Splitting the bill.

[Ulysses]

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I am 100% confused about why everyone is arguing with Daryn. Its never a problem for my friends and I to figure out what we each owe and then pay that. If its just me and one friend, typically one or the other will pick up the bill.

We don't come up short on group bills and one person doesn't end up paying all the time because we tend not to eat with the type of people that would take advantage of that sort of thing. Why is it hard to understand? Pay what you owe, the tip usually ends up on the large side, everyone's happy.

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I think it's less about arguing with Daryn, and more about doing what is common etiquette. If you have a group of friends where "paying what you owe" is fine and works---go crazy. But in most situations, especially in large groups, it is much easier, quicker, practical and tasteful to split the bill evenly.

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I am 100% w/ IndieMatty here.

[JordanIB]

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I am 100% confused about why everyone is arguing with Daryn. Its never a problem for my friends and I to figure out what we each owe and then pay that. If its just me and one friend, typically one or the other will pick up the bill.

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Seriously.

And the people arguing "Geez...what do you do?? Say 'I owe 24.25, you owe 26.50, and you owe 24.75'?" are absolute idiots.

Obviously in that case you split.

But in most dining situations you won't have even splits. Check comes, pass it around, each figures out their own, voila.

And this "post-college" demarcation is also pretty retarded, as if financial concerns fly away to happy land once someone has their diploma. If I'm making 3x the salary of one of my friends, I'm not making him f'in pay for my steak and wine.

[daryn]

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Seriously.

And the people arguing "Geez...what do you do?? Say 'I owe 24.25, you owe 26.50, and you owe 24.75'?" are absolute idiots.

Obviously in that case you split.

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precisely

[durron597]

What I almost always do is default split the bill, but we pay attention if one person paid unusually more or less and factor that in. So if we all go out to a diner, one guy gets a steak and a beer, another guy just a soda, and three other people get more moderately priced food (like burgers, sandwiches whatever), we divide by 5, all the burgers pay that, the soda guy pays 2 bucks or whatever and the steak guy pays the rest.

[Ulysses]

The term "post-college" as used in this thread really means "group of people all w/ professional jobs of some sort."

I have post-college friends who have no money. The standard rules do not apply to them.

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But in most dining situations you won't have even splits.

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I disagree. In most dining situations I've been in, bills will be within a few bucks, with exceptions being made for non-drinkers or vegetarians. People who don't drink or always order the absolute cheapest thing tend not to be fun, and I tend not to go out with them.

I think that one person drinking significantly more than anyone else is awkward socially (in general). Most entrees are reasonably close in price, and the differences will even out over time.

It's not worth the extra dollar or two for the tacky ritual of everyone looking at the bill, or the time wasted putting different amounts on different cards or shuffling cash back and forth.

[StevieG]

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The term "post-college" as used in this thread really means "group of people all w/ professional jobs of some sort."

I have post-college friends who have no money. The standard rules do not apply to them.

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In college, most are tight with money. Jobs definitely change that, but so does attitude.

I have plenty of blue collar buddies from the old neighborhood that would never think of chiseling on a tab. And I know college buddies that are calculating to the last one what they owe for a bill.

With tight people like that, El D, you just can't use the (wonderful) practice you mention earlier of dividing up and tossing in extra where appropriate.

[Ulysses]

Another post I agree with. I generally go one of four ways:

1) Default - split the bill. Make modifications as reasonable (one guy didn't drink, for example).

2) Someone picks up the bill - done w/ some good friends who I see regularly, pretty much only in 2-person dining situations. If there were a group of 4 who I went out with on a regular basis, this would also seem like a reasonable option.

3) Everyone tosses in what they think they owe - this is done in situations where the group is a little larger, people arrived at different times, some people had dinner while some had just drinks or apps, etc.

4) Everyone takes a look at the bill and tries to calculate exactly what they owe. This is sort of the last resort. It is usually done when there are a lot of people in the group who don't know each other or a number of people in the group who don't have much money.

[RunDownHouse]

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

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[B Dids]

Another one we have in large groups, where money is more of an issue.

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. It also helps when you're paying with like 5 credit cards, and you have one person who can communicate that to the server.

This is also nice, because in a huge party it can control for that one person who has no concept of sales tax or tipping (or the [censored] who doesn't realize that the b-day girl shouldn't have to pay for her own drinks), and can leave you crippled if they don't pitch in the right amount.