Split Checks?

[mhsjax]

Thank you for explaining it so clearly. As I said upthread, I've never been to dinner when people have requested separate checks. This makes sense.

YOu probably go to dinner with people that order pretty much evenly. With us, we have more, especially when we bring the kids and we often do. Splitting the check, our friends would get the short tend of the stick or the long end of the bill, lol. My kids can out eat almost anyone and all that raising them not to eat chicken nuggets and french fries has come along and bit us in the rear. lol So to protect our friends and keep them as friends, it works better for separate checks.

 

[niknakk]

I live in los angeles. Anytime I go out to eat with anyone I always ask for separate checks, it makes everything easier in the end, and I don't want to be stuck paying for someone else's food or vice versa. I don't care If it makes me look cheap, it's a simple thing that will make the meal end smoothly

 

[2girls4me]

LI here, we split evenly regardless of what everyone had.

Yes we may pay more one meal, but it all works out in the end.

 

[U2_rocks!]

YOu probably go to dinner with people that order pretty much evenly. With us, we have more, especially when we bring the kids and we often do. Splitting the check, our friends would get the short tend of the stick or the long end of the bill, lol. My kids can out eat almost anyone and all that raising them not to eat chicken nuggets and french fries has come along and bit us in the rear. lol So to protect our friends and keep them as friends, it works better for separate checks.

We are often the family with the most kids at the table, and our son is no slouch when it comes to eating - he can out-eat many adults! I can also drink a whole bottle of wine myself if I am in the mood. I feel less inhibited if I know that other people aren't subsidizing our splurges. If we're splitting a bill evenly I feel more conscious of what I am ordering, and sometimes hold back to make sure it is fair.

Also, we like variety and will often order more than we know we can eat because we can't decide which entree we want most, and will take home the leftovers - this works particularly well for pasta, which is usually just as yummy (or more) the next day! We could never do that if we were splitting a bill evenly, unless the other party was ordering big too.

 

[JeannieNM]

When I am out with the ladies or we are out with other couples we just split the check evenly. Sometimes one person is the designated driver so they drink less, sometimes one of us hungrier then the other, it really all works out in the end. If my husband and I are out with a person on thier own lets say a single man or lady with out an escort then we will of course pay for them. The exception being my MIL who will only let us do this to an extent and then she just picks up the entire check. When we are with family we take turns picking up the entire check. I think part of it is we are in 50s and we just don't have the patience or the desire to sit thier and calculate what each person had, and luckily we are in an economic position where it really does not make any difference to us if we pay a little more. We live in the southwest but travel extensively and were raised out east. I think the best answer is do what you and your dinning partners are the most comfortable with.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

If I am out to dinner with 4 friends we pay our own way. I would be very uncomfortable ordering my cosmo's, margarita's, steak, prime rib, etc...while people are doing math at my plate.

I don't see the big deal because with the debit card you really don't even have to "split the check". You just add up your portion and have the server charge your card with that amount. Easy, peasy.

 

[Shell91303]

We split the check evenely. That being said we all know it in advance and all our friends/family we'd be out to dinner with eat/drink very similar things. We all will order 1 (or 5) alcoholic drinks, we will all eat appetizers, etc.

I do believe it is regional. We are in Boston. My BFF has lived in Boston, Miami and now Charlotte NC. While visiting her in Miami with all her friends, we always split the bill evenly, like in Boston.

We visited her in NC in May and every.single.restaraunt we went to asked us if we wanted seperate bills. We of course said no! And finally I asked her "whats up with seperate bills? I have never heard of such a thing" She said all restaraunts ask down there, its common to get seperate bills! Wha???

 

[cluvsdisney]

How the check is handled depends on the situation.

With family, we tend to alternate picking up the check.

When I/we go out with friends, we just split the bill per person. We have never been in a situation where one person ordered a $40 entree & $15 cocktail while someone else ordered a salad with a glass of water. If that somehow ever occured, the person that didn't really eat would not be expected to chip in at all. Overall, I believe it evens out in the end. We are out with friends...no one is looking to get a free hand out or pull one over on the other.

