Originally Posted by
crewdawg
Holy crap, the things people worry about. I just learned that there is a group of people that think it's disrespectful to ask "so what do you do" (for work), in conversation when meeting someone new. I just see it as a nice conversation starter that usually leads to family, hobbies, etc... All it showed me is that people get worked up over the dumbest stuff. If a Captain offers to buy, take them up on it, they're not doing it to extract anything. If the FO offers a coffee, take them up on it as well. It all works itself out in the end and it's just beyond ridiculous to worry about these things. I guess you can add this to the list of reasons I much prefer to just do turns and never overnight lol.
Post written after a good friend/squadron mate/Deltoid/APC dweller showed up to my house unannounced with a six pack that has now been downed. He's even an FO, so I guess I shouldn't have let him buy the beers we drank.
Yeah, just kind of go with the flow. I certainly wouldn't assume someone is trying to "control" me, because If I'm the one offering to buy I'm just somewhere on the spectrum of being nice, doing what's expected, or paying it forward. Most people aren't doing it to control.
Do be flexible... there are some FO's who are way better off than some CA's. Maybe they politely decline, especially if everybody knows the lay of the land. Some CA's may be not well off at all (divorce, family illness, etc)... maybe that guy doesn't offer to buy, and that's OK too.
If dinner/drinks is even up for discussion, then two people already decided *not* to slam-click, so it shouldn't be that hard to sort out.
If somebody offers to buy a coffee, just accept if you want one. We can all afford Starbucks these days.