Splitting the bill...

Crazychik

Hi Eden37 - you do right - doesn't matter if you put a dampner on the evening, you must make you rpoint and not let people walk over you.

Like me - you spoke out, and didnt get ripped off

Good for you

Jet

I'm glad someone has brought this up. I'm not a big eater and I hate it when someone organises a night out where you know you will be splitting the bill and my £10 dinner ends up costing me £40. :rolleyes:

It's a lot easier to pay for what you have if you have individual meals but if you go to an Indian or Chinese and "share" and the organiser decides to order anything and everything and then most of it gets left uneaten - that's when I get annoyed! :mad:

Never been brave enough to voice my opinion though for fear of being called mean.

kathyd_2

I'm a bit of whimp too. I've only been at my place of work for about 8 months, but the girls I work with are real drinkers (I'm not, usually) and we've been out a couple of times to celebrate colleague's birthdays, each time I've arrived home bladdered. (They take the p*ss out of another colleague who doesn't drink and doesn't bother going out with them now). The last time we went out for a meal I took my car so I had an excuse not to drink, and as I'm at Weightwatchers and was being weighed the following day, decided I would just have alight meal, no starter or dessert. The other girls had the full monty with all sorts of side orders and bottles of wine. When the bill arrived, they decided to split it. They knew I only had a small meal 'cos I kept getting remarks about how good I was being before my weigh-in. To my absolute horror they split the bill equally amongst the 8 of us, so my light meal actually cost me over £30 :eek: (should have been £10.95).

I wish I'd had the courage to say something and every time they mention about going out again I keep making excuses not to go because I don't want to eat and drink just to get my monies worth, so to speak.

judyjetson

If we're out in a group and there's a few non-drinkers as well, we normally ask for a separate bill for alcohol, which the drinkers can split between them.

Contains_Mild_Peril

Each paying for their own is the best way imo. Splitting bills equally can make those with the smaller actual share feel resentful, and those who are subsidised feel awkward.
I would consider it bad etiquette for one who eats and drinks more (or more expensive) food and drink than average to suggest splitting the bill, and I would be quite horrified if someone announced after the meal that the bill was to be split equally. Whether I would reluctantly agree or politely refuse would depend on various factors, not least of which would be whether I could actually afford it. If I go out for a night out I'm often on a very tight budget, and choose what to eat and drink accordingly.

*Louise*

I don't mind going out with my mum or sisters, as we all tend to have things of the same value, and none of us bother with starters. (I can never manage the main meal if I have a starter and I don't like to waste it)

But, last year, OH and I went out with his family for someone's birthday........after the meal they decided that the cost ould be split between the 5 men of the group. Fine if everyone was just couples, but one of them had his wife and 2 adult daughters with him, and another had his wife and 3 kids. Most of the others had also managed to get through 3 courses and copious amounts of wine. OH and I had 2 courses and no alcohol (I was pregnant, he was driving) I really objected to being put in that situation, and we haven't been back out with them.

I much prefer paying for my own meal...mind you, I'm not into counting te pennies - If my meal is for example £16 or so, I will just round it up to £20 to include a tip.

ymcas

Most of the time when I go out in a big group we split the bill equally. If somebody has obviously had less (like no desert, coffee or drink) then somebody who has had a more expensive meal will usually offer to put extra into the pot so that this person can pay less. (Generally we ignore this if the difference is less than a fiver)

Personally I find that if everybody puts in what they think they owe, there is often not enough cash... not through anybody intentionally paying less, but things like drinks and extras can easily get forgotten. Then it's left to the organiser to try to sort it out, and usually ends up stumping up extra cash themselves, which in my opinion is far less fair than splitting the bill equally.

I generally go with the opinion that if somebody is arranging a night out, I don't complain about how it is organised. If I'd like it done differently I'd do the organising next time.

That said I don't think I've ever been more than £10 out of pocket and that was including the meal for the birthday girl.

lil_me

Depends who with, when me and a close friend go out she pays one time and I pay the next which makes it a good reason to do it again.

I have had my fingers burnt with some groups, been nominated to go and pay and people put in much less than owed and never got the difference back, which was about £40. Two people who were with us made sure they drank as much as they could as soon as they said they were just splitting the bill between us all and even commented on it. :mad:

I find it much easier to pay for my own, especially since that. I also usually drive, the splitting for those who drank alcohol and those who didn't sounds a good idea.

liney

We make it clear that drinks are paid for at the bar. Food is rarely a huge difference in price, but i can see how alcohol adds up.

Luckily my friends and family pop in what they think they owe, and on the rare occassion we have been short, we just add another £1 or 2 in each to cover it.

trippy

Doesn't Martin say to get everyone to put in what they owe and split the shortfall between everyone? When I read that, I thought it was a great idea and do it all the time now. If someone else is in charge, I always stick up for the driver and say we should pay more.