Over the summer of 2023 my friend (let's call him Ty) married his wife (let's call her Rose) (all names are fake) and they had planned about a week after their wedding to go on a cruise for their honeymoon. Due to a few problems regarding the ship that they were supposed to sail on, their honeymoon was postponed to this month.
We found out about 2 weeks prior to their honeymoon that Ty, Rose and myself were all going to be on the same flight as I had an interconnecting flight in the city that they were going to while I was on my way for a business trip.
Upon learning this, Ty and Rose asked me if I would be willing to pick them up and take them to the airport that way they wouldn't have to also pay ridiculous fees to park at the airport. In return they offered to split the fees in half with me.
I was a little apprehensive because I knew Ty and Rose well enough to know that they are extremely late for everything and that they never plan. I had the fear that if I agreed, it would come back to bite me in some way. At first I declined, stating that I couldn't afford to miss my flight because I knew that they were not going to wake up on time nor would they be packed and ready to go.
My friend obviously knowing what I was talking about gave me a guarantee that they would be packed, would have their dogs and dropped off at the dog sitter the day prior, and that they would be ready to go by the time I got to their house. Taking him at his word, I told him what time I would be there at 5:00 am.
Our flight was at 7 and I told him that I would only wait until 5:30 before leaving, as that would be seriously crunching us getting to the airport and through all the screening. He understood, and told me that they would be ready by the time I showed up at 5:00.
2 weeks pass and I make my way to their house to pick them up. I got there about 10 minutes earlier than expected so I decided to sit and wait and figured I would call them around 5:00. Around 5:00 I tried calling both Ty and Rose but everything sent me to voicemail.
This was followed up by text messages to the both of them. Finally, after calling for about 20 minutes, I went to their door and started knocking and ringing their doorbell.
I didn't receive an answer from any of the methods I tried and finally by the time 5:30 hit, I had no choice but to leave has 5:30 was going to be cutting it extremely close as is.
I gave both Ty and Rose one final call and left a voicemail stating that I had tried for the last 30 minutes to get a hold of them to no avail and that I was having to leave to ensure I got to the airport on time.
It's about 10 till 7:00 and I'm already on the plane ready to go when I get a series of text messages from both Ty and Rose telling me that I should have waited for them and that it was selfish of me to leave when I agreed to pick them up. I attempted to explain to the both of them in our group chat that we agreed that they would be ready to leave by 5:00.
Come to find out not only were they not ready to leave, they didn't do anything and had intended on waking up significantly earlier to do the things they said they were going to do (pack, etc.)
I politely but sternly explained that their inability to plan ahead or to set alarms was not my fault and that blaming me for their mistakes only showed how selfish and immature they were when it came to admitting their own mistakes and turned my phone to airplane mode.
They were fortunately able to find another mode of transportation to get them to their port city for their honeymoon, have not talked to me since the incident happened (roughly 2 weeks ago).
They told me that they wouldn't even consider talking to me again unless I fully refunded what they paid for their plane tickets along with the money they had to spend on gas and vehicle wear and tear to drive themselves down there. I told them that there was absolutely no way that I was going to pay them for the mistakes that they made.
I'm really torn by this because Ty is my best friend. We've basically been brothers since we were in college. I do feel bad that they had to find an alternative way to get to their honeymoon, but again the fact that they did not set any alarms or have anything packed to me is not anything I can control. What do you all think?
Particular_Title42 said:
NTA. There was literally nothing you could have done and still made your flight.
Raz1979 said:
Nta. Please consider reconsidering your friendship with these two. Seems like they can’t take responsibility for their own INaction.
ElectronJanitor said:
NTA. they need to grow the hell up. I'm surprised they aren't mad at you for not packing their suitcases for them.
NaturesVividPictures said:
NTA. I think they're absolute idiots. They didn't even set an alarm to get up, they weren't packed, they weren't ready, and they're holding you responsible for their own stupidity? Yeah, no, you did nothing wrong you tried you went beyond what many would have done.
Kittytigris said:
NTA, they would have missed their flight anyway from the sound of it. Why should you missed yours too? They’re adults, they know how to set an alarm and that planes don’t wait around for people. It’s be there and be on time for flights. If they want a plane to wait around for them, they should invest in a private jet.
CelebrationNext3003 said:
NTA you didn’t ruin anything they did it to themselves