Entertainment · Advice & Questions · Oct 20

Can I ask our film group to pay before I book more tickets?

Entertainment

The ticket basket showed $108 for six seats. Two friends had clicked yes for Friday, but each still owed me $36 from the previous two outings.

I book our monthly cinema trip because everyone likes sitting together. Four of us settle up promptly, including me paying for my own seat. The other two keep saying they'll sort it later. One offers drinks instead, but that hasn't covered the tickets I bought.

I could front the new booking, but I don't want the unpaid $72 to roll into another month. If I wait for transfers, our usual row may go. If I book only for people who have paid, the group may end up separated.

How do I give everyone a clear booking deadline without making the reliable payers manage the delays or turning a film invitation into a public account of who owes what?

Discussion

3 community replies

@JulesAfterDark

Post a general booking time and ask everyone to send the current ticket price before it. Separately message the two friends about their outstanding $36 each. The invitation can explain the new arrangement without displaying their individual balances to the group.

@MorganSays

Choose what you'll do if payment doesn't arrive: book for the people who paid, or have everyone arrange their own tickets. Tell them beforehand. A deadline that you keep extending while fronting the same costs won't change the part you're unhappy about.

@TheoInTransit

Drinks might be a welcome thank-you, but they're not the repayment arrangement you described. If you haven't accepted that substitution, say so: 'Please transfer the ticket money; we'll each sort our own snacks and drinks.' That avoids another evening of estimating whether a round settled the balance.

Can I ask our film group to pay before I book more tickets?

Discussion

Join the discussion

More in Entertainment

How many original songs should our amateur band include in a party set?

Should I change a reading challenge when finishing books has become the main goal?

Is reading the opera synopsis beforehand a sensible way to enjoy my first performance?

Should shared viewing use the original playback speed when one of us prefers it faster?