Splitting the bill

DullGreyGuy

olgadapolga said:
We got to the pub and the husband just vanished, leaving us with my friend. He reappeared a few minutes later with a drink and said that he'd ordered and paid for HIS meal. Didn't ask us what we wanted, nor what his wife wanted! 

You've just reminded me of one of the guys at uni who haven't thought of in years... used to go out with him and his gfriend. He'd go off to the bar and come back with drinks for everyone but her and when she looked miffed point out to her that he'd bought her drinks the night before so it was her turn... happened many times. 

Personally was always a bit more of a believer in bar karma so never accurately track who's indebted to me or who I owe drinks to. Always assume a bought drink was done out of wanting to gift it and always done that when buying friends/random people drinks. 

Pollycat

onomatopoeia99 said:

Restaurants need to offer to run bills per diner rather than per table to avoid exactly the problem described by lots of people here.

Have you asked restaurants to do that?
I think you might find that they would be happy to do it.

maman

I think it's become far more common in recent years for restaurants to split bills @Pollycat . We often eat with a group of friends, some paying as couples, some singly. When staff come for payment we just say take x of this card or offer cash. They're happy to oblige. 

DigSunPap

Pollycat said:

onomatopoeia99 said:

Restaurants need to offer to run bills per diner rather than per table to avoid exactly the problem described by lots of people here.

Have you asked restaurants to do that?
I think you might find that they would be happy to do it.

I dont think it is up to the restaurant to decide who pays when they will have just provided you a service 

Pollycat

DigSunPap said:

Pollycat said:

onomatopoeia99 said:

Restaurants need to offer to run bills per diner rather than per table to avoid exactly the problem described by lots of people here.

Have you asked restaurants to do that?
I think you might find that they would be happy to do it.

I dont think it is up to the restaurant to decide who pays when they will have just provided you a service 

I disagree.
If you ask the waiter to do a split bill when you first order, I think you'll find they will probably do just that.

Of course it's not up to the restaurant to decide who pays.
It's up to the customer to ask.

DigSunPap

Pollycat said:

DigSunPap said:

Pollycat said:

onomatopoeia99 said:

Restaurants need to offer to run bills per diner rather than per table to avoid exactly the problem described by lots of people here.

Have you asked restaurants to do that?
I think you might find that they would be happy to do it.

I dont think it is up to the restaurant to decide who pays when they will have just provided you a service 

I disagree.
If you ask the waiter to do a split bill when you first order, I think you'll find they will probably do just that.

Of course it's not up to the restaurant to decide who pays.
It's up to the customer to ask.

Yes if you say when you first arrive that could work. Sometimes it can be a hassle for them if you ask right at the end.

Pollycat

DigSunPap said:

Pollycat said:

DigSunPap said:

Pollycat said:

onomatopoeia99 said:

Restaurants need to offer to run bills per diner rather than per table to avoid exactly the problem described by lots of people here.

Have you asked restaurants to do that?
I think you might find that they would be happy to do it.

I dont think it is up to the restaurant to decide who pays when they will have just provided you a service 

I disagree.
If you ask the waiter to do a split bill when you first order, I think you'll find they will probably do just that.

Of course it's not up to the restaurant to decide who pays.
It's up to the customer to ask.

Yes if you say when you first arrive that could work. Sometimes it can be a hassle for them if you ask right at the end.

Of course it would be a hassle if a party of more than 2 suddenly announce at the end of the meal that they want to pay separately as the bill will have been made up for the table.

If you're up-front when you first sit down, I think most restaurants would be able to do split bills.

maman

In my experience, the restaurant makes up one bill and then the group decides how they are going to pay. 

For example, it used to be the case that everyone put their share of cash down. Nowadays it's more often each member of the group or couples ask the staff to 'take x off this card'. Sometimes we've given cash to one member of the group who then pays the whole bill from a card. This happens with a friend who lives in the back of beyond and rarely gets to an ATM.🤣

MeteredOut

maman said:

In my experience, the restaurant makes up one bill and then the group decides how they are going to pay. 

For example, it used to be the case that everyone put their share of cash down. Nowadays it's more often each member of the group or couples ask the staff to 'take x off this card'. Sometimes we've given cash to one member of the group who then pays the whole bill from a card. This happens with a friend who lives in the back of beyond and rarely gets to an ATM.🤣

Or they have a BA Amex card and collect the Avios... Or they get cashback...

Pollycat

maman said:

In my experience, the restaurant makes up one bill and then the group decides how they are going to pay. 

For example, it used to be the case that everyone put their share of cash down. Nowadays it's more often each member of the group or couples ask the staff to 'take x off this card'. Sometimes we've given cash to one member of the group who then pays the whole bill from a card. This happens with a friend who lives in the back of beyond and rarely gets to an ATM.🤣

How does that work when someone (possibly conveniently) forgets about that aperitif and the liqueur coffer they had?