Nicole went out to dinner with a group of friends last night, and the moment that everyone dreads finally came…the bill. For some reason that is always the most difficult part of the evening, no matter what. Long story short, one of Nicole’s friends wasn’t just going to split the bill. She wanted to itemize it and only pay for what she had eaten and drank.
This annoyed the crap out of Nicole because she just likes to split it even with everyone regardless. Ryan disagreed and noted that a lot of the time he’ll go out with friends who don’t drink much, so he’ll subtract the drinks from the bill and pays for those himself. The Morning Mash Up then proceeded to call out their producer (and Sirius XM Hits 1 late night DJ) Mikey Piff.
Every morning they all go out for breakfast, and Mikey Piff always asks for a separate check. However, this is because he always gets something simple and cheap, where as The Morning Mash Up has some convoluted breakfasts. We’re talking a difference of a 5 dollabill, dinner with friends, nicole biggins, mikey piff, r breakfast and a 15 dollar breakfast here.
With that said, do you think itemizing the bill is too much or are there instances where it works? Should you just split the bill with your friends every time because they are your friends? What do you think is the proper etiquette?
You’re darn right I’m itemizing my bill
! I’m broke and can barely afford to go out to dinner right now. You might be my friend, but I’m sure as heck not paying for your filet mignon if I’m order a bowl of soup w/ water!
Well if you plan on paying for everyone, don’t tell your friends until the end, because if they find out before hand, they will rack up the bill with the most expensive items. So I think it’s best to wait and surprise them at the end.
I think splitting the bill in equal amounts is tottaly fair. If your too broke to pay then you should stay home and eat ramen noodles.
Even if you can’t afford an expensive meal, it’s still nice to go out with friends every now and then. I certainly can’t afford to pay for anyone but myself. The smart thing to do before you even order is to let the waiter know it will be on separate bills. That way no one feels awkward about wanting to pay for only themselves.
Depends on who we are with. If they have picked up our bill in the past, we are more than happy to return the favor. If they are people who need to split it down to the cent, then don’t even tip! Well I would rather get separate checks! That way the server knows where the tip is coming from. We always tip big with good service!
Unless you specify seperate bills to the waiter split the bill equally between everyone at the table. I hate the person who itemizes the bill. If you are really that worried about paying for only what you ate then ask for a seperate bill AT the beginning of lunch, dinner, or what have you. If you can’t afford to go out than why are you out in the first place?
Just split it! Come on, if you’re THAT broke ya’ shouldn’t be goin’ out ta’ dinner in the FIRST place!!
It depends on how much money we all have. When I go out with my college friends, we all get separate bills. If I’m with my high school friends, we’ll pay for each other, then the next time the other pays. Or we’ll go somewhere and everyone throws in some money and we get whatever we can get with the money on the table lol. I’m 16, and poor.
There is one friend I go out with that NEVER pays her full cost. Example. Her lunch was $7 the other day as was mine and my husbands I told her id pay the tip. So she puts in a $5 dollar bill and calls it even. My husband was really disgusted and got up and walked away. On my birthday all my friends said they were going to take me out for dinner and drinks. Not that I didnt expect to pay but when the bill came and I payed for 3 of the 8 people there and myself I was pretty pissed so now.. I itemize and put in ONLY what I owe and then leave tip after everyone is done.
I have a friend who I really like but when a group of us goes out she not only itemizes EVERYTHING she pulls out the calculator and to boot barely leaves a tip
Love your show help me get through my hour drive in the am.
Always get a separate bill. It’s not fair to just split the bill if you had a grilled cheese and the other guy had lobster tail!!
Our friends and us drink a lot but I am the 2 beer queer so we always make sure everyone pays for their drinks. But if were not drinking our friends and us are of the same mind of eating cheap so then we split it. =) love u guys!!!!
I think it’s fair to itemize the bill. I’m 24 and most of my friends graduated from college within the past 2-4 yrs. Some of my friends were lucky enough and immediately got picked up by Booz, Allen or other cush positions, some of us are still working on tips and hourly wages. All of us can afford to go out for dinner but some of us can afford the bacon cheeseburger and some of us can afford the ahi, some of us are careless with our money and some of us are saving up. You should only have to pay for what you had set aside in your budget for that evening, if you personally go over it’s your fault and no one else’s.
You should ask for separate checks at the beginning of the meal; but, some restaurants do not have that option. It’s not the consumers fault; and, unfortunately it’s just something that the server will have to deal with. Maybe in about 5 yrs. when we all (hopefully) have established careers, set incomes and can eat whatever we like regardless of cost it won’t be a big deal to shed a little extra moola just to make it easier.
When it comes to bill time when i’m out with one of my best friends she always says one bill and usually pays for the whole thing… I hate it I always feel i need to pay her back. Much rather do separate bills, everyone pay for their own.
Split the bill!! Itemizing is tacky. I agree if you are the only one getting alcohol then you should pay for that separately. When we have girls night out we will get a few appetizers to share at the table between everyone and it’s ridiculous to itemize that!!
i think you should itemize the bill to a point but some people get out of hand. I mean yes if i get a sandwhich and some one else gets like prime rib yes me paying half would not be fair. Or if my friend drinks all night and i dont drink at all its not fair that i have to pay for half the alcohol. But if you itemize and the difference is seriously dollars then who cares? i mean as long as theirs not a big difference then split the thing down the middle plus tip and get over it. Especially with a group of friends its much easier to go ok 80 dollars divided by 5 just give like 20 bucks each. it will even itself out in the end if your too much of stickler with money the less your friends will want to go out with you.IF their is a big disparity they should understand, but when your talking cents and under 10 dollars please its really not worth the hassle