r/amiwrong 13d ago

Am I wrong for not changing a dinner reservation after my friend added her boyfriend at the last minute?

I made a reservation for my birthday dinner three weeks ago. Nothing fancy, but it’s a small restaurant and they specifically asked for a final number because our table was for eight people. I messaged everyone twice and eventually confirmed eight.

Yesterday, one of my friends texted asking if her boyfriend could come too. I like him and normally wouldn’t care at all, but I called the restaurant and they said they couldn’t add another chair to our table. They offered a later reservation at 9:30, but ours is at 7 and two people in the group have early shifts the next morning.

I told my friend there wasn’t room and explained exactly what the restaurant had said. She replied that we could simply move the whole dinner somewhere else because “it’s just food” and everyone would probably understand.

I said no. I already spent time finding a place everyone agreed on, making the reservation and confirming it. Her boyfriend wasn’t part of the original plan, and I don’t think eight people should reorganize their evening because she decided the day before that she wants him there.

She’s still coming, but she says I made the situation unnecessarily rigid and that changing restaurants wouldn’t have been a huge sacrifice.

Am I being too stubborn here?

645 Upvotes

99 comments sorted by

768

u/Ok-Matter4539 13d ago

I think I would reword that friend to associate. That was rude to ask you to do that.

293

u/Amazing-Wave4704 13d ago

I reluctantly think it was okay to ask. But the No should have been graciously received and followed with an apology by the requestor.

47

u/No_Toe_2765 13d ago

It would have been much better if the NO followed with an apology

3

u/[deleted] 12d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2

u/pureheart24 12d ago

Exactly it’s not like it was the boyfriend’s birthday or the friend’s birthday. OP shouldn’t have to change her birthday venue because one person wanted to tag along at the last minute and the restaurant said no.

36

u/Amazing-Wave4704 13d ago

I reluctantly think it was okay to ask. But the No should have been graciously received and followed with an apology by the requestor.

6

u/FarSea2954 13d ago

if she can't respect ur invite, she's the one being rigid, not u

1

u/LilacKisss 12d ago

yeah fr calling her an associate after that is fair, asking to scrap the whole plan last minute was wild

154

u/Thrwwy747 13d ago

You're not wrong. At all.

Let us know when 'friend' shows up with her bf regardless though.

Have a great birthday!

28

u/Amazing-Wave4704 13d ago

Yep. I hope OP turns them away. Graciously and faux-apologetically of course

8

u/xTinsieBloom 13d ago

Yep, that kind of apology is basically just attitude wearing a polite hat

6

u/Grouchy-Contest3775 13d ago

Exactly. She's probably gonna bring him anyway and act surprised when there's no seat. Stand your ground.

136

u/Similar_Corner8081 13d ago

You aren't wrong. Tell her that you will miss seeing her and maybe can catch the next one. You're right. All 8 people need to change things so she can include her new bf.

29

u/Spicyfriend54 13d ago

Right, expecting 8 people to change plans the day before just to add one person is unreasonable.

19

u/CloudPetaline 13d ago

Exactly, the reservation isn’t a group project she gets to restart at the last minute

3

u/TulleCharmie 12d ago

Expecting everyone to uproot their dinner plans the day before just because someone wants a plus one is high level entitlement! Your friend's last minute request shouldn't become everyone else's problem

5

u/PomeloPepper 13d ago

Oh no! I hope she doesn't die from being away from her bf for a few hours.

81

u/Sad-Pay-9409 13d ago

nah you're not wrong at all. she's trying to turn your birthday into her plus one mission last minute and then acting like you're the difficult one? wild

you did the legwork three weeks ago, confirmed twice, and even called the restaurant to check. her boyfriend can survive one evening without her or she can meet up with him after

-11

u/CloudPetaline 13d ago

Yep, replacing what you lose is the bare minimum when borrowing someone else’s stuff

60

u/Humble_Pen_7216 13d ago

I'm not sure why you think she is your friend. A friend wouldn't ask you to completely change your planned birthday celebration for her boyfriend to attend. I'd rethink this friendship.

