To expect that if you're a single person out with a couple, that every person buys a round of drinks?

[pimplywrinkle]

...instead of the couple acting as a joint turn together. This couple live together and pool their budget/money and so I expect they think the cost of a turn comes out of a single bank account. Just seems a little unfair really when I just have the one wage and am buying the same number of drinks in a round

YANBU

Rounds, or whips, are far, FAR easier for barstaff, massively so; service is much faster if you do one large order. We encourage rounds (or one person buying the drinks, and sorting the money away from the bar), even for pairs within larger groups, for faster more efficient service.

I think it is cheap to get yourself the less expensive drink on your round, especially if you're drinking the expensive stuff in the other rounds. but i also think that you should all be having similar kinda things for rounds to work - so everyone's having a pint (of roughly similar value) or medium wine, not one persons having a pint of carlsberg the there having a large wine or double g&t. I have a friend who never, EVER gets a round - we often go out in groups and he manages to never be the one going to the bar. It's deeply frustrating. Another friend always buys his round, but I'm always left with the odd one.

Ah but JadedAngel, there are also people that partially dodge rounds by, when it's a larger group, gulps down their drink, then offers to buy a round when most of the group's glasses are still full, so nearly everyone says "no I'm still okay thanks", then they get to buy "their round" which consists of two drinks.

See, minefield!

Honestly, with all my friends these days I wouldn't care, it all balances out in the grand scheme of things, people pay for what they can afford. But people at uni pulled ALL these tricks!

Ah yes singleton presents. Single friends do give the two headed monster that is OH and me a present each and I always give a present from me and another one from him. This applies to birthdays and Christmas .

The one you get caught out on is if you are the parent of a singleton but everyone else within the present giving radius has two or more. However having a second child just to improve the present ratio was a bit excessive.

i don't get it

lets say dh and i and a friend go for a drink

dh goes and pays for a round
friends pays for a round
i pay for a round

whats wrong with that?

btw, i really do hate the fuckers who order a vodka when everyone else is on lager

Custardo, that's fine. That's how you should do it, so long as the next drink is bought by your DH, and you don't both look at your friend as you (collectively, you and your DH) have now bought 2 vs your friend's 1.

Custardo, you sound fine, the problem is when a couple perceives themselves as a single unit.

So, imagine a night where you were having 6 rounds (wild night out!)

Fair

Singleton buys round of 3 drinks
couple member 1 buys round of 3 drinks
couple member 2 buys round of 3 drinks
Singleton buys round of 3 drinks
couple member 1 buys round of 3 drinks
couple member 2 buys round of 3 drinks

So each person has purchased 6 drinks

Unfair

Singleton buys round of 3 drinks
Couple buys round of 3 drinks
Singleton buys round of 3 drinks
Couple buys round of 3 drinks
Singleton buys round of 3 drinks
Couple buys round of 3 drinks

So the singleton ends up purchasing 9 drinks, and the couple only end up purchasing 9 drinks between 2, so 4.5 drinks each.

I'd like to defend people buying a cheaper drink in rounds when it's their round. Sometimes it's a easy way to get a non-alchoholic drink so you can have a breather without being called a wuss or pussy or having a sneaky vodka added to your coke.

It only comes out in the wash if, over the course of however many evenings there are, the couples consider themselves to be two people, not one unit

"rounds are so 80s"

I like that one!

ohhhhhhhh i seeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

i swear to god, i looked at that for ages before i got it

With the 'it comes out in the wash' comment, yes, with many of my groups of friends, it does. Even WITHIN groups of friends, there are people I never worry about because it will come out in the wash. BUT there are others who I realise now haven't bought a round since the summer maybe? If we're out in a group they ALWAYS manage to not get in the round. I feel resentful of them, because essentially I'm funding their beer. It';s not that I'm tight, or resentful, but it make going for a 'quiet drink' noticeably more expensive as each time you're the one paying the bit extra, which rankles - this guy is equally able to afford his round, or he shouldn't come out. 5 of us went away a couple of weeks ago to visit uni friends in Germany - he never bought any of the group things, while everyone else got our group tickets, or the round, or the cab, or whatever. It starts rankling when you realise that being open and generous just is being used.

I'm lucky that my friends aren't yet doing everything as couples but it's coming, and I'm dreading it.

I would just tell them you are on an economy drive and so will just buy your own

Or ask everyone to put 10 pounds into a kitty.

Or just wait it out when it's second persons turn. Drink your drink more slowly then them.

I don't drink alcohol so I never go in on rounds. People use to try and "make" me (peer pressure), but it makes no sense for me to buy myself a $2 drink and someone else a $5 drink (so $7 total) so after the above example 6 rounds (with just the 2 of us) we've each spent $21 when if it were just me buying for myself it would be $12 and the other person would be spending $30.

Although at the time I was at Uni and they were all drinking $7+ cocktails and me with my raspberry lemonade... nope. Plus like someone else said, I'd still be on the one drink when they're 3 rounds in!

So no, NBU - rounds are stupid

Ah, thank you for explaining the bar kitty BakerSt (love your nn by the way!)