When I go out with a group of people I don't socialize with so much, say co-workers, we still get one check but we'll tally up our own dishes and pay accordingly.

I don't think I have been asked if we would like seperate checks in the local area.

This is in NYC and LI.
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When I go to visit my mother in FL, just about every restaurant asks if we would like seperate checks which we don't do since it's the two of us.

I was in TN in the spring with girlfriends and they also asked about seperated checks prior to ordering. We did do that since one girl was on an extremely tight budget and it just made it easier all around.

 

[sbell111]

Yes, it MIGHT even out if you continue to go out to eat with the same people.

I think that it's more likely that it will continue to be 'uneven'. I tend to drink water. My wife typically has a soft drink. We also typically purchase a moderately priced meal. My sister in law is almost certainly going to have two glasses of wine and order everything ala carte.

If we split the checks evenly, my SIL is going to get a heck of a deal. If we keep doing that over time, it's never going to even out.

Who was it that said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results?

 

[joviroxx]

It depends. WIth my friends, we all just kind of throw in money or split it evenly. Eventually it all evens out after a few lunches. Its informal, we aren't adding items (I find that a bit tacky) but just kind of put in what you think you owe. Sometimes we collect too much, others, not enough, and someone will throw in a couple more bucks. Sometimes, the one person uses their CC and the others pay cash or we just ask the waitress to split among a few credit cards.

When its a couple's night, we split the check. But more often than not, one couple will pick up the bill and the next time, another one will.

 

[marcyinPA]

Other. If we all order something around the same price, and drink the same amount, then we split the bill. If we all order something of different prices and drink different amounts, then I pay my own. Some people go all out and order appetizers, drinks, entree, dessert- and if I only order a drink and an entree, there is no way I am splitting the bill evenly.

 

[sadiras]

LI here, we split evenly regardless of what everyone had.

Yes we may pay more one meal, but it all works out in the end.

 

[cornflake]

It depends on the people and situation.

Some people, we usually just alternate picking up the check.

Some people we just generally split down the middle.

Some situations, like at a bar where some people are drinking much more, we'll generally throw in for our share.

It generally just works out that way. If it's been unbalanced, people know it and everyone checks the bill for what they owe. If it's been fairly even, people just shrug and toss in half.

I have never though, asked for separate checks or had anyone else ask for separate checks, anyplace. It's a weird idea to me - like, you can't just look at the check?

NYC.

 

[ReneeA]

Metro Detroit here. We do separate checks - mainly because I haven't carried more than $5 in cash on me since obtaining a debit card over 15 years ago. I even use my card for coffee in the morning.

Servers don't blink an eye, and sometimes we don't even have to ask...they just automatically split up the orders when it's obviously people gathering as a group.

There is one friend that I meet for dinner often - we go to a hole in the wall Mexican place, split the chicken tacos, split an appetizer and split a carafe of margarita. We split the tab down the middle (cause we're eating the same meal) and both use a card...they charge her half, and mine half. I've never had a server become confused by it.

 

[Imzadi]

I have never though, asked for separate checks or had anyone else ask for separate checks, anyplace. It's a weird idea to me - like, you can't just look at the check?

NYC.

We run in very different circles & restaurants. I've been on numerous outings where we ask for separate checks right up front or the waiter always asks us if we want separate checks (if he can do it that way on one table,) or should he put everything on one check.

If it's on one check, generally we will all look at the check and pay our share. If we have ordered a round of appetizers for everyone to share, we divide that and add it onto what our amount of that will be.

There have been a few times where one person will grab the check and say we all evenly split it. But, THAT person is usually one who has ordered several alcoholic drinks and/or appetizers.

I and a couple other people do not drink alcohol. I don't even drink sugary drinks, (I'm pre-diabetic,) so I drink water and I will NOT pay for another's booze tab.

