Going Out for a Meal - The Awkward Moment When Someone Says...

claire16c

When I go out with friends we split the bill 99% of the time. The only time weve ever altered the amount to each pay, is if someone says something like 'Ill put in more because I had wine and you didnt,' which has happened a few times as I am often the driver, and my friends realise this and often offer to pay more.

I find it incredibly 'cringy' and embarrassing if someone decides they want to split the bill to the nearest penny - because its always those people who also convienently forget to add a tip in, and then it never adds up - and then who do they think is supposed to pay the extra exactly??

That happened at a friends birthday. I had probably eaten the least of the entire party as I was driving and couldnt fit a dessert in as I was full, but the bill came to an amount that meant we all owed £20 including the tip, which made it nice and easy as no fiddling around with coins etc.

One couple however, decided to add up their meal, and put in £15 each. So we were then £10 down! Every one just sat there wondering what to do, and then my friend whose birthday it was had to get her phone out and get a menu, and start trying to add it up. It was totally embarassing as she got flustered and couldnt work it out because everyone started arguing about it as no one wanted to put more than the £20 in and we couldnt leave the restaurant without paying. So my friend ended up paying it and it was her birthday!! Needless to say that couple has never been invited out again!

cloudy-day

LittleMissAspie wrote: »

I have never in my life ordered or bought "what I fancy". I ALWAYS consider the price and usually buy the cheapest on purpose. Just because someone has £xxx available doesn't mean they want to spend it all and have nothing left. I'm with the OP on this.

This has to be one of the saddest things I have ever read on here.

So the pasta is 50p cheaper than the pizza.....I love pizza but I'll have the pasta instead even though its not what I want but it is the cheapest?

Really, why bother going out in the first place?

PasturesNew

cloudy-day wrote: »

This has to be one of the saddest things I have ever read on here.

So the pasta is 50p cheaper than the pizza.....I love pizza but I'll have the pasta instead even though its not what I want but it is the cheapest?

Really, why bother going out in the first place?

I know where she's coming from - and there's a clue in the username.... I'd do the same.

What she means is "if there's nothing you've a BURNING desire to have - and there are 3 things on the menu you could equally have - choose the cheapest one".

It's logical and makes sense.

caevans

Thank goodness my friends are as skint as I am and we all happily split the bill safe in the knowledge that we have all opted for the cheapest meal. And a mighty fine time we have too! You certainly don't have to spend lots to have a great night out

skintchick

fluffnutter wrote: »

You sound great fun! Call me!

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::T Hilarious. Love it.

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never waited an hour for a meal.... within an hour it's usually nearly over and bill time.

Really? Most people don't really refer to McDonald's as a restaurant, you know. Even when Oh and I go out to a chain pizza/pasta place it takes a couple of hours, I'd be shocked to go out to eat and be finished in under an hour. At our favourite independent Italian it's not uncommon for us to arrive at 8 and still be lingering over a coffee at midnight!

As for a practical answer, I think that the best thing is usually to make the alcohol a separate bill to be split between alcohol drinkers, the soft drinks go in with the food which is split between all diners and the costs of the soft drinks (which often are £2 for a small fruit juice after all, they aren't actually cheap) make up for people who've had a course more than others.

I hate, hate, hate working out the bill to the penny. The last time someone did that on me was at my OH's 40th, it was embarrassing and they made a huge fuss (shouting, swearing, being abusive) about not being able to afford to split it, they only had this cheap meal, blah blah and they saved....FIFTY PENCE. Seriously.

coolcait

I got to page 4...

Luckily my colleagues (who are also friends) are people who can count.

When we eat out together, everyone works out what they owe, plus a tip.

The whole business of working out what's owed, and handing over the money, takes five minutes max.

There has never been a shortfall. Quite the opposite. We get excellent service from the places we frequent, because we leave such good tips!

Dunroamin

PasturesNew wrote: »

I've never waited an hour for a meal.... within an hour it's usually nearly over and bill time.

That sounds more like the work's canteen than going out for dinner!

PasturesNew

skintchick wrote: »

Really? Most people don't really refer to McDonald's as a restaurant, you know. Even when Oh and I go out to a chain pizza/pasta place it takes a couple of hours, I'd be shocked to go out to eat and be finished in under an hour. At our favourite independent Italian it's not uncommon for us to arrive at 8 and still be lingering over a coffee at midnight!

Well, if you're all loved up, then maybe you do that.

I've never been to a pasta place and not been to a pizza place for about 20+ years. I've tended to have an indian after a couple of pints in a pub with a couple of the lads. I went to a McD's once, when I helped somebody to put up her niece's tent on a camping field locally, then she wanted to take her great-niece for a McD's so I tagged along for the experience.

I dislike sitting at a table after the meal's over. The chairs are uncomfortable and I hate sitting still for that long. And they're usually closing and once you've eaten you might as well s0d off as they're usually glaring at you by then.

I don't belong to a family that has ever gone out for family meals, so my eating out experiences are limited in opportunity. I've tried suggesting people go out for a meal many times in the past, but people either can't make it, or don't like the food at the places I want to try.... e.g. I've always wanted to try an indian buffet meal, but never found anybody that wanted one of those on a mid-week night when I saw them advertised.

PasturesNew

Dunroamin wrote: »

That sounds more like the work's canteen than going out for dinner!

Most of the places I've eaten out, there's probably not a great deal of difference. It's usually pub meals and indians. Pub meals are usually carveries - I try to go once a year. Indians are tricky, can't find anybody that likes indian, so not been in an indian restaurant since 2009. Not been in a chinese restaurant for donkeys years either - nearly did, but the one my aunt/I spotted wasn't doing a buffet that night, so we ended up having a pub meal instead - and as that was the first time I'd seen my aunt for 45 years I won't be getting the chance again soon.

Dunroamin

PasturesNew wrote: »

Most of the places I've eaten out, there's probably not a great deal of difference. It's usually pub meals and indians. Pub meals are usually carveries - I try to go once a year. Indians are tricky, can't find anybody that likes indian, so not been in an indian restaurant since 2009. Not been in a chinese restaurant for donkeys years either - nearly did, but the one my aunt/I spotted wasn't doing a buffet that night, so we ended up having a pub meal instead - and as that was the first time I'd seen my aunt for 45 years I won't be getting the chance again soon.

I don't understand why you find going to an Indian or Chinese restaurant to be particularly quick though.