Zagat Survey Discussions

I've never worked in a restaurant so I used to assume, before reading this thread, that separate checks (if you ask at the beginning of the order) would be no big deal.

But now I realize-- separate checks or not, you still want everyone's food to come out at the same time. And that takes some co-ordination.

I still believe it should be okay to ask for separate checks, but understand that it IS more work for the restaurant staff.

And note-- I'm usually the guy who orders wine and dessert, and if there aren't separate checks I damn well make sure I kick in my fair share based on what I ordered (INCLUDING a proportional share of tax and tip).

ConradW404923 wrote:
Whenever a server asks "Who gets the .. ?" I take a couple of dollars off the tip I was intending to give. If the server actually puts the item down in front of the wrong diner, I deduct a little more. If Michael will identify the restaurant in which he works, I shall avoid it when I visit New York.
 
 
 
Yes, I work in a very fine restaurant, and you are more than welcome to avoid it the next time you are in New York. I have no problem placing the correct food in front of the right person; we are not talking about that. We are talking about issuing separate checks at the end of a meal for a ten-top, which is only one of the tables within my purview at any given time. Do you really think I am supposed to track your beverages and be able to replicate them after the meal is over? And do you actually sit through your meal deducting money from your server's tip every time they make an error? You're nothing but a flagrant cheapskate. Come to think of it, why don't you do yourself and everyone else a favor and just avoid the city of New York altogether?

Most of the time I'm with a group the check per person isn't that far apart so we just split it.
However, I have one friend and he never drinks, and isn't a big eater, so never orders an apperizer or a dessert.

He always makes sure he has enough cash with him to cover his share so that he's not in that awkward position of telling the waiter to put less on his credit card. He keeps a tally of what he orders and then thorws enough money in for it along with tax and a generous tip. and if something has been ordered "for the table" he makes sure to add a couple of bucks in for that. In fact, often people will tell him he put in too much. Additionally, we'll often end up using his money for a cash tip.

I think he handles it with class and generosity, yet isn't stuck with paying for a good portion of someone else's 3 course meal with drinks and wine.
I've now adapted his way of making sure I have enough cash with me when I know I'm going out with people who will be having 3-4 drinks at $10-14 each while I almost never have more than one.  I'm not cheap and I would never do it when bill is farily even between everyone's cost.  But those drink's easily add up to over $40. a person for them, while my bar tab is $10. so I don't see any reason for me to chip into a $40 - $50. bar tab when mine is $10. (puls tax and tip).

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Favorite Toast: May the best days of your past be the worst days of your future. (Opinions expressed on this forum are my own and not a reflection of Zagat management)

If your taking a place at the table, we split the bill even. I refuse to sit like a group of old ladies splitting it down to the 2nd soda that i drank. If you just have a salad, or dont drink, or split a desert with your wife, than tough... 
If you cant afford it, than politly decline the invite and offer to meet for drinks afterward.

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Always keep an open mind and stomach.

Really? Your friends are more honest than mine. We always winded up short and one or two guys would make up the difference.

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Always keep an open mind and stomach.

It's not about affordability - it's about courtesy. DDG's answer is spot-on. It's easy to split when the individual costs are relatively close - even if you need to kick in a few extra bucks. 

However, fellow diners should not be stuck with paying for something that is disproportionate to what they had ordered. I would never expect anyone to cost split Harlan, Krug, or Louis XIII.