A deal is a deal, whether it’s a serious agreement or a silly game. However, some people agree to things only to pout when they have to hold up their end of the bargain.
The redditor u/International_Set522 made a deal with his brother-in-law after taking the family out for dinner. Their agreement was based on whether or not his nephew—the BIL’s son—could finish his meal. The amount of food that was left resulted in the brother-in-law having to put his money where his mouth was and the redditor turning to the AITA community.
Bored Panda has reached out to the OP and he was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You will find his thoughts in the text below.
Some people are more keen on holding up their end of the bargain than others
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
This person refused to pay for his nephew’s meal after making a deal with the boy's father
Image credits: Kasumi Loffler (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
Image credits: International_Set522
Even though the OP’s brother-in-law didn’t seem happy about the situation, he kept his word
The OP wanted to treat his family to a nice dinner, but he didn’t think his nephew could finish a three-pound steak, which is why he suggested opting for a smaller option. He admitted to Bored Panda that he was somewhat annoyed that his sister didn’t tell her son to pick a reasonable meal. “It wasn't the price I cared about, it was the portion size. I took them to a nice restaurant, not an eating contest,” he said. However, his brother-in-law thought the OP simply didn’t want to pay for the pricey meal, which eventually led to the BIL paying for it himself, adhering to a deal they made.
Research shows that the majority of people tend to keep their word. It pointed out that promises encourage people to get into voluntary commitments about future behavior, which enables human cooperation. Promises have a strong binding effect on people’s behavior as they are expected to act a certain way, which leads to them typically keeping their word. However, according to the research, they don’t expect others to do it to the same extent.
Even though the OP’s brother-in-law didn’t seem to be too happy about the situation, he kept his word and paid for his son’s meal. Whether or not people like the promises they made, keeping them can have a positive effect on them.
Image credits: Karolina Grabowska (not the actual photo)
The OP refuses to pay for food that goes to waste, and unfortunately, tons of it does every year
Before ordering, the OP wasn’t sure if the family would take the leftovers home or the meal would end up being wasted. According to the Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations, roughly one-third of food that is produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, adding up to around 1.3 billion tons per year. The World Counts revealed that up to this point in 2023, over 560 million tons of food has already been wasted globally this year.
“My sister and I grew up poor. We never wasted food,” the OP told Bored Panda. “And we learned how to stretch a dollar for our food budget. The thing is I don't think they were trying for leftovers. I have no problem taking her and filling her fridge and pantry when I visit. I just think if you order a meal at a nice restaurant you should savor it and walk away satisfied but not waddling. Once again, this was a very nice restaurant. If I had taken them to Golden Corral or something where it was all you can eat, I would expect them to gorge but not put food on their plate that they weren't going to eat.
Even though food waste is a problem of grand proportions, there are small steps each person can take to try and scale it down. The European Food Information Council (EUFIC) pointed out that people can start by reducing food waste at home by planning their meals and properly storing their food, for instance. Moreover, familiarizing yourself with the differences between the ‘use by’ and ‘best before’ dates as well as ways to repurpose waste when possible can also help reach the goal.
Among other things, EUFIC suggested that avoiding serving too much can help minimize food waste as well. The OP was sure his nephew wouldn’t be able to finish the whole meal, which is why he proposed a deal to his father who believed otherwise (since, as the redditor later pointed out, he refuses to pay for food that goes to waste). Their agreement ended in the brother-in-law having to pay for the steak and the OP asking the AITA community if he was a jerk for making him do so.
Image credits: Foerster (not the actual photo)
The majority of redditors didn’t consider the OP a jerk, even though a few thought otherwise
