Home > Feeding Frenzy > Archives > 2008 > July > 07
Monday, July 7, 2008
How do you split the check?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A couple of times over the holiday weekend we went out with a group of families for dinner. There’s always that awkward moment when the check arrives and the bill needs to be divided.
When we dine with friends, they usually have the same size families and eat and drink similarly, so it’s always pretty easy to split it down the middle. Even if one of us has indulged a bit, it usually comes out in the wash over the course of going out together. But when you go out with people you don’t know well things can get prickly.
We’ve dined with some families who recite everything they ordered and pay for exactly that, practically whipping out the calculator to get it down to the penny. While that is certainly fair it is a little uncomfortable when the waiter is watching.
On the other hand, it seems some families use the group meal as way to disperse their indulgences. They think nothing of ordering multiple round of cocktails when dining with teetotalers or ordering the most expensive thing on the menu when everyone else is getting a burger.
What do you do when a bill is clearly not even? Is it no big deal or do you give them a little nudge towards equitability.
