+125 When getting food with a big group where everyone wants to pay separate, I feel like the standard should be separate checks. Splitting the bill evenly because the waiter doesn't want to spend the time doing that shouldn't be my problem. amirite?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I don't think it's unpopular to prefer individual checks. I will say a friend of mine actually just grabs the whole bill and then asks everyone to just send him their portion. It works pretty smoothly as long as you trust your friend group to pay their share.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

People love to forget about tax and tip a lot of the time 😕

by Anonymous 1 year ago

People pretend to forget about tax and tip.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If people's friends are doing that, they kind of seem like not very good friends. Like my friends and I fight over the bill. If its a big group we all throw in more than enough and leave a giant tip. I feel like any friend who tries to stiff their friends on what in the long run doesn't amount to that much is someone who I wouldn't be able to totally trust either. Maybe I'm not seeing the bigger picture or something?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Remind them

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Sorry, is this some sort of American reference that I'm too European to understand? Jokes aside though, it's actually so weird to me that you also have to count that in when splitting bills. How do you calculate taxes and tips? Is it a percentage for each dish you get? Sorry you gotta go through that, sounds like a bore.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It is a bore. Tax is calculated on the total of the bill and is not itemized. Tip is not included either and is usually calculated by hand by the customer (standard is 20%).

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This seemingly never works out perfectly in any of my friend group situations, I think because of the tip and some people are bad at math or something. Idk. But yeah I do prefer this lol

by Anonymous 1 year ago

The way to really do it, if you're the guy footing the bill, is to go through it yourself and just give everyone their total. 99% of the time they'll just pay it and not even think twice. If you let them figure out what they owe you, that's when it all goes haywire.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yup, same with the government and taxes, just tell me how much I owe you!

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Government: well we would, but Intuit owns 65% of congress and they made it illegal for us to tell you what you owe until after you file your taxes.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

So this! The least they could do is make their tax software not suck. Intuit is my go to example of why citizens United needs to be overturned and politicians shouldn't be able to take lobbyist bribes

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I know my friend tips well, I generally estimate my costs erring on rounding up my bill to hep with the tip. L $12 burger, 3 $8 drinks, send him $40-45.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

That's exactly the issue. Do the math, that's still not quite enough

by Anonymous 1 year ago

12 + 24 = 36 20% of 36 = $7.20 36 + 7.2 = $43.20 I'd say I'm right in the ball park. Add in the fact I'm already roughing out the cost of the food and drinks the tip is probably closer to 25%

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Tax?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If hes rounding up to 45 dollars, it will more than cover it including tax. Sales tax in the US is around 7% in everywhere I've lived. That's less than 3 dollars ($2.52.) If OP gives 45 dollars thats 9 dollars for tip and tax. More than enough. Even if tax is 10%, 45 dollars exactly covers a 15% tip and tax on a 36 dollar purchase.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

But he said $40-45. $40 wouldn't be enough

by Anonymous 1 year ago

They specified 40-45. So if he sends 45 that's more than enough.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

So then sometimes they don't send enough. Still valid to criticize the range. If I borrow $20 from you and then say I'll send you $15-$20 next week, I'm sure you wouldn't be too happy about it.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If I offer to pay for your lunch at a low-end restaurant and you don't know the total so you obligate yourself to send me $15-20 I would be fine with that

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Doesn't that come to $36?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

+ 7% tax and 15% tip it would have to be 44

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yes. Tax brings that to $40. So that leaves a very small tip

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Eh it's fine $4.30ish a piece

by Anonymous 1 year ago

You see, this is the problem. The minimum you should contribute in that situation is $45. This really is not difficult.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I like using this app called Tab. It allocates out the tax and tip according to everyone's total.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Have you used splitwise? You can split the bill based on what everybody ordered and it will automatically do the share for tips and taxes. So you have a total amount and then each one gets their own amount to pay back

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yeah this can be rough, people will forget to add in tip or tax or forget some small thing they ordered or whatever, which isn't a big deal, but when it starts happening often it's like alright, I'm just always paying more, what the hell. But then you kind of sound like a greedy asshole if you're like "wait a minute you owe two dollars more!"

