Should You Expect People To Wait 30 Minutes For You - Redditor Wants To Know

A Redditor is getting dragged for something that sounds small, until you picture the whole dinner timeline. The OP sat down at a table, waited around 30 minutes without ordering, and then left before their friends even showed up.

Here’s where it gets messy: one commenter claims OP should’ve waited longer because they were “almost there,” while OP insists they were already stuck in limbo, watching the clock, and trying to be fair to the wait staff and the people they were meeting. The reservation angle is floating around too, because at a restaurant, being late can ripple fast.

Now the question is whether leaving was rude, or whether expecting OP to babysit the schedule was the real problem.

The OP kicks off the story saying...

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One of them said OP should’ve waited a little longer since they were almost there

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The moment OP says they sat for about 30 minutes without ordering, the wait staff suddenly becomes part of the argument.

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the AH:

Well I sat at a table and didn't order for about 30 mins and I left before my friends made it so I feel like I'm the AH to the wait staff and my friends for not waiting.

Let's head into the comments section and find out what other Redditors have to say about the story

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Who doesn't wait for friends?

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Also wild, the AITA poster who stopped hosting family reunions and got called out.

This Redditor has a similar story to share

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OP has inconsiderate people as friends

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The reservation would have been most likely cancelled

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They shouldn't come if they can't be punctual

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They might have asked the OP to move to a single table if it was another place

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They should have sticked to the agreed time

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Then comes the “almost there” comment, and suddenly the friends’ timing is treated like everyone else’s responsibility.

When OP adds that they left before their friends arrived, the comments flip from “wait longer” to “why did you even go along with this plan?”

By the time people start mentioning reservations getting canceled and tables being reassigned, it turns into a whole etiquette debate, not just a missed meetup.

In the end, moments like these highlight how fragile expectations around time and consideration can be. What seems reasonable to one person may feel impatient or inconsiderate to another.

Waiting, leaving, or speaking up—none of these choices exist in a vacuum, especially when friendships are involved. For the OP who is at the center of this situation, the decision to stop waiting felt practical in the moment, yet it quickly turned into a question of courtesy and understanding.

Now the real issue lingers: when plans fall apart, who is actually responsible for keeping the connection intact? The OP was declared not the AH in the end, and that's a wrap.

The real verdict is simple, if your friends can’t be punctual, you shouldn’t make the wait staff pay for it.

Before you judge the 30-minute wait, see the sibling fight over whether to split mom’s jewelry.