Splitting the bill - from a waitress’s POV.

[MazDazzle]

If you’re out for a meal in a large group and you want to pay individually, how do you go about it?

I’m a waitress in a smallish bistro. It’s a nice place and we do our best to accommodate our customers. We had a table of 23 last night: starters, mains, pudding and some sides, plus cocktails and coffee. Instead of asking for the total bill, each person came up to the til one at a time and asked to pay for what they had.

I had to listen patiently while each person tried to remember what they had. It’s a long process; I had to log in/out multiple times for each customer, shut down screens, open new ones, trawl through the very long bill trying to find each item, create a new table for each customer, cut and paste it to a new bill... this is before we get to the cash/card payment. 23 times!

It took a good 3 mins per customer, so for over an hour the restaurant floor was one person short. It happens all the time and both the restaurant owners and staff are sick of it.

WIBU to say ‘Sorry, we’re unable to make up individual bills, but I’m happy to print out multiple copies of the total bill and provide a calculator. Each person can pay by cash/card, whichever is easiest.’

Would you think it was rude if a waitress said this to you?

Yes Puppy, I like the sound of that!

I think expecting one person to put 23 meal bills on their own credit card is a lot to ask of friends but the group should have specified at the onset that they would pay separately and then you could made out a running total bill of what each person ordered. Call them person 1-23 round the table ( and hope they don't swap seats during the evening!!!)

Perhaps restaurants need to start asking at the beginning of service or when the table is booked how the bill will be paid for if a group is over 4 adults and how the cost of a shared bottle of wine will be split. Time consuming, I know, but did you get 23 separate tips?

We usually bring cash. We pay for what we have but round up so the pot also includes a tip by the time we've all chipped in our share

I was just pondering why there might be an increase in individual bills.

Obviously people are being more careful with their cash but I also wonder if the whole works account and expenses thing plays a role? Having to provide very specific receipts for a limited amount rather than just sticking it on a works card?

I also waitress and this is such a nightmare. We have people doing this quite often, though with fewer people in the party. I totally get you about the logging in and out of the till, creating new tables for each customer. It’s such a pain.

I think your proposal is perfectly reasonable, so long as you tell them with a smile 😊

some of you are really overstating this
Not understanding
Getting anxious
Just say no

It’s really not hard,it’s not a faff,it’s not stressful.its simply adults splitting a bill

Work night out,we had separate bills.staff were nonplussed

In the US you need to specify either "separate checks" or "split checks" (in Us checks = cheques) when you order - people dining at conferences on expense accounts usually have to account for every penny.
Bigger groups anywhere usually have to pay a service charge surely?
Also bigger groups, at the time of booking, usually get just a reduced/set menu.
Perhaps you need to make this into an advantage 'special set menu' with service charge for groups 10+?

They wbu

When I was younger we used to split bill individually but we'd work it out and do the arguing at the table, then pay.

Getting someone to individually go through it 23 times is out of order.

It’s ludicrous for 23 people to ask for separate bills! And whoever said I think it’s not the OPs issue to worry about - it is. It will be affecting how he or she serves other customers. And I think it’s really good that the OP is thinking about how this situation can be improved, it shows they are good at their job.

OP "I’ve been a waitress on and off for over 15 years. When I first started, no one did this.
But it’s becoming increasingly popular. "

interesting. Most of my experience of this is from 20-15 years ago when I was young and more likely to be out in massive groups, eating in a chain restaurant before going out clubbing! I certainly don't remember places being thrown by the suggestion of separate bills beforehand.

I'm surprised anyone would agree to do it after, especially in the way you describe, that does sound horrendous. Apart from anything else, if it took that long, the whole group were just hanging around the restaurant?

I think the increase in it happening is because people don’t carry as much cash around with them these days. Everything has gone contactless and you don’t need actual notes in your purse.

In the old days, you’d just hand your cash over to the bossy know it all who’d designated him/herself chief totter upper.

There's an app called plates where you can split the bill by recording the price of what everyone has ordered against their separate 'plates' - makes it so much easier if someone does this as the order is done!

