. take it as a lesson and move on. you can always make a big stink over it but it will fall on deaf ears from management.
Take a big fat shit on his desk every Tuesday if he ask who did it have everyone tell him it’s Taco Tuesday 💀
NTA he:
confirmed he was serious
let you order 14 more tacos without stopping you
encouraged you to keep eating when you struggled
This man 100% owes you $200 and I would not let this go until he pays up. If he was joking he should’ve clarified that when you went to order the extra tacos.
Ethically, he owes you. Technically, people are allowed to lie or otherwise just be crappy people.
Never make a bet, or gamble, with people you don’t trust. Don’t keep your eyes on a prize you haven’t verified.
LOL!
You are not the asshole but your asshole might be in knots.
Pay up Grant.
You are not the asshole but your asshole might be in knots.
Pay up Grant.
NTA
This is why the $200 is presented at the moment of the bet and held by a third party.
I don’t know if I’d push it but dude owes you $200
Get your money
Do what we do at my job take it to streets and who wins pays or doesn’t pay?
Good luck
You are 100% entitled to that money. Next time you know “okay put your money on the table, so and so will hold it”. If you want to not stir the pot at work I’d understand, but I’d at least say you gotta pay for my lunch then. I’ll be damned if I’m gonna pay extra for a bet you welched on.