To ask if you always check the bill at a restaurant

[Juneatlast]

DH and I went out for pizza last night. I've noticed that these days, instead of bringing the bill and then coming back for payment, they bring the bill then stand there with the card machine.

Felt a bit rushed checking bill whilst waitress was standing there. Glad I did as they'd charged for an extra glass of wine - £9.

Do you check or just tap your card?

Always check. I have had more bills where things have been missed than added by mistake. I would always say. Plus I want to know how much service/ cover charge is added.

As long as it seems reasonable, we don’t always check, we probably should though. A few years ago in a restaurant, the bill came and it was about £800 when we knew it should have been around half of that so that was very noticeable. I probably wouldn’t know if an extra glass of wine had been charged as I can never keep track of my own drinks never mind anyone else’s. 😬

I always check the bill, same with shopping. Weirdly, recently had an incident, I am deaf wear aids but in a crowded restaurant it's difficult to hear, friend booked table for 12, it's a seaside hotel we often go to. It was another friends birthday.(She doesn't drive so I have taken her) I haven't had a drink since breakfast,so birthday girl goes up to the bar,orders 2 lattes. You pay for drinks at the bar,on ordering. We sit down, friend one texts to say she will be 10 minutes late.12.20, I say we should claim the table.no one turned up at12.35, I tell her "we bought a drink while we were waiting, we just had iced water with the meal . After the meal I give friend one, cash, for half (we're treating birthday girl) I get home and think that's expensive,text no one, she reads out the bill. It includes £10 for the 2 lattes. I told her we had already paid for them, she rages I should have told her, repeat,I DID, as soon as she sat down. She was still raging at me this week about it, blaming me, then saying that the hotel obviously conned us..we have been going there about 10 years, I know the restaurant manager, probably going next week just for coffee, thought I would mention it... likely get a free coffee. As far as I'm concerned, friend one who made booking should have been the one to contact hotel immediately and say something,if she hadn't been late, this wouldn't have happened.

They can walk away and come back in a few minutes. Some things take time, if they can't deal with, it's not my problem. It is not in any way unreasonable to check a bill - even if the restaurant is busy.

I’ve noticed they come straight over with the machine now too and it’s yet another reason why they make dining out so unappealing. They want you out the door in lightening speed, I’ve often came out £70 lighter for two people in an hour and thought that was no experience.

Always….after a heart stopping moment in a restaurant in Copenhagen that we had chosen because it was supposed to be very good food for very reasonable prices (by Danish standards). We had a truly amazing meal and then the bill arrived. The total was 10x what we were expecting and I was panicking wondering if I had completely mis-understood the menu or miscalculated the price in Kronor, then I noticed the number of covers at the top. We’d been given the bill for a group of twenty that were in the private area behind us. The staff were incredibly apologetic and we were incredibly relieved!

I always check, I have picked up mistakes plenty of times

Always check, particularly because I want to see if they’ve included a service charge or not so I know whether to add a tip.

A couple of times they haven't charged me for a glass of wine or beer and when I point this out they're amazed I want to pay!

Never had anyone hover over me as soon as they've brought it over. I would much prefer that to them wandering off then not coming back for at least 10 minutes pissing me off because I'm ready to leave and they seem surprised I want to actually pay the bill not just see it.

I only really check it to see if there's been a service charge already added.

I’d think someone who didn’t check the bill was a bit of an idiot, so I guess we find different things attractive.

Yup, always check, but I usually have a good idea how much it's going to be anyway as I look at the prices on the menu. If it's as expected, it's just a few seconds, but if the bills is higher than expected, say by more than a fiver, I'll glance down the list, line by line, just to check not been double charged for anything or anything extra added. I tend to find it's the "offers" that they don't process properly, i.e. two mains for £20 or pick n mix main and desert for £15 where they charge separately without discounting. If they wait whilst I check, that's on them to waste their time, but most staff would bring the bill and then come back with the machine once you tell them you're paying by card.

@Juneatlast

I was thinking later, if I'd been on a first date with a guy, would I think he were a bit uptight for checking the bill!

For me, quite the opposite, I absolutely hate waste and would have been impressed if a first date proved to be aware and careful with money. Obviously not stinginess but that's completely different. OH is a bit like that, but so I am, so it's worked well for us. Happy enough to spend money when we feel it's worth it, but neither of us will ever be ripped off by over-pricing, charging mistakes, scams, etc.

Oh yes we always check. We were once given the wrong bill, the table next to us, a guy on a date where they had lots of cocktails and the bill was over £100. He paid 'his' bill and tried to leave but luckily we were given ours and queried it.

I'm sure he knew what he was doing and the girlfriend didn't looked too impressed

Out for a meal at the weekend and yiu had a QR code on the table so could check/pay

I always check - also check my supermarket bills too - would say they are wrong more often than restaurants!
On average once a month I get overcharged - usually on a sticker reduction but sometimes on BOGOF

Always do a sense check on it, don’t sit there adding it all up line by line....but do a quick mental “ball park”value. Yes, and have come across errors

I do look, but don’t heavily go through the details. I often pay the bill with others handing over cash or there are a couple of us who always owe one or the other

I do check it a gratuity is on the bill, and in my experience if this is done by the venue the card machine is ready on the “do you want to pay % extra” and I can choose to or not, rather than it having been pre-added

Like a few other posters I have had the wrong bill, at about £100 over, but seemed fine for a small group. Until reading the full receipt, some of us had eaten, drinks had been bought at the bar etc
We had left after closing but they were still there on return - I had paid the previous groups bill and ours was still on the system unpaid

For me, quite the opposite, I absolutely hate waste and would have been impressed if a first date proved to be aware and careful with money

I said on the first date! Wouldn't want new guy asking "June, did you have sweetcorn and pineapple topping or just sweetcorn?"

After the first date he could get his calculator out for all I care.

Although, I haven't been on a first date for nearly 40 years!

Agree with you there. There's often mistakes on bills, sometimes quite big ones.

I always check the bill. I once had alcoholic drinks added to my bill which cost quite a lot; and as I don't drink alcohol at all, no idea where they came from (suspected they were from the next door table).

I don't care who is hovering over me, it gets checked.

I always take off extras, such as "donations to our current charity".
In some hotels they add a "voluntary" 12% without even asking, I always check and then ask for it to be removed (which involves them disappearing and then coming back with a new bill). I don't care who it supports, I'm not paying anything extra than the items we consumed....

If that makes me 'tight', then I'm OK with that.

I normally don't, especially if I am with others and paying.The reason : money matters embarass me and I dont want to make a fuss in front of others. It is a failing of mine. But I have a good head for numbers and can gauge if the bill is padded. I may not dispute an extra 9 quid but will certainly raise hell if it is 90 quid. I do collect receipts and have a look at them later.

Before anyone comes at me, please note that I acknowledged my failing. I would like to be more thickskinned about money but I grew up poor and tend to overcompensate.

I started checking carefully after discovering that the owner of our then favourite restaurant was in the habit of adding the price of an extra bottle of wine to the bill for larger groups.

I'd noted a discrepancy once, but had thought that it was my mistake. I found out from a member of the waiting staff - the same person who told us not to leave tips, because part-time staff (the majority) weren't allowed a share of them. (We'd bumped into her elsewhere.)

I always check it. If they are standing there with the card machine waiting, I say something like "Thank you. I'll have a look and give you a shout when I'm ready to pay". Then I can check it without them watching me.