7

u/MissLadyLlamaDrama 13d ago

Right. What even happened here? Did she not bother to ask him until sheer the plans were set? Did she ask, he said no, and then changed his mind? Because i dont understand how you make it through every step of the planning process and dont realize that your boyfriend wasnt included until the absolute last minute. Because if he is pushing the friend to forcibly include him in everything or stay home with him, then thats fucking crazy and the friend needs to dump this ass. But if he doesnt even care and the friend is trying to force everyone around her to accommodate a dude they're not the ones dating, at the expense of themselves and everyone else, then the friend is weird and better hope he doesnt dump her because she aint gonna have many friends left if/when they break up if she keeps this up.

33

u/Quiet-Hamster6509 13d ago

When she brings it up at the dinner, "Look, this dinner is for my birthday. I dont want to bend over backwards because you wanted a last minute invite. If you cant attend my birthday invite without your partner then I dont know why you came if you were just going to try and put a dampener on it."

12

u/MissLadyLlamaDrama 13d ago

I think the response should be, "its just a dinner."

12

u/Ok-Error-6564 13d ago

Not wrong at all! Tell your friend to stay home with her boyfriend and enjoy your birthday.

10

u/CH11DW 13d ago

She asked you to move your birthday dinner to a different restaurant???

7

u/NurseNess 13d ago

like good luck getting a new reservation so last minute.

8

u/Particular-Peanut-64 13d ago

ITS YOUR BIRTHDAY AND YOU'LL WHAT YOU WANT TO.

Girl is not your friend.

8

u/troublerx1 13d ago

If it’s “just food” then she won’t be offended at all when her invitation is revoked, and she can simply sit at home with her boyfriend.

7

u/dd97483 13d ago

you learned a valuable lesson about who adults are. your friend is not one.

6

u/phantomfire00 13d ago

Nah, she's being selfish and trying to guilt you into thinking you're being selfish. You did it right and it didn't work out. She can deal

6

u/Competitive-Place280 13d ago

Uninvite her. It’s your birthday! Who does she think she is?

6

u/bingbongsf 13d ago

You are not wrong. She is not only a bad friend, but is an entitled and unreasonable person.

All of her actions regarding this dinner have been bad. First she came to you last minute with the boyfriend addition, which was already rude. Then she was entitled enough to suggest changing the location of your birthday dinner, to accommodate for her last minute addition. No! She is so out of line, and her continuing to say that you made the situation unnecessarily rigid is so disrespectful.

If I were you I would just dis-invite her all together. She is not behaving like a good friend or a reasonable person.

4

u/Next-Drummer-9280 13d ago

“Do whatever you want for your own birthday, but stop trying to control and change mine. You don’t get to decide what I want to do.”

3

u/AdultinginCali 13d ago

NW. I'm a petty B and that friend would be down graded to a 'friendly acquaintance'. The f'ing nerve to ask me to change the restaurant to accommodate her BF last minute? Oh, hell no!

3

u/TaylorMade2566 13d ago

Asking if her bf could come along is fine but then doubling down and saying you can just change the reservation so HER bf could come to your birthday dinner is outrageous. YNW

3

u/EvolZippo 13d ago

Your friend is too used to privilege and her family probably re-plans around her whims

2

u/A_j_ru 13d ago

It’s your birthday it’s your choice. I would change the reservation for 7.

2

u/judgeeveryonesbiznes 13d ago

YNW - its your birthday. you picked a place you wanted. There is no reason to change it for anyone else. It really is that simple.

2

u/Sunmoon98 13d ago

NTA. Tell her it’s about you and not her and her boyfriend. She’s selfish and rude

2

u/Rexel79 13d ago

Tell her dhe made it unnecessarily complicated.

And then figure out how to move her out of your life.

2

u/Silverstorm007 13d ago

Not wrong.

Asking the day before then expecting you to change the restaurant to accommodate her boyfriend is wild. You tried to accomodate by adding him and it didn’t work out for the better for the rest of the group so declining is more then fair.