Once, one friend only ordered a $10 entree. When the bill arrived, one guy divided up the bill and told everyone they owe $25. Sorry! But, I fought for my friend who was in shock and rather timid. She should NOT be paying one and a half times what she bought to cover other people's food/alcohol choices. A couple other people spoke up for her, too. We actually live in NYC, where we speak our mind. We ended up paying our own share, much to the guy's irritation, who had ordered a LOT.

Paying our own share has always saved someone from having hard feelings at the end of the evening or a similar disagreement.


I have noticed that people who live on the outskirts of the city, or in other places where social status is very important, may want to evenly split the check. I suspect it has more to do with hiding the fact that not everyone at the table makes the same amount of money. Let's gloss it over, and pretend everyone is at the same monetary level. "We won't embarrass Susie for only having a part-time receptionist job. She will pay what everyone else is paying." Of course, the ones that this benefits the most are the one's who ordered the most. Which they do every single time they go out. Those poseurs get to eat at everyone else's expense and pretend they have more money than they have.

 

[mhsjax]

If I am out to dinner with 4 friends we pay our own way. I would be very uncomfortable ordering my cosmo's, margarita's, steak, prime rib, etc...while people are doing math at my plate.

I don't see the big deal because with the debit card you really don't even have to "split the check". You just add up your portion and have the server charge your card with that amount. Easy, peasy.

It is easy, we always ask and see if this is what they prefer, and the servers actually prefer to do individual bills over this, at least this is what we have experienced.

 

[Imzadi]

Oh, but according to another poster in the thread this spun off from, separate checks is "unheard of" and makes one incredibly cheap.

Link to other thread?


There is a saying, "When someone says, 'It's not about the money,' It's always about the money!"

For someone to say, "You are incredibly cheap for not evenly splitting the bill," you BET it's about the money. If it wasn't, they wouldn't have a problem with another person NOT subsidizing their meal.



.

 

[gina2000]

Split the check evenly. However, when someone drinks a lot more than the rest of the group, usually he/she will throw in extra money. We never calculate anything to the penny. When we're on vacation, we pool money into a kitty and pay for everything out of it. But we're all close and no one takes advantage of splitting a tab evenly.

I've never seen anyone pull out a calculator to figure out what they owe with the exception of dividing a tab evenly when a lot of people are out together and no one can divide quickly enough (too many drinks, lol). If coworkers order in, everyone eyeballs their bill and throws in extra money to cover tax and tip. That's about the only time we don't split a tab evenly... and even then we don't get hung up on price. If coworkers eat out, we divide it evenly and call it a day.

I'm in NJ and I'm talking about situations with friends, family, and coworkers.

 

[mhsjax]

Link to other thread?


There is a saying, "When someone says, 'It's not about the money,' It's always about the money!"

For someone to say, "You are incredibly cheap for not evenly spliting the bill," you BET it's about the money. It if wasn't, they wouldn't have a problem with another person NOT subsidizing their meal.

I think this is the most intelligent thing I have read, here on the Dis today. Very well said. I need a standing ovation smilie.

 

[onelilspark]

I said other because I'll do a combination depending on the circumstance.

I usually just ask for separate checks at the beginning of the meal so no one is surprised at the end. It's easy enough for the wait staff to do if you ask for it at the beginning of the meal and saves any arguments over who should pay what. But with one friend we usually get stuff and share it, so we always just give the wait staff both our cards and ask to split it evenly. I have no problem doing that if for some reason the restaurant can't separate the check or if there's a lot of sharing involved.

I don't get my panties in a bunch over it. I mean, these are my friends. There will be times that I throw in a few dollars more, there are times when they'll throw in a few dollars more. Not a huge deal to me.

I have been out with people that like to split it to the penny (and don't ask for separate checks to start with) and that drives me crazy. I swear in every situation like that we've always come up a few dollars short. I'm usually the one throwing in more because it's not worth the argument to me.

If we're out with another couple and order an appetizer for everyone to share, I also usually ask for it to be put on my bill...I guess I'm generous?