sharing restaurant bills in a group

Prothet_of_Doom

If I go out for a meal with my sister if there's a way, she will end up having the most expensive 3 course meal, with a 'quality wine' and then protest that we were taking her out as she has no money.
3 weeks later she'll just nip to the USA for 3 weeks with my other sister. Something I haven't got enough money to do. GRRRR.

LogisticsGuy

I am more than happy to split the bill - as, even if not drinking, over time it tends to even out as I will be drinking on another occasion.


My friends, however, like to count each bean eaten and split it up into exactly what each person has had - I understand the logic if they have specifically chosen a cheaper meal in order to spend less, but it does make the end of the meal slightly sour as we have to spend another 15 minutes going through the bill.

kerri_gt

Regarding the alcohol / non alcohol issue, we've asked for drinkson a separate bill before. We've then worked out X amount for non drinkers, and Y amount for drinkers to chip in.

wiogs

kerri_gt wrote: »

Regarding the alcohol / non alcohol issue, we've asked for drinkson a separate bill before. We've then worked out X amount for non drinkers, and Y amount for drinkers to chip in.

That must be sobering for some people at the end of the night when they see what they have spent on booze!

dandelionclock30

I think restraunts need to start billing people as individuals not as a table.
I will only ever pay for exactly what I have had if Im in a big group and wont enter into discussions about splitting evenly etc. No confusion on my part, if they dont like it tough.
Why should someone who has half a coke have to subsidize people who are drinking loads of wine?

mutley74

kerri_gt wrote: »

Regarding the alcohol / non alcohol issue, we've asked for drinkson a separate bill before. We've then worked out X amount for non drinkers, and Y amount for drinkers to chip in.

that's a good idea. I think when I next go on a group meal that I have not organized I will just pay what add up to what I have eaten and drank; if that fails will drink as many doubles of expensive whisky I can!

w211

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

I think restraunts need to start billing people as individuals not as a table.

Most modern till/ordering systems in restaurants are able to do this, and the waiter can set up "tabs" for each person/couple, and at the end of the meal, each person/couple will get a separate bill. Just make sure you ask the waiter/waitress you want to do this before you start ordering, so they can set it up.

Alternatively, they should also be able to "split tender" the bill, where the bill is paid by different methods, cash, type of card. The waiter/waitress will simply go round the table to each person in turn, and each person say what they had to eat and drink, and those items are ticked off as each person pays (sharing bottles of wine, will present a problem, though).

stardoman

I remember going out with a large group some years ago. I knew most of the people there, think there were 2 or 3 I hadn't met before. At the time I had just found out I was pregnant, so I was not drinking. Two of my close friends who were there were on a tight budget as one had just moved house and the other had just split up from her husband.

So the 3 of us just had a main course and were drinking the table water. At the other end of the table they were drinking wine like it was going out of fashion. When the bill came, I was told that my share was £30. In actual fact, the stuff I bought came to under £8. I refused point blank to pay £30 and one of the strangers had a rant at me, telling me how tight I was, what a horrible person I was etc. etc. She was really shouting at me.

But I stood my ground and only left on the table what I had bought. I would have been prepared to split the bill but not when my split was nearly 4 times my actual spend.

When I go out now we tend to do a rough split and then those who have had a more expensive meal or alcohol put in extra which becomes the tip.

sarahj1986

Ive been quite lucky on this. I remember one of the first meals out as an "adult" me and a friend were stung with this. We went out as part of a big group, and made it clear we didn't have much money, we drank tap water and even shared a meal (we had curry so shared a main, rice and naan) when the bill came it was split equally so we paid the same as those drinking wine, having starters and having their own meal each. Since then Ive been quite lucky in not being in that situation. I remember last year I went out with people from work, I had a fairly expensive main and wine, they wanted to split the bill equally but I put in what Id spent which was double what they asked me to pay, having been stung on this before I would never allow a group of people to pay for me to drink!


I think if its a case of afew quid here or there theres no point but if theres a massive difference then its not fair

paulineb_2

justjohn wrote: »

We split entire bill by the number of guests. However seems to be the done thing nowadays to get the calculator out and count how many more/less peanuts you have had compared to the next person.

its not just about booze intake, its about peeps being tight lol .... I was out a few months ago at lunchtime. I seen a crowd of women splitting the bill individually AT the till. Very annoying when you are waiting to pay.

Its not about people being tight as far as Im concerned. It takes a couple of minutes to get the bill, work out what you owe and pay it.
People dont need to pay individually, they need to have the estimated amount of cash on them, for example if I know what a set menu costs and a couple of drinks, I'll have that in my purse at the beginning of the night plus a tip and I'll give that over at the end of the meal.

I went for a meal out with my last workplace about a year ago. Some of the girls who earned much more than I did were sitting knocking back bottles of wine at £10 a go and other people had one or two pints, but when the bill came, the people who had been drinking more insisted that the bill was split evenly.

I dont earn lots of money, it has nothing to do with being tight, its simply to do with what I can and cant afford to pay. You might be out on a night out and have spent £20, if the even split came to £22 or £23 Id have no issue paying an extra couple of quid, but if people are knocking drinks back the split share could come to £30 each. So the people who have spent £20 pay £30 and the people who have spent £40 pay £30. Thats unfair and people know it.

I went for a meal a few weeks ago and the person who organised it took the price of the meal from us at the beginning and we then bought our own drinks.

Even when Ive been out in large groups, its only taken a few minutes to sort out who pays what as the restaurant bring over the itemised bill before the bill is paid.