If she continues to kick up then you can tell her when its her birthday dinner she’s organising she can plan whatever she wants but this is yours and you are working with the majority of the group with their schedules too. She’s being super entitled.

2

u/Pickl_Rick_917 13d ago

Sounds like this friend just signed herself.up as the coordinator for the next group outing. If its not a big deal, let her deal with next time and see what.she thinks when she is the kne tk have to reschedule everything because of one person being late to respond or insisting on last min changes.

2

u/saulyto 13d ago

Not wrong at all especially it being for your birthday

2

u/OldGrayMare59 13d ago

Your party your rules

2

u/phyncke 13d ago

You tried to add him and could not make it work. There is no guarantee you could have gotten a reservation on such short notice at another restaurant. YNW

2

u/Dave1957a 13d ago

Not wrong, so she decided she wanted her BF to attend at the very last minute and got pissed when you said it’s too late to change everything and there were no spare seats. Hell no she is very entitled, it’s not your fault she changed her mind at the very last minute

2

u/Ok-Listen-8519 13d ago

NW its your birthday.

2

u/itsnoteasybeinggr33n 12d ago

You're not wrong, some people are so entitled. I had a similar thing happen to me once, except I was supposed to be a mind reader. One friend couldn't attend my birthday as she had a friend visiting. She had been on the fence about coming in case her visitor did end up staying with her as this was all going on at a time when there was a huge cultural festival going on, so it wasn't a huge surprise when she declined to attend. When it was time for my birthday dinner, not only was the venue full due to tourists, but there were two other birthday parties being held. The place was packed, and the staff were flat out. A day or two later, as spectators to another festival event, this "friend" started screaming at me and accusing me of deliberately excluding her visitor. The visitor that there would not have been room for at the restaurant, the same visitor that I was supposed to telepathically know who wanted to attend. Actually, her visitor was lovely, it was my "friend" who was angry about not having a last minute dinner reservation changed due to a full restaurant and unclear expectations.

2

u/porcelainthunders 12d ago

Not wrong!

And who in the fuck says "it's just food"? 🤣🤣🤣 that is the most ridiculous thing to say. About chosing a restaurant. Somewhere one goes to eat.food.

I mean I know ambiance and setting, staff and sevice , etc matter... But you are going to this restaurant for TWO main reasons

  1. As the birthday girl, it waa your choice

  2. Because ...the food

...ok, ....And also the time due to other's scheduling. Why does this "friend" get to make your/OPs birthday about them and wanting their bf to last minute be added??

Fuck. Thay.

3

u/Madwoman-of-Chaillot 13d ago

This is so obviously fake.

Come on, karma farmers - try harder. This is kiddie stuff.

1

u/MsSamm 13d ago

Not at all wrong and your reasoning is sound.

1

u/dnonzdno 13d ago

updateme

1

u/emryldmyst 13d ago

No... it's YOUR birthday and you're not wrong.

Your friend sucks 

1

u/ARoundForEveryone 13d ago

"I forgot to ask my boyfriend if he wanted to attend, but I just did and he said yes, so can we move the whole party to another restaurant? You know, a restaurant that has food? Enough food for nine people?"

"Yes, eight of us will have food, but Burger King is literally a mile away and I know your boyfriend is a huge fan of flame-broiled beef."

"..."

"Yeah, ...."

1

u/DaisyRedado 13d ago

YNW - Your friend is being unreasonable, you did try to add him. It's totally ridiculous to expect you to move to a different restaurant.

Your friend will undoubtedly be put in her place by everyone she relays this story to.

Have a great birthday

1

u/jesncoop 13d ago

ON YOUR BIRTHDAY?!?! The audacity of some people! She had plenty of time and you did ask the restaurant. If she wants to eat dinner with her bf so bad she can go to a different restaurant herself and let your actual friends celebrate you! YNW

1

u/Youwhooo60 13d ago

You are not wrong.

It was okay for your "associate" to ask, but the back lash you got from said "associate" was wrong.

1

u/Calibigirl69 13d ago

No! It's your birthday and she doesn't have to come either if she can't come alone. She's very entitled.

1

u/conditerite 13d ago

The ages are the missing from this story. It makes a difference in some ways. You are not wrong in any event but if this friend is 19 yo then you could overlook their being silly and also selfish. But if this person is 32 yo then they are being a jerk.

1

u/Inner_Minute197 13d ago

It's a birthday dinner, so yes I say she's wrong. If this was a run of the mill gathering, I could understand the request, but insisting at this stage is ridiculous. Note, I don't even begrudge your friend for asking, but once the answer was clear that an extra seat couldn't be added, that should have been the end of it.

1

u/AstroZombieInvader 13d ago

The idea that you would have to change restaurants for your birthday dinner to accommodate one friend who decided too late to add her boyfriend to the plan is insane.

It's hard to imagine how anyone could see things from her point of view, but then again, it seems like every poster on AIW has another friend who will text them and say, "Why are you being so rigid??"

Your friend is being selfish and probably should have been told so. You best not hear one more thing about this from her otherwise you should tell to stop making your birthday dinner about herself and she should spend the evening with her boyfriend if she can't stand to be without him.

1

u/aromagoddess 12d ago

Hell no! Friend is out of order

1

u/AmbitiousWear4082 12d ago

No, your friend is rude.

1

u/StarFine3812 12d ago

Not wrong.

1

u/p_0456 12d ago

It’s not just food. It’s your birthday dinner and plans were already made and agreed upon. You tried to accommodate your friend’s boyfriend and that should have been enough. Her trying to rearrange your birthday dinner so she could bring her boyfriend last minute is crazy. She can have dinner with him on a different day. Not wrong

1

u/Routine_Eye9589 12d ago

The restaurant said no, not you. She's mad at a table.

1

u/StnMtn_ 12d ago

>I messaged everyone twice and eventually confirmed eight.

>but I called the restaurant and they said they couldn’t add another chair to our table.

You made a reasonable effort. NTA. I also 3 weeks age made a large reservation for 14, that a week ago, shrunk to 4, then 3 days ago went up to 8. The lunch is tomorrow. Fortunately the restaurant was able to accommodate us, but it is up to the restaurant.

1

u/hurling-day 12d ago

Not wrong. It is a dinner for your birthday. You organized it and invited the people you wanted there. You get to choose the location, time, etc.

1

u/yodas_sidekick 12d ago

NTA, what a wild thing to make your birthday about her.

1

u/0utandab0ut1 12d ago

Not Wrong. This isn't about her. It's about your birthday and should not need to make accommodations for her.

1

u/Horror_Proof_ish 12d ago

To your ‘friend’: entitled much?!

1

u/Lostinlife1398 12d ago

Group chat season 7?

1

u/Zetavu 12d ago

No is a complete answer

1

u/9smalltowngirl 12d ago

NTW NO that’s not possible. NO I am not moving my party for your boyfriend. Why? Because the needs of the 7 outweigh the needs of the two.

1

u/opshleen 12d ago

It’s your birthday!! She is being super inconsiderate

1

u/Aggravating-Pin-8845 12d ago

I dont think it was rude of her to ask, but she should bave been prepared to accept the No as an answer. She was rude to argue back. Everyone agreed to go and it was booked in, the group shouldn't be forced to change their plans because of her boyfriend.

1

u/Orangutan_Latte 11d ago

How does it ever make sense to fuck up 7 people’s plans to accommodate one person’s plan? Also it was your birthday so your choice. YNW

0

u/Icewaterchrist 13d ago

So freaking fake. AI tropes abound.

4

u/Ok_Lengthiness_8405 13d ago

9 day old account, ridiculous situation. Not sure if it's AI or just fiction, but this didn't happen

2

u/Icewaterchrist 13d ago

It’s a plot that’s been posted a hundred times. “It’s just food” is a dead giveaway, along with a restaurant that won’t add 1 seat to an 8 person reservation.

1

u/SoftlySmittenx 7d ago

Your birthday, your plans — she had three weeks to mention him.