Dear Blake,
I have a friend who doesn’t drive and constantly asks me to take her places. As a good friend, I do it. When I take her to an event, we agree on a time that we will leave, but she invariably stays behind to chat with other people 30 or 45 minutes past the time that we agreed on. In addition, she never offers anything for fuel. I think she’s inconsiderate, and I’m thinking about telling her she will need to find her own rides. Am I wrong for this?
Signed, Lisa
From Miami, Florida
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Dear Lisa,
Your friend is obviously a very selfish person. But there are some things you can to do to blunt the habits of that miserly cheapskate. Here are some suggestions. Tell her that at the predetermined time, you will meet her at your car. And explain that if she is not there, you’ll assume she is in an important conversation and has decided to figure out how to get home on her own. Or, don’t to take her anywhere, unless one of her chatty friends promises beforehand to take her home. If she refuses to do that, tell her how healthy it is to do some long distance walking. Or this idea. Since she refuses to chip in for gas, tell her you were recently hired as an Uber driver, and if you do any freebies, you risk getting fired. And lastly, this idea. When it’s time for you two to go, pretend to be on the phone, and based on that conversation, tell her you have to leave immediately. If she doesn’t want follow you t that time, suggest that she hitchhikes. And if you don’t hear from her for a few days, you can assume that she’s mad at you, or she got a ride with a stranger with the end results of her being the topic on an upcoming episode of “Dateline”. Yikes! I hope this helps.
Blake