Bill Splitter

[Queynte13]

AIBU to think that the person who suggests splitting a bill evenly is usually the person who benefits from it the most?

Went out for a meal last night. I was driving so I wasn't drinking. I've not been very well lately, which means I'm struggling to eat large amounts so I just had a starter and a side dish. Genuinely not a budgetary issue, I didn't even finish all my food.

The others at the table were drinking bottles of Prosecco and pints.

The bill comes and someone says "that's £30 each". Mine came to £10! This person was drinking and I noticed their portion of the bill was the highest out of everyone (others refused to split evenly in the end).

The worst bit was that everyone scarpered and the waitress returned to the table and told me the bill was short!

@Gertie75 🤣me too! When I read the title, I thought who is he?!

No I don’t think I this is true of bill splitters - my friends split the bill more often than not because it’s simpler that way, but if we notice that someone has had significantly less, like not drinking, then we will suggest they pay for their share and the rest of us split the rest.

I bet it was the ‘bill splitter’ who didn’t put enough in!

@Queynte13

I just felt so awkward. It was a celebration for a friend and this person was her friend, but not someone I'd met before. I didn't want to be that person so I just went along with it until someone else pointed out it wasn't fair.

She then had a face like a smacked arse when she had to pay her share.

I’ve been there, OP. You feel like you’re the one causing a problem on someone’s birthday for speaking up, even though someone else caused it in the first place.

I was at a friend’s birthday dinner years ago and another guest (like with you, it was someone who I didn’t know) made a big thing of splitting the bill, under the guise of us all paying for the birthday boy’s meal. He and his wife happily sat boasting to themselves about how they were ‘so glad to be able to do this’ - but what they’d paid didn’t even cover their own main courses!

I hate bill splitting and the judgement that comes when people dont want to or cant afford to. Always the people that will spread 'if you can be anything, be kind' all over social media as well, ignorant pricks
We ask for individual bills, or if lunch go up and ask to pay for own food at table #. Its never a problem for the staff because its part of their job so really not a hassle

When out with work on a group we get the menus back and everyone sits there totting up their share.
With friends we’ll just split it equally regardless of who has what because it tends to even out over time and it’s quicker.

Lots of variables but wouldn’t really want to be paying for alcohol for people I didn’t even know.

The worst bit was that everyone scarpered and the waitress returned to the table and told me the bill was short!

what did you do? I hope you called them all back and made them pay up!

Yanbu, but I would always calculate my share roughly and if I know I've spent more than another suggest a different split. We have friends who due to medical reasons one only nibbles chips, embarrassment situation, can't drink so no way should her portion of the bill be equal, in fact it's usually 3 couples so we split 5 ways absorbing her costs as we know they are on a lower income, her dh pays his share (20%)

@Gertie75

Am I the only person who opened the thread to find out who Bill Splitter is?

😆🤣 Nope, I did the same. Wondered what he'd been up to! 😆

He’s probably a relation of Bill Stickers - that chap who’s going to be prosecuted!

It was honestly only a few quid, but I'd paid my share on my card, and was then going to leave my change (all £1 coins; not pennies) as my share of the tip.

I left my change as planned but it looked awful when it covered the shortfall and was the only money left for a tip!

I wouldn't mind splitting with family/close friends as that tends to even out eventually but I really didn't want to subsidise a strangers alcohol.

I'm probably just bitter because I really fancied a drink last night 🤣

I would also like to apologise to any Bill Splitter's out there.

I saw the title and wondered if a sleb I’d never heard of had died.

In my close friendship groups, we always do drinkers and non-drinkers splits, it evens itself out eventually. In a big group like for a birthday when not everyone knows everyone, we do separate bills cos someone always ends up winning or losing - which isn't fair if it's a group that won't see each other again.

If you only want to pay for your own dishes, you need to say this at the beginning of the meal in my experience. That way no one gets upset or pissed off or thinks you'll pay for their steak and champagne while you have salad and water.

In my social circle it’s always an even split. Sometimes it works in your favour, other times not, but we’re all affluent enough that it’s not an issue. I find it uncomfortable to sit there with menus and calculators working our who owes what, so I’d tend to pick up the whole bill if our with someone I knew couldn’t afford to split evenly.

I rarely drink when out as driving and I always suggest the bill is split equally.

@Stormyseasallround

In my social circle it’s always an even split. Sometimes it works in your favour, other times not, but we’re all affluent enough that it’s not an issue. I find it uncomfortable to sit there with menus and calculators working our who owes what, so I’d tend to pick up the whole bill if our with someone I knew couldn’t afford to split evenly.

That's how I feel. With friends anyway. Taking it in turns to pay the whole thing also works when it's a regular meet up.

With work colleagues I don't mind doing the tedious adding up thing because there's a big age/earnings split between us all and it's only fair.

This happened to me regularly on work outings back in the 80s and 90s. The very first one I went on in a new office, 20 years old, just married, really tight budget, my meal and drink came to £7. I had just £10 cash on me.

One of the managers and her husband had 3 courses, dearest item on the menu for each course, wine, spirits did the old split the bill and asked for £30 each. I was horrified and said I only had £10. Ended up putting the whole lot in.

That manager was a total bitch to me the whole time I worked there and never missed an opportunity to make me look stupid.

Why are you all sitting there with calculators? When you ask for the bill or go up to pay, you ask to pay individually. You may have to tell them what you've had, but then the server tells you how much you owe. I dont understand all this clutching pearls and overpaying. I am generally the less well off person, or one of then, and I dont want people subsidising my meal or paying for it all because they dont have the patience to wait an extra minute for a individual bill. You may be able to afford it, but I am not a charity case that needs an affluent friend to pay and cover up any awkwardness they create because Im not willing to pay for some of their meal!!

Wow. Your friends are taking the piss.

I have a friend who doesn't drink and we go out of our way to make sure she never pays for any of our drinks

Loads of restaurants won't work out the bill for you! They give you a bill and allow you to do separate payments but up to the group to allocate payments out, not the restaurant.

Why are you all sitting there with calculators

Well it's phones in my case but because it's quicker for 12 people to add up their bill than one server to add up 12 bills. Speed mainly.

There must be an app to help groups split bills?

You'd all need to have it though. Put your own stuff in and it would work it out.

Out people forget what they had or the cost of it (ie added an extea sauce to the steak, did they gave 2 or 3 glasses of wine, who shared that bottle)

It works for a work lunch where people generally have one main and one drink. Not on a boozy big group out event with 3 courses.

And of course someone needs to check all items on the bill have been claimed plus agree how the service charge is shared.

I feel awful if I have one coke more than someone else and we split the bill! I hate hate hate splitting the bill. You just don’t know someone’s finances and maybe they came and ordered what they could afford