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Speaking as someone in the Restaurant industry, separate checks never work for us either. There is always at least one, sometimes more in big groups who don't pay their checks. Next time, tell the waitress you want your check separate and everyone else is going to split everything else.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Typically I try to pick up the check on one card and send individuals venmo requests; I calculate it out by ratio of their individual cost to total, apply across tax and tip and venmo request the sum of those amounts.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

That's an excuse they're using to try and get away with ripping each other off.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Add their part of the tip and taxes into the total you tell them? Seems like a simple fix.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Know what you owe plus healthy tip, the server had to serve you even though your meal was minimal, hand over the money and that's it. If any of your friends are short, just show them your math. Only takes a time or two. Some places do not divide checks for larger parties because it's a hassle for them.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It very time consuming and people will move seats and asking you to combine other personal items with your check. The worst part is that people game this and one person will try to skip out on their check. Bump that I will bring you a pen, paper and calculator.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yeah we do this. Whoever picks up the bill sends a venmo request to each person for their share. We have two types of friends: (1) the ones who make a spreadsheet and calculate everyone's exact share and share it with the group; or (2) the people who go, "whadya get? The teriyaki for $14.99? Okay so lets just call that.. like $17?"

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I'm definitely in the latter category, I rough estimate my cost for the night, but I'm also always ready to buy the first round the next time we hang out.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I was a bachelor party not too long ago where one of the guys secretly paid for everyone and wouldn't let anyone send him money for their part (people asked him for Venmo and stuff) Then a couple weeks later he sent out a bill evenly split across everyone minus the groom. Annoyed me, because I ate cheap and didn't buy any drinks there (we already bought drinks that were at the place we were staying, so I figured I'd wait for those). Definitely ended up paying $10-15 more than I should have for that meal, which wasn't a big deal but was annoying, especially since he acted like he was doing us all a favor

by Anonymous 1 year ago

That's what me and my friends always do, or if we're doing something else after (eg drinks or we know we're meeting up again soon) we just take turns paying

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Sounds like thats the job of the waiter, at least where Im from.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It can be a service that is provided, but it's a classic case of give someone an inch and they'll take a mile. Splitting a check 18 ways where some people split appetizers and others bought rounds of drinks complicates things, and when a restaurant is packed it can unnecessarily delay the server for helping the other patrons. There's no harm in asking, but people should use some courtesy and common sense or accept the restaurant's policy.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Maybe its a cultural thing. Here its customary that everyone can pay whatever way they want. Servers wont be splitting the price of one thing through multiple people, thats on them to figure out, but everyone says what they ate and drank and thats what they pay.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yea it seems like entitlement from the waiter who is also expecting a tip

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This. We often do that one person covers the bill, and then we cash app each other our shares. Bonus that we live in a place where tax is always included and tipping is not a thing lol

by Anonymous 1 year ago

>It works pretty smoothly as long as you trust your friend group to pay their share. There's the rub. Just about everytime I've had to do this people throw their money into the pile, and at the end we don't even have enough to cover the full tab let alone the tip.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Look, as someone who's worked at restaurants and bars forever, it's not a huge deal for a server to split up a bill. Just let them know right off the bat that you'll be paying separately. If you wait till the end, it's a pain in the ass (especially if they're busy) to go back and split up everything. So that's my advice OP, let the server know at the beginning, you shouldn't have any problems after that.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I can't remember the last time I went to a restaurant and the server's first question wasn't "together or separate?" Then they take our orders accordingly. It's a non issue.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yeah if it's a couple they sometimes wait till the end to ask how things will be split, but if it's three or more adults they seem to always ask up front how things will be split.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This is what I wondered. When I have gone out to eat with a large party, it was no problem to get the bill split. Just indicate who is on what ticket, and go from there. With appetizers (saw this brought up above) it goes on the ticket of the person who ordered them, and then would be up to them to get any money back if other people ate them.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Anecdotally I've eaten at restaurants with groups many times and I've literally never been asked that. That would be great though. That should be the norm.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I know a bunch of POS systems are different, so some don't allow seat numbers or whatever, but when I was serving I always put people all separate because it was easier to combine tabs than separate. I feel like people should just assume everyone is on their own check unless they say otherwise. It always saved a lot of bs for me too do it that way.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

