Splitting Bills in Restaurants

[TrinnersForWinners]

I'm a waitress part time in a fairly well known chain restaurant, often get people in who want to itemise the bill and pay separately which I don't mind when it's quiet but when it's busy it's irritating, especially when the difference amounts to less than +/- £2 per head usually.
Today I had two women in who had a total bill of £35.10 but insisted on paying for their food separately, when they asked I assumed there would be a difference to make them ask but after calculations it worked out as £17.40 to one and £17.70 to the other. AIBU to think that there's a cut off point where it just becomes ridiculous insisting on itemising everything? Surely part of eating out with friends is the social experience, quibbling over 15p (the difference between what they paid and what they would have done if they split it 50/50) doesn't sound like a very fun social experience to me tbh.

I wish that restaurants would automatically ask if they want bills splitting. I used to live somewhere where if you went out with friends they would give you separate bills without asking. More so at lunch time and less so if you were obviously a couple.

If a table wants to pay separately they should always make that abundantly clear when they place their order. Asking the waiting staff to undo the bill and recalculate it at then end is just downright rude.

I hate it when I’m out with friends and someone starts on the old “I didn’t have the prawn cocktail” shite Yes, "someone" ... because it's not you who didn't have the prawn cocktail. The people who complain loudest about bill splitting are never the ones who find themselves subsidising other people's meals. And no, it doesn't even up over time, because the person with a small appetite who didn't have a starter this time isn't going to have a starter next time either, and the person who had starter and main and then found time for dessert will still need the full three courses next time.

A friend and I go out regularly and always split the bill, we don’t mind if one of us had a more expensive dessert or ‘extra’ drink. The only time I have refused was out with a friend as part of a group of 12 or so, we got there slightly late due to bad traffic and so I bought and paid for our drinks at the bar. We ordered the food (one main, one dessert) and one more drink each. The bill came and I worked out roughly what mine cost (less than £20 - it was part of a special offer for main & dessert) and put £20 in, this more than covered it (total cost inc drink was about £16 from memory). The girl collecting the money to pay said “We’re still £120 short. Has everyone paid?” and looked at us. My friend was going to put more in, till I pointed out that most of the others had had starters (we didn’t) and had shared a few bottles of wine, which we hadn’t ordered (friend was driving, I had one glass that I paid for at the bar then a soft drink), or had any of. No way was I paying double so they could have extra food/drinks. I never ask to split the bill though, I can add it up from the menu.

EastMidsMummy
Only if your friends are a bunch of cunts.

Luckily my friends aren't "a bunch of cunts" and are happy to pay for what we eat and drink.

If a table wants to pay separately they should always make that abundantly clear when they place their order. Asking the waiting staff to undo the bill and recalculate it at then end is just downright rude.

God forbid a waitress should actually be asked to do her job.

Entirely agree -if you want separate bills, make that clear at the start

If your all eating together then your friends enough to chat about it before you ask for the bill!! We always split evens, but work it out from the total and often eat out with 7+. We always work out the drivers food bill before splitting the rest! They shouldn't be paying for wine or even their soft drinks since they are kind enough to drive!! No way would we ask for an itamised bill!! Look at the menu if your really that bothered!!

Eh, I don't get this, for work expenses okay, but just in general is it really that hard for patrons to work out how much they've spent and pay individually if they want to split the bill? Why do they need you to do it for them? I'd be annoyed too.

Not sure why some PP are being so salty, OP already stated that she doesn't mind doing this but when you're busy it can be a seemingly unnecessary action to do because others are too lazy to look at what they've ordered and figure it out themselves, retail and working in the service industry is a pretty thankless job at times, just because OP has questioned something doesn't mean she should go get herself another job...

It depends who you are eating with surely. I don't usually mind bill splitting with friends but people I know less well I would rather not.

Snuggy for some people it's not a case of "not minding" but "can't do"

Even a couple of pounds more than is budgeted for can tip them into trouble.

I'm with hilarious . In Germany it's 'zusammen oder getrennt'. (sp?) together or separate.

I know in this case it's only a few pence but pence add up over time. And it's always people who will benefit (the people who have the most) who want to split. I think it's 100 times more mean and tight to expect others to subsidise your meal and drinks than it is to pay for what you had.

One should always be respectful of anothers budget and I agree its never the person who just has a main and soft drink who suggests splitting the bill.

