A man says his days of chauffeuring his friend to work are over because of his constant tardiness.
The 19-year-old man shared in a recent post on Reddit’s “Am I the A——” forum that he and his friend, also 19, work for the same small company. Since his friend does not have a driver’s license, the OP (original poster) has been driving him to and from work each day, despite the fact that the friend “has a habit of always being a couple minutes late.”
“This isn’t a huge deal at our company because we get paid hourly for a job that doesn’t have a set timeframe,” he noted, before explaining that his friend’s tardiness has been getting worse.
“Lately, he’s been consistently at least 10 minutes late,” the OP wrote. “While it’s not a big deal for my boss, I hate sitting in my car in front of his house for that long. I like to get work over with as soon as possible and while those 10 minutes aren’t going to change my life, I’d rather get 10 extra minutes at home than sitting in a car.”
Frustrated, the OP decided he was no longer going to “ignore” his friend’s lack of punctuality. Ahead of one morning commute to work, the OP recalled, “I texted him 20 minutes beforehand to ask if he would be ready in 20 minutes [and] he said yes.”
But when he got to his friend’s house, it took him 10 minutes to come out to the car — so the OP finally spoke up.
“Usually he starts telling me about his day and I kind of get over my anger, but this time I stuck to what I told myself and let him know that I didn’t want to drive him anymore,” the OP explained. “I wasn’t rude, I didn’t yell or anything, I just said, ‘I’m sorry I don’t want to drive you to work anymore because you’re always late.’ “
Two men in car (stock image).
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The OP said his friend “started arguing, saying it wasn’t his fault and he was busy.” When the OP pointed out that “things would be different” if his friend wasn’t old enough to get his driver’s license and truly needed the help with rides, the 19-year-old replied that the subject of his license “stresses him out.”
“He kind of phrased it like he thought I brought it up out of concern, which I do every once in a while, but this time it was because he’s making me late when he could very well get a driver’s license and drive himself,” the OP wrote.
After the OP confronted his friend, things got awkward between the pair. “The car ride was quiet. Then at work it was quiet. On the way home it was also quiet,” he wrote. “So basically I think he got mad about the fact that I was done waiting around for him.”
“I really don’t think I’m in the wrong here, but maybe I’m missing something,” the OP concluded, asking fellow Redditors to weigh in on the situation.
In the comments section, the majority of people firmly sided with the OP, saying he set “a reasonable boundary” with his friend. One person even pointed out that he’s sacrificing much more than just 10 minutes a day to drive his friend back and forth.
“NTA [not the a——]. He is costing you about three hours of your work week every week. Math: ten minutes to get to his house, ten minutes waiting for him, ten minutes out of your way on the way home. Thirty-some minutes each day, every day,” the commenter wrote. “The least he can do is be outside waiting for you.”
Two men arguing (stock image).
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Someone else chimed in: “You’re not his personal chauffeur. You gave him a ride for a while, but he’s taking advantage of your kindness.”
“You’ve done enough,” yet another person told the OP. “Your coworker now needs to fly with his own wings. Anyone who is late for a ride (to work or elsewhere) on a regular basis is just lazy and rude.”
Quite a few other Redditors shared similar stories of how their well-meaning offer to drive a coworker turned into a frustrating situation.
“I used to give a coworker or two a ride into work. I had 2 rules. #1) I will only pick up, if it’s on my regular route (no detours, no exceptions). #2) I won’t wait around if they’re going to be late. Both of them tried to guilt me into breaking those rules,” one person wrote. “They ended up having to find some other sucker to taxi them around. Lesson learned.”
Someone else wondered if the OP’s friend has anxiety about driving and whether this might be the push he needs to work on getting his own license.
“He sounds like he has driving anxiety and needs to be pushed into it somehow so he can see driving is not as scary as it seems. Making him find his own way to work may help push him,” the person commented.