i've been to some places tho that say they'll only split it two ways so this could still be an issue depending on where you go

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I was a server at a Shoney's in 2005 and had the ability to split checks by seat. If any restaurant running in the year 2023 can't do it, they deserve major side-eye.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

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by Anonymous 1 year ago

Then they're being lazy or purposefully whatever. Any POS system will let you split a bill into separate checks. It can be a bitch, especially when you're busy, but it can always be done.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

The way OP phrased their little rant dropping in how "every time" they go out to eat and they ask for a split bill the waiter has an attitude, and how it's not their problem tells me OP is the actual problem.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

100%. Let the server know, don't switch seats, don't order for other people etc. and it probably won't be an issue!

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Dude I've done this and they still hate it! You must have been an awesome server

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I think you're just getting unlucky with bad servers. As a restaurant industry lifer, servers are totally okay with you saying it at the beginning. Having to do it all at the end does suck

by Anonymous 1 year ago

How big is your group? If it's over 8, yea I'm going to hate it anyway just because it will take me 10 minutes to run everyone's card. Nothing I can do about it, that's just how long it takes.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Thats literally their job.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If your friends know you only eat a salad and they still expect you to split the bill evenly, you either have no backbone or not so great friends. I feel like you're putting a lot of this on the waiter when your group could easily figure this out with venmo.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

OP is ruining the events for herself by being socially awkward and blaming the wait staff.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Precisely. She can't speak up but sure, it's not her fault…

by Anonymous 1 year ago

As a previous server at several different restaurants, it's only annoying when I ask a big group if they'll be together or separate at the BEGINNING of the interaction and they decide together. Then later, after all extra this and that is ordered, now they want separate checks. Way easier to keep track of everything from the beginning, extremely annoying to do it at the end. Although, yes i get it, it was my job. Still annoying.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

When getting food with a big group where everyone wants to pay separate, I feel like I should call the waiter and ask for a separate bill.* Here I corrected it for ya. Learn to stand up for yourself, the waiter wouldn't mind to do it just for you since you're so picky about it.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Right? Try being assertive, tell the waiter ahead of time you'd like a separate check. Clearly communicate expectations beforehand and it makes it easier for everyone.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

THIS. I rlly don't see why it's so hard to be straight forward with what they wanna say.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Alot of servers ask is this all on one check with big parties.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It's not unpopular but it should be communicated to the server from the beginning. Especially if some people are paying for others.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

In my country it's the default that everyone pay for its part of the check. It's not longer since every restaurant now have softwares that does it easily. "What did you get ?" "this and that" "Ok, that will be xx€. Next. "

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Splitting checks isn't a problem for a table of four, it's a problem for a table of 10. Then, it's just because it will take time to run 10 different transactions.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This feels like a very American problem, where I'm from making 10 different transaction is very quick and has never been a problem.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Never had any issue with big tables (we often eat outside at my workplace with my collegues and we are between 6 and 12 everytime). But we usually pay at a counter, not at the table. It's not that long as I said and I never had any complain in any restaurant about it.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Like I said, 6 isn't really a problem. 12 can be. Maybe not when you can go and pay at the counter, but most restaurants (not fast-food) in America don't have a counter you can pay at. You have to pay through your server. And that's where 12 different checks can become a problem because it just takes so much time to run 12 different cards for 12 different transactions.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yeah but I was specifically talking not about America. And here it's not a problem, even if it's 20 people. Different checks is the default.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Man I envy places that aren't America in seemingly every way lol