No it’s only ludicrous to you,plenty other establishments accommodate this
If it’s not your preference don’t do it. But it’s suits others to split a bill

I never carry cash. Hopeless for it. But if I go out for a meal in a group I expect to get cash out. I have left the group many, many times to run down the road to a cash machine

I don't see why restaurants make such heavy weather of this. It's commonplace in Germany/Austria for individul 'tabs' regardless of the number of diners. I've seen it in the UK too.

I understand that one member of staff would be 'off the floor' for a while with the way your place is set up and I think that if your boss wants to be a 'people pleaser' then he can get another member of staff to help or perhaps step in himself?

Why not have it set up as one 'batch' but 23 or however many, individual tabs on that batch? Perhaps that would be possible for your place and your boss can have a look at getting better software for tills?

As PP has said, you can't dictate how people pay. They're the reason for your business and they have choices to eat elsewhere, it's' hugely competitive.

Surely you just treat it as 23 individual customers, but speak to the kitchen and let them know that you are about to put through orders for tables 1-23 and they are one table. They then gather them as one order and cook as such.

Then the same for mains and desserts.

Or you add up the 5 burgers, 3 spaghetti etc and take a handwritten chit to the kitchen and tell them to ignore the printed chits for tables 1-23 that are about to come through.

It absolutely should be done at the beginning of the night though. That's not on to ask at the end.

Instead of asking for the total bill, each person came up to the til one at a time and asked to pay for what they had.

That is absolutely ridiculous for such a large group! Generally if we are out in a group we split the bill equally, I couldn't be arsed with faffing over who had what unless someone was drinking a bottle of expensive champagne or wine. At times one person has paid the bill and the rest gave them cash.

Our till system would be an absolute nightmare to do seperate bills from the start, it's actually easier for big tables to come up one at a time and tell me what they've had so I can split it off and they pay for it there and then. Still incredibly time consuming though.

I don't understand why people can't just keep track of what they have had, tot it up on the calculator on their phone and pay for it by cash or card? I tell people they have to do this (when It's busy, if I have the time to seperate it then I will). Its not the rushed off her feet waitresse's job to think for people, do they not have a brain of their own?

The worst for me is when I go over to table to take payment and one person will say "I had a coke, burger and ice cream" and then hand me their card. Or they will say "we're splitting it 5 ways" and then look at me like I'm supposed to know how much they each need to pay 😂 I always say "OK how much is that?". Quick maths is not my strong point nor is it in my job description. They usually have their phone in their hand as well, do they not know they are literally holding a calculator?

Out In A large group no I don’t split the bill equally.
I don’t drink,I’m veggie.its not at all equal to someone eating expensive meal and drinking
Every establishment big & small has accommodated split bill
Out with my do we split the bill,always

I also agree that it happened MORE in the past.

Now at my age if I'm out with just one other friend one of us will treat the other in a turn taking way but if there are three or four of us we split it.

If I'm out with friends who don't worry about money we split the bill evenly regardless of who had pudding or wine etc, but I'm out with a friend who would need to watch the cents more carefully we'd split it to factor in who didn't have alcohol.

I'm sorry if this makes a waiters job hard but tbh my own job is hard and made harder by having to accommodate a load of individual requests but that's what I do.

This is not a cost effective way for a restaurant to operate. It needs sorting.

I think you’ll just have to adjust to it or change your system.

It’s so popular to pay separately. I go to quite a few restaurants with work/friends/family in a week and I always pay separately and it doesn’t seem to be a problem.

We just agree what we’re going to pay and the waiter comes and we each pay by card.

No1 carries that much cash

@happymummy12345 because I'm not going to fork out £700 from my account and then carry £700 in cash for the rest of the night. And I wouldn't expect anyone else to. Ridiculous suggestion.

This is such an odd way to do it. I mean, usually we all get our own, but not all seperate bills to the penny. Just estimate what you had and bung in a little more too. If a large group is in, I do think they should say before ordering if they will all want seperate bills. But, what a fanny around, the way they did this?!

Completely agree sincethereis
Paying seperately is only an anxiety provoking convoluted drama on mn
Meanwhile in real life it’s a thing.not remarkable not noteworthy because it’s so commonplace