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

Spendless

In a situation like that it's prob best if you order your drinks from the bar so you all 'pay as you go' or if that's not possible each settle their drinks bill with the waiter as they bring the drink over. Soft drinks can sometimes cost more than 1/2 lager though. You were poss cutting it a bit fine only leaving yourself with £4 to cover the cost of your drink plus a tip.

elvis86

krlyr wrote: »

Taking £16 for the set-price food, extra for a drink (and not ordering more than that one drink you've budgeted for) and a tip - why would you need to take any means of paying any more?

Because it sounds like before she even left the house, the main thing on the OP's mind was making sure she paid no more than her share at dinner. I'm afraid I don't buy the "You know me, I hate handbags!" line - carrying more cash or a debit card wouldn't be a huge inconvenience.

If I'm going out to dinner to celebrate someone's birthday, I'm looking forward to sharing their company, not being miserely and planning how I get out of paying the bill.

krlyr wrote: »

As for paying back FIL - he bought OP a Coke, he didn't offer it as a loan. Why would there be a need to pay him back?

I would just think that someone who was so principled about not paying for other people's food and drinks, would be equally reluctant to allow others to pay for her's?:cool:

j.e.j.

I remember once when we went to a restaurant with work. When our boss suggested splitting the bill, one (just one) of my colleagues was brave/assertive enough to say, "look, sorry, but I KNOW I won't be eating/drinking much, so I'm just going to pay for my own". That made it easier for others to say the same, and tbh I also wasn't happy at the thought of subsidising other people's boozing/eating.

As others have suggested, make it clear beforehand that you can only pay for your own food and drink. You never know, there might be someone else in the group who feels the same way as you.

krlyr

BugglyB wrote: »

Ha! You are 'that guy'! :rotfl:

"That guy" what? "That guy that pays for what they have and probably gives their friends a free lift home" - I'm quite proud to admit that I have been "that guy" on numerous occasions. Perhaps I should split the costs evenly but make up what I lost by charging everyone a nominal taxi fare

Timmne wrote: »

By the way: £16 meal plus a drink plus a tip doesn't come to £20 - this is the whole problem and reason I hate picking ones own items off the bill!

£16 food, £2 for a half of Coke, 10% at £1.80 - sounds fair enough to me.

Timmne

krlyr wrote: »

£16 food, £2 for a half of Coke, 10% at £1.80 - sounds fair enough to me.

Agreed - if you go on 10%

BugglyB

krlyr wrote: »

"That guy" what? "That guy that pays for what they have and probably gives their friends a free lift home" - I'm quite proud to admit that I have been "that guy" on numerous occasions. Perhaps I should split the costs evenly but make up what I lost by charging everyone a nominal taxi fare



£16 food, £2 for a half of Coke, 10% at £1.80 - sounds fair enough to me.

I know I know I was pulling your leg. I'm sorry :A

krlyr

Timmne wrote: »

Agreed - if you go on 10%

I can see it maybe being an issue in a restaurant that have a set service charge above 10% but other than that, if OP wants to tip 10% and the others want to tip 20%, I see that as their perogative, not OP's problem.

I think the main problem here has been lack of communication. OP should have made it clear they were only able/willing to put in £20, the group should have made it clear that they were going to split the bill (and whether the service charge was more than 10% - most restaurants I know make you aware of that if it's a large group booking) and then everyone would have known where they stood. If people just shut up and put up then someone's bound to get upset that they didn't get it their way.

[Deleted User]

krlyr wrote: »

£16 food, £2 for a half of Coke, 10% at £1.80 - sounds fair enough to me.

A 20p margin for error on a night out?

I normally take at least an extra £10 in cash if I know i'm going to be paying cash for a meal

BugglyB

I dont think I have ever been for a meal when people have added up what they have had off the bill and the cash has come to the amount or more than the amount the bill requests. Its awful when you're sitting there going 'this is ten pounds short' and everyones saying 'well I've put mine in'.

krlyr

ringo_24601 wrote: »

A 20p margin for error on a night out?

I normally take at least an extra £10 in cash if I know i'm going to be paying cash for a meal

What "error" though? OP knew the meal was £16pp, they presumably knew the cost of their drink beforehand or chose their drink based on the price when they got there. No error, just someone else's call to split the bill. I guess the one error you could blame is OP's unwillingness to speak out against that decision and just spend the £20 as planned.