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I'm American and don't have the issue you have

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yeah I've seen multiple sitcoms that were they acted like splitting the check evenly was the norm, but in real life everyone paying their own bill is much more the standard.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I've been bartending/serving for years and in my experience I would guess it's pretty 50/50. The younger crowd tends to split by item, whereas older couples or groups with just divide evenly. I honestly think it comes down to the affluence of the group on whether the extra 10$ is really going to make a break the bank because one couple had an extra round of beers than the other.. I get it's the principle for some people, but for others it really is inconsequential. Just have to speak up on what you prefer!

by Anonymous 1 year ago

And to add to that, no tips.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I don't get it. So your friends expect from you to split the bill evenly? If the bill for 4 of you is 200€ and your food amd drinks were 28€ just throw in 30€ and it's fine.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

OP is saying that he spends more like $15 while they spend $35. So he is coughing up 10-20 more when he shouldn't have.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

And before you know it, half his group is paying in euros, and the other half in dollars.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Ive been on my share of big group outings. I never ever seen a waiter try to split the bill evenly

by Anonymous 1 year ago

say if you got something for $15 and everyone else's is $20 and over and your friends are saying your friends are making you split evenly, you need different friends. i've never had to pay anything but what i owe. it's not hard to pass the check around and everyone see what everyone one owes

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If everyone knows what they got and the restaurant gives an itemized receipt, it takes like a minute or two to figure out what everyone owes. I'd get it if it were like the 1990s or something but come on, everyone has a calculator in their pocket at this point

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Splitwise

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Absolutely agree. I feel like this opinion is only unpopular with wait staff.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This is only unpopular in America. But in Europe a lot of the times the waiter just comes to you with the card reader in hand and expects you to do the math/enter the number you owe (taxes included). If you don't do the math properly the waiter will know that the total doesn't add up and your whole group will be stuck until the total is paid. Sounds painful but people take responsibility for exactly how much they spend.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

In Canada most places input food order by person automatically so it's easier later. I really like this way of doing things. If they don't normally do that wherever you are, I would suggest telling the waiter upfront "we will be having separate cheques please" so they can plan accordingly. I imagine it's much more of a pain to separate it out afterward than in the beginning.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It is easier to do it at the beginning, but for OP's group size it's still asking a lot. For 6-8 people, sure, for 25 people, sorry, one check and you figure it out.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

You might need to have some backbone instead of complying then. Splitting big checks is a huge pain I'm the ass for your server, it just is. Especially if the computer system they have isn't good with separate checks. It can take forever, it really slows everything down. If you tell your server at the beginning that you need separate checks that definitely makes things easier than surprising them at the end. Or just put it on one check and venmo, it's easier and faster for you to know you had one salad plus tip and venmo your friends vs your server remembering what 7 people had. Especially when there's appetizers to split and people wanting to buy each other drinks. If you're paying $70 for your meal because because you don't know how to stand up for yourself then that's something you should work on instead of just not going out

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Ha…I mean you're not wrong. I'm incredibly conflicted adverse. It's my big personality problem. I do need to learn to stand up for myself instead of agreeing to things with gritted teeth.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yeah, just say "I'd love to come and celebrate with you but my budget is maxed out and I'd like pay my portion of the bill." Or, just go, and when the bill comes, you give your portion plus enough for tax and tip and just let it be. If someone says anything, just say "I had a salad and water. It was $10. Here's $20." That's more than enough to cover your portion. Anyone who says anything after that can suck it. Just smile and stand your ground.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This is only an unpopular opinion with people that want to order expensive food and alcohol and then just "divide it evenly" among everyone.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I think as long as you let the waiter know beforehand it shouldn't matter. When I was a server I hated when I had 15 people and they didn't tell me until the end it was all separate. because then you have to figure out who had what, who is taking what appetizers on their tab etc. but if the table let me know beforehand I could scribble my notes enough to know who had what

by Anonymous 1 year ago

or one person just pay and argue it amongst yourselves on who will venmo for what

by Anonymous 1 year ago

As someone that doesn't drink anymore I could t agree more. If everyone is ordering roughly the same thing it's not a big deal to split evenly. But when everyone is ordering a 25 meal and 50-75 worth of drinks and appetizers. I don't feel like I should be paying $40-$50 so other people can drink.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If u tell AT BEGINNING of meal it's usually not a big deal. Like at 1st order. (Only gets rough when it's like 6 diff checks)

