May 9, 2007
This New York Times article (via Kottke) talks about splitting the check between several different people when eating at a restaurant. The general idea is that half the people pay less than what they should, and the other half get screwed. This happens to me all the time. I don't usually drink alcohol at restaurants, I never (ever, ever, ever) get an appetizer (except that one time at Applebee's recently), and I usually don't get dessert. My bill is pretty predictable. But whenever I'm with a group of people (people who have high-paying jobs, live with their parents, and have no expenses), I'm usually stuck paying more than my share. And while it's true that in the grand scheme of things, a few bucks here and there means nothing, it's more about the principle: I shouldn't have to pay for more than I get, and other people definitely shouldn't be allowed to pay less than what they owe. I guess I should just follow the advice of the article: "If you're going to a party at a restaurant, you need to be prepared to split whatever the bill is. Then you can complain about it later to someone who wasn't there." #money
At a friend's bachelor party, his one uncle kept ordering more and more drinks that no one wanted, and someone else had a big steak dinner, and of course the overzealous uncle was the one to divide the check, and so I paid $30 for my hamburger; so I do know where you are coming from.
Normally, when I'm out with friends, and its time to split the check, we each just pay for what we ordered, rather than dividing the bill evenly. For tip, we each add in a buck or two, and we're good.
Maybe a trick to try, if you're out with engineers or others who are supposedly good at math, is to suggest like its a brand new idea "Hey I know, how about we each just pay for what we actually got?" Then, if someone complains about the math, you can throw their geek cred in their face. Something like "So you can divide, but you're too drunk to add?" Just a thought.