If we've ordered more or less the same, we just say split it down the middle. If one has ordered way more then we like separate bills.
It's one of the most annoying parts of waitressing and does make you roll your eyes inside, but if you stay chirpy and nice during this exchange, you'll probably get a bigger tip! And let's face it, no one of working out of the goodness of their own heart.

its never the person who just has a main and soft drink who suggests splitting the bill.

Not in my friendship circle. Those who order more say they will pay extra because of their starter, extra drink etc. And those of us who didn’t say, no, let’s just split the bill.

But the.n there doesn’t tend to me a massive discrepancy - eg someone ordered tap water and a bread roll and another ordering champagne, lobster etc

Have never come acrosss the greedy bill splitters references on mumsnet in real life. Fortunately.

Wahaca restaurants have a quick pay app to download - you can select your items from the table bill, add your share of the tip and pay through the app. I f have ound it useful when eating out with colleagues. Anyone who didn't want to use the app could pay using another method.

In my company the highest ranking person at the table pays the entire bill. Works brilliantly for the way our company is set up, might not work for others.
If you do have to get an itemised bill to reclaim expenses you can't just not get one because it happens to be a busy time in the restaurant. It's not like the customer has much choice.

Where I’m from originally, it’s pretty normal for waitstaff to do this. Are a lot of point of sale (POS) systems in UK not set up to do this easily?

What's the point of listing things separately on the bill if it's not so people can see what was ordered and how much it was and have the option to pay how they wish?

Obviously those saying how petty and rude it is haven't sat there with a salad and a lemonade all night then had to sub double vodkas and coke and a mixed grill.. .

That's the entitled behaviour. Shy on earth as a waitress are you complaining about people paying for their food. I've done this job you get on with.

@Aridane

Have never come acrosss the greedy bill splitters references on mumsnet in real life. Fortunately.

I have, unfortunately. A very large group of us were out for a friend’s birthday. Think 20 or more people and lots were coming and going, just stopping in for a drink at the table, etc. I ordered my food and didn’t have any alcohol because I wasn’t drinking at the time plus I was really broke too. I literally just had my main dish and water because that’s what I wanted. Most of the menu didn’t appeal to me so I didn’t have any of the starters either. Same thing for my best friend who was sitting next to me. He just doesn’t like alcohol at all and was a picky eater at the time. He ordered something inoffensive and plain to him and drank water.

When it came time to pay, I put in my money with enough to cover tip and some for the birthday boy, which was about 20-ish. Everything came up short by at least 125-ish. My best friend and I threw in another fiver each but I was genuinely tapped out because that’s all the cash I had on me.

The poor birthday boy ended up having to pay an extra 80 for his own birthday meal to cover the difference!! He was ticked off to say the least. We think it may have been some of the people who just drank a glass of wine and then left who never ponied up the money. Or it was the people who ordered lots of appetizers expecting everyone to share but others didn’t.

Either way, that memory has stuck with me for nearly 20 years. It’s left a bad taste in my mouth regarding uneven splitting of bills. I just prefer to pay for my own food and be responsible for my own food, whether that means I’m having a frugal day or an expensive 4-course plus drinks day. Let me literally mind my own business and you can mind yours.

I went for dinner with some people I knew through volunteering, I was 21 and until recently unemployed so just had a main and a coke, they were all older and better off and ate and drank a lot more and I really resented splitting the bill. I think it was very rude of them given that they knew I was on a tighter budget and had clearly ordered less.

In hindsight I wish I had pretended to only have a 20 on me. Or ordered lobster and champagne.

*If a table wants to pay separately they should always make that abundantly clear when they place their order. Asking the waiting staff to undo the bill and recalculate it at then end is just downright rude.

God forbid a waitress should actually be asked to do her job.*

Until recent years most people would more likely have cash on them or just one would pay with a card. The time taken to split a bill 5 ways at the end of a meal probably adds five minutes to her task which used to be put bill on table, go away, come back take cash. give receipt. I think it is a bit over and above what a waitress should have to do.

But to split the bill as a waitress do you not just tap "split bill" then select the items person a ordered, computer totals them. Then b pays the balance. Or they tell you person a needs to pay £17.10. you enter £17.10 cash payment, then computer says £17.40 left.

I haven't waitressed in over 15 years but that's how it happened way back then.