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I was a server 10 years ago. Splitting checks wasn't hard then. And I have to imagine the software these days is better. I think some servers who don't want to split are lazy. Not to mention if you enter things correctly to begin with by seat, splitting isn't hard at the end.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Not wanting to split a check into 5+ portions during a rush does not make someone lazy

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Nah I agree with you. I am vegetarian and dont drink alcohol, so my meals are always wayy cheaper, but I pay double every time

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Unpopular opinion : serving might be a tough job but this is one of the few ways that is actually providing service that is worth being tipped for

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Just bring cash—a wide assortment of bills and coins—and pay exactly what covers your food and drink. Problem solved.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Just insist on receiving your bill separately. Tell the waiter this when you order, instead of after the bill comes. If they have a problem with that aspect of their jobs, that's on them not you.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Not unpopular at all, unless you're the server that has to split a big parties check up

by Anonymous 1 year ago

y'all ever heard of cash app, Venmo, Zelle..??

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Yes but nobody ever wanted to just put the whole thing on their card and absorb the potential mis calculations of people. A group of 25 people got an expensive meal a few weeks back and one friend was left holding the bag for $60

by Anonymous 1 year ago

just ask the waiter before you order so he can enter it separately. its annoying when ya'll tell us at the end.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

You can easily determine how much your food was. Even if they don't split the check, hand over your amount and be done with it. If someone insists that you have to split it all evenly, they're either dumb or rude.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

This is what I do. I bring cash when I eat out with people so I can avoid this

by Anonymous 1 year ago

God forbid you could bring cash or use the dozens of money sharing apps

by Anonymous 1 year ago

My whole life growing up in LA, the convention has pretty much always been 1 person pays and everyone else pays that person back the total of their own food at a later time. Even split is obviously unfair.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Heres the problem... that server who is expected to take care of 10+ other guests cannot do so because he is splitting 12 checks in the back. This is selfish. You are there to enjoy yourself yes but making the job as easy as possible on the staff makes you a good customer. Its not required but put yourself in their shoes.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Exactly. If I'm spending 5+ minutes at the POS splitting checks, printing checks, running cards, looking for 8 check books, 8 pens, making sure they're in the right order, then all it does is take time away that I could be helping other tables. It's not hard to do but it takes time that the server could spend helping other patrons. Just venmo/cashapp each other instead of hurting other guests dining experience.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Why not just have someone pay the bill and then everyone Venmo? I know not everyone has Venmo but the people I go out with regularly do.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I can't fault your reasoning.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

It just stinks. I wish I made more money

by Anonymous 1 year ago

I don't know why servers aren't more inclined to split checks. I think they do better with tips when people pay theirs separately!

by Anonymous 1 year ago

‘Do you want to take my order last because I'm having a salad with no dressing and I'd like a separate check, please.' That way your order can be easily separated from the group check. If the server gives you any problem, no tip. It's their job and is absolutely no big deal to give you a separate check. Stand up for yourself.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

Seperate checks isn't an issue if you ask BEFORE you start ordering. If you ask for seperate checks in a large group afterwards, youre an asshole.

by Anonymous 1 year ago

May I suggest you simply go and pay your share at the till? Then the rest can split their stuff evenly if they want to?

by Anonymous 1 year ago

If you can't afford $70 dollars on dinner you shouldn't be going out to eat.

by Anonymous 1 year ago