Dividing bills fairly at restaurants can sometimes lead to awkward conversations, but experts have discussed how to avoid problems among large groups.
Restaurant meals and joint vacations can be especially stressful for people who are careful with money, as they are forced to pay the same as the big spenders in the group.
Awkward situations often arise when some members of the group opt for a starter, a main course and a dessert and several drinks, while others choose not to go overboard.
Etiquette experts have said that the most important thing to do is set your spending expectations before the meal even begins, so everyone around the table knows what you’re willing to pay for the rest of the night. .
Fortunately for people who tend to opt for cheaper options, app makers have come up with convenient ways to avoid these awkward conversations as much as possible.
Awkward monetary situations often arise when some members of a dinner party opt for a starter, main course, dessert and several drinks, while others choose not to go overboard (file image)
Apps like Splitwise and Tab have emerged to help split the bill and eliminate the tedious 10 minutes at the end of a good meal often spent inspecting the receipt with calculators.
Data shows more people are using the apps every month as the post-pandemic economy continues to boom and people eat out and travel as much as possible after being cooped up for years.
Recent inflation has everyone on edge, so it’s tricky but important to make sure money is talked about among friends, no matter how awkward it may be, but that the conversations don’t drag on.
“The less talked about money on any of these occasions, the better,” etiquette consultant Liz Wyse told the Wall Street Journal.
Etiquette experts say that before going to dinner, people should talk about their monetary expectations to avoid awkward encounters later.
According to Lizzie Post, president of an etiquette consulting company, telling people what you want to pay is acceptable at the beginning and after the meal.
She told the WSJ: “It’s okay to speak up and say, ‘I just had a salad and water, can I pay my own bill?’
Post also said returning people’s money as soon as possible should be a priority.
To keep things fair, experts suggested that the easiest way to navigate a conversation about splitting bills is to open an app and let the numbers do the work for themselves.
It’s helpful for groups of friends to decide in advance whether the bill will be split equally, so everyone knows what the expectations are at the time of the occasion.
When the bill arrives and is split evenly, it is recommended that you put in a credit card, ideally one but no more than three, and then apps like Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, or Cash App can be used to reimburse whoever paid the bill. account. .
For rideshares like Uber and Lyft, there is an option to split the ride in the app, eliminating all the potential back-and-forth discussions.
Apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats allow group ordering, so everyone can split the fees and pay for what they ordered.
Splitwise is a good app for joint holidays – to keep track of who paid for what and make sure everything is split equally. Splitwise pro also offers high-tech receipt scanning so the app can split what everyone received and split the tip, taxes, and other fees.
Tab is a free app that is the most accurate at recognizing items and determining how much each attendee owes; It also does not require the entire group to download the app and has special features that allow certain members of the group, such as the birthday girl or the boy, to be excluded from the split.
App creators have invented simple new ways to split bills fairly and avoid the awkward conversation that arises at the end of group dinners or trips with friends (stock image)
Despite all the innovative ways to decrease the chance of an awkward conversation, there will always be dinner guests who aren’t aware of your spending habits or the fact that not everyone at the table has ordered uniformly.
For example, vegans and vegetarians often get the short end of the stick at group dinners when meat-eaters order expensive meat dishes and fancy starters to “split” and receive an equal portion of the bill.
People who decide not to drink for whatever reason are sometimes forced to pay more than their fair share to avoid an awkward argument when others order cocktails, wine or beer.
TO USA Today Reader responded to a segment about the check-writing dilemma with a particularly annoying scenario.
The anonymous respondent said that she and some other single friends had gone to dinner with a couple, and that the couple, particularly the husband, ordered a lot of food to share at the table, in addition to their own main courses.
“We enjoyed the food and drinks and when the bill arrived, the husband told the waiter ‘you can split the bill into three parts’, and counted him and his wife as ‘one person’ plus each of us single women They ate most of the food (and their own main dish) and drank more than each of us single women.
The unfortunate group member said she was charged a portion of the $258 check, but she didn’t make a fuss and has been furious ever since.
‘That just didn’t seem fair to me at all. But I kept my mouth shut and paid my share… and I’ve been thinking about it ever since,” he said. ‘Should I have said something? Now, I wish I had, but they’re good friends and I didn’t want to cause trouble.’
Apps like Splitwise and Tab have emerged to help split the bill and eliminate the tedious 10 minutes at the end of a good meal often spent inspecting the receipt with calculators (stock image)
Elaine Swann, a lifestyle and etiquette coach in Carlsbad, California, and founder of the Swann Protocol School, told USA Today, “People don’t like having this awkward conversation.”
“But you have to do it,” he said. ‘My recommendation is to embrace the uncomfortable. