When Going Out to Eat in a Group, How Do You Settle the Bill?

[Payin-the-Toll]

I'm an ugly old curmudgeon, and would love to be like that alligator guy that can't reach the check! We're usually separate checks, but if I want to surprise everybody, after we first sit down, I get up to "go to the bathroom", but chase down the wait-person and have them run my credit card and bring the whole bill to me.

 

[rodi]

If I'm just out with 1 or 2 friends - we each estimate, and make sure we have enough.

If it's a larger group - like when I w*rked - it was totaled then divided by the number of people. It tended to be lunch and most people ordered water to drink... so it was usually reasonably fair. We did sometimes surcharge one coworker - he always ordered the most expensive thing, and a pricey beverage, and sometimes an appetizer when no one else was ordering aps.... but he was willing and happy to pay the surcharge.

I don't eat out in groups that often. Family - we usually offer to treat. We're going out with my sister tomorrow... we'll treat her. We're a 4-pack with the kids - so the bulk of the bill is ours, anyway.

My biggest concern, like Gumby, is to make sure I've paid my share or more... so there is no ill-will or resentment directed at me. I don't eat out at pricey places and don't eat out frequently ... so this is a small price for harmony with friends and family.

 

[audreyh1]

I'm an ugly old curmudgeon, and would love to be like that alligator guy that can't reach the check! We're usually separate checks, but if I want to surprise everybody, after we first sit down, I get up to "go to the bathroom", but chase down the wait-person and have them run my credit card and bring the whole bill to me.

That's my Dad's trick.

 

[Music Lover]

I'm an ugly old curmudgeon, and would love to be like that alligator guy that can't reach the check! We're usually separate checks, but if I want to surprise everybody, after we first sit down, I get up to "go to the bathroom", but chase down the wait-person and have them run my credit card and bring the whole bill to me.

In spite of my comments about separate bills, I also do that on occasion. I meet a friend for lunch every now and then and we always try to one-up the other by paying the bill before the other guy has a chance. I just don't like it when the restaurant assumes that one bill is fine for a group.

 

[kcowan]

One place we used to frequent had a policy of no separate checks for groups of 6 or more and automatically added a tip of 18% to the single bill. The last time we went there (4 couples and a single = 9 people), we asked for an exception and they refused. No problem. We handled it OK but left no additional tip beyond the 18% on the table, told the manager in a friendly tone we wouldn't be back and we haven't. It's a nice place but not nice enough to not have things "our way." Unless a restaurant is extremely popular, I don't think they can afford to not listen to the desires of their customers.

Some of them slip added items onto the bill for large groups and also have the guarantee of 18%. I agree that avoidance is the best policy but some restaurants that do that remain favorites for spouses who never settle.

 

[easysurfer]

Some check splitting humor:

My favorite is the woman on the phone who says people are being rude .

 

[athena53]

We go out every month with a mostly-retired group from our church and it's always separate checks. There's a wide variety of financial circumstances. Some order a salad or appetizer, some don't. DH likes a beer and I like a glass of wine. If a single check for the group were split evenly, we'd be reluctant to spend extra knowing that for others who order water and an entrée to subsidize our little luxuries.

 

[easysurfer]

We go out every month with a mostly-retired group from our church and it's always separate checks. There's a wide variety of financial circumstances. Some order a salad or appetizer, some don't. DH likes a beer and I like a glass of wine. If a single check for the group were split evenly, we'd be reluctant to spend extra knowing that for others who order water and an entrée to subsidize our little luxuries.

When I went out in a group recently, I was the only one who ordered a full meal. But some others ordered drinks, but I did not (except iced tea and soda). We didn't have separate checks, and a couple of people left early before the check arrived so they just left what they felt was the correct amount. I think that automatically set the paying to pay for what you ate.

I didn't purposely order less to match what others didn't order as I'd be starving during the entire time .

 

[W2R]

We don't often eat in situations where the check must be split with lots of other people. In fact, I don't recall doing that during the past 6.5 years of retirement even once. However, we DO eat a light lunch out together every day and split the check between the two of us.

We each contribute our share to the nearest dollar. If it is closer to the half dollar, for example if we each owe $7.50 (including tax and tip), then one pays 7 and the other pays 8. Then the next time the other gets the advantage.

In another example, although we usually split our lunch a few days ago we didn't. Including tax and tip, I owed $7.00 (for a delicious tomato basil soup with water to drink) and he owed $11.00 (for a big pasta marinara dish of some kind, with soft drink). So I paid $7.00 and he paid $11.00.

I love figuring out the bill, the tax and tip, and who pays how much, in my head. F is a brilliant engineer so naturally he loves performing this little arithmetic computation in his head, too. So, even though we each have calculators with us, we do not use them. Instead we each figure out the bill independently in our heads, as a double check. This little math exercise is a great little pleasure for us as we prepare to leave, like a dinner mint but not fattening.

 

[rodi]

I love figuring out the bill, the tax and tip, and who pays how much, in my head. F is a brilliant engineer so naturally he loves performing this little arithmetic computation in his head, too. So, even though we each have calculators with us, we do not use them. Instead we each figure out the bill independently in our heads, as a double check. This little math exercise is a great little pleasure for us as we prepare to leave, like a dinner mint but not fattening.

I like this - Fun with Math!!! My sister and I are the same way - both math nerds who have fun doing mental math.

 

[W2R]

I love figuring out the bill, the tax and tip, and who pays how much, in my head. F is a brilliant engineer so naturally he loves performing this little arithmetic computation in his head, too. So, even though we each have calculators with us, we do not use them. Instead we each figure out the bill independently in our heads, as a double check. This little math exercise is a great little pleasure for us as we prepare to leave, like a dinner mint but not fattening.

I like this - Fun with Math!!! My sister and I are the same way - both math nerds who have fun doing mental math.

That's something I love about this forum - - like minded INTJ math/engineering nerds.

I think I have a system figured out. First I add up what each of us ate separately, and determine the difference (usually his is more because I drink water instead of a soft drink). Then I add up the food, tax, and tip, to figure out what the rounded total should be; then subtract the rounded difference I just computed, and divide in half to get what the lesser amount should be. Then re-add the difference to get the greater amount for the other person. Then add both together to make sure the total is correct. Then check to see if F got the same result. I think my system works better than his but I could be wrong!

 

[redduck]

That's something I love about this forum - - like minded INTJ math/engineering nerds.

I think I have a system figured out. First I add up what each of us ate separately, and determine the difference (usually his is more because I drink water instead of a soft drink).. ..

OK, but do you take it into account if you eat three or four bites of F's. food?

 

[easysurfer]

...
I love figuring out the bill, the tax and tip, and who pays how much, in my head. ...

I'm impressed. No way could I do that accurately all in my head. I usually round up in my head and add integers. For example, I'd remember the meal that I order. Say, $12.50. So in my head the running total is $13. Then if I order soda to drink, I'd add that as a rounded up integer. But things get tricky as sometimes I'd order a soda without taking a good look at the menu (they aren't the easiest to find). Then again, does the place give free refills? Probably, not not sure. Plus, I have to guess on the tip and tax too. My strategy now is to surrender to a tipping app and do the calculation for what I ate and drank after looking at the check. I trust that more then keeping the totals in my head. Also, like is grade school math, I can always show my work if needed .

 

[HFWR]

McDonald's always makes me pay upfront...