Re: Splitting the bill.
 

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the time wasted putting different amounts on different cards or shuffling cash back and forth.

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http://anthro.palomar.edu/primate/im...ching_head.jpg

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You're right. All wait-staff have no problem remembering 4+ different amounts for 4+ different credit cards. They certainly have never had to have it explained multiple times, and they have never gotten it wrong. Maybe one day I'll visit your parallel universe where splitting the bill exactly is a painless, time-free, and near instaneous process, just like chopping it up.

Do the exact splitters ever go to dim sum, sushi, korean bbq, family-style italian, shabu-shabu, or fondue? Does everyone do a weigh-in before and after?

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

As an addendum to all of this, while my groups always figure out what each individual owes, we never put down more than one card.

Have someone throw down a card and everyone pays that person cash. Otherwise, it's just plain rude. The only concern here might be people wanting their points, miles, cash back, etc. on their card. In that case, just rotate the 1 card each time out.

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

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As an addendum to all of this, while my groups always figure out what each individual owes, we never put down more than one card.

Have someone throw down a card and everyone pays that person cash. Otherwise, it's just plain rude. The only concern here might be people wanting their points, miles, cash back, etc. on their card. In that case, just rotate the 1 card each time out.

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i want to echo all of this as well

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

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As an addendum to all of this, while my groups always figure out what each individual owes, we never put down more than one card.

Have someone throw down a card and everyone pays that person cash. Otherwise, it's just plain rude. The only concern here might be people wanting their points, miles, cash back, etc. on their card. In that case, just rotate the 1 card each time out.

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This is an excellent way of doing things.

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

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As an addendum to all of this, while my groups always figure out what each individual owes, we never put down more than one card.

Have someone throw down a card and everyone pays that person cash. Otherwise, it's just plain rude. The only concern here might be people wanting their points, miles, cash back, etc. on their card. In that case, just rotate the 1 card each time out.

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I had one friend who always organized all-you-can-eat sushi night (usually ended up with 6+ people $30/per person) and intentionally never brought no more cash than cab fare so he could put the whole bill on his Amtrak rewards card. It upset me but I like sushi so I went anyway.

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

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One person takes the bill and just tells everybody what they owe (tax and tip included). This only works because this person has the implict trust of everybody, and is good at math.

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This is how we do it. I'm usually that guy because I don't need my cell phone to calculate a fregin tip.

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

I hate the 'figure out what you owe' method, simply because it does nothing but generate conflict and acrimony. The people who insist on this method are nearly always the ones who'll claim they didn't eat any of the appetizers or that they only had a single drink and that the service was slow so they're not tipping. Everytime I eat out with these type of people I end up covering for them. Both me and my fiance paid our way through college working jobs where the bulk of our income was from tips, and there's no way I'm shorting a server who does their job just because my companions are asses.

I favour the credit card game, but it's not always realistic, since I'll often be eating out with people for whom a $300 bill is a huge hit to their bank account. I also like the 'I got this one' method, but again, a lot of my friends are cheapskates who never step up, so this one is limited too. This tends to be my default with close friends who I either know will step up in the future or who I don't really care if they ever pay me back or not.

With larger groups containing many people who don't know everyone, I think split evenly is the best way to go. If someone consistently abuses the system just ask them to kick in more. Otherwise who cares? Is $4 a big deal? If you only have $7 to your name what are you doing eating out anyways?

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

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Does everyone do a weigh-in before and after?

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You have stumbled onto a brilliant idea!

I think this is absolutely the best manner to charge for dinner. Weigh in's before sitting down, before and after bathroom breaks, and then after dinner is complete.

Pay by weight, just like semi-trucks on the highway.


Shabu-shabu is also a brilliant concept. 2 hours all you can eat/drink. Want more? OK, here comes another 2 hours.

Re: Splitting the bill.
 

I understand the reasoning behind the "after college argument" but it is too much of a generalization. It is a maturity issue and I know many mature 20 year old college students as well as many immature and nitpicky 30-40 year olds.

All throughout college I went to lunch twice a week with the same 3 people at a pub. 3 of us would just want to split the bill, but the fourth would be an [censored] and say something like "oh I had only 2 beers" or some [censored] and try to pay what the bill says for his items without thinking about tax or tip. Eventually he wasn't invited any more.