Dating can be a right pain, especially on the bank balance - so one man took dating etiquette into his own hands, throwing out the rulebook, and demanding a refund after the woman he met refused a second date.
Lauren Crouch, from North London, is the 28 year-old blogger behind No Bad Dates Just Good Stories recently wrote about a date that went fairly weirdly. She met with a guy for coffee, because he wasn't drinking alcohol at the moment, which is fair enough, except that - even though all dates are subjective, and the art of love is deeply mysterious - it proceeded to be what sounded like a pretty crap date. She wrote:
'After 25 minutes of ‘normal’ conversation we have the following exchange:
"Him: “Have you had dinner yet?"
"Me: "No I came straight from work."
"Him: "What would you say if I offered to cook you dinner?"
"Me: "Ermmm…right now?
"Him: "I only ask because I’ve got an Ocado delivery coming tonight."
Me: "I’d have to say no. I couldn’t possibly go back to the home of someone I’ve literally just met, sorry."
"Him (talking over me): "lots of nice fresh vegetables and good fish."
"Him: "OK well I’d better go. Need to be home for the delivery."
"Me:…."
Oh anonymous-man-on-a-date-with-Lauren-Crouch, what a slightly bizarre way to leave a romantic encounter! It didn't float Lauren's boat, so when he texted her asking for a second date, she let him down gently and kindly, explaining that she wouldn't normally go to the house of someone she didn't know and that, sorry, but there wasn't a spark. And he didn't respond overly well:
Yeah, he totally hit her with his bank account number and sortcode for the £3.50 which is pretty stingy even for a man who doesn't have Ocado deliveries (way posher than Tesco Online). Afterwards, Lauren told* The Telegraph*: 'I always offer to pay anyway and women should always offer to pay. He said the date was a waste of money because he didn't get his own way. The point of going on a date is not to get your own way; I go on dates and spend money and buy them drinks and never see them again.'She continued: 'You dont go on a date because youre going to meet your boyfriend or girlfriend, youre going to meet someone interesting and if you fancy them, that's a bonus. I don’t come with a money back guarantee. Dates aren’t commodities.'
It's fair to say she probs didn't give him the £3.50, and so she shouldn't - it's totally an individual's prerogative to decide whether or not they want to go on a second date, just as it's totally an individual's prerogative to offer to pay for a coffee. You don't retract that just because they don't facny you. Manners, people. And on that note, if we'er looking at failed dates, we're probably owed (and owe) a combined £10,000 in the Debrief office so we'll let you know how that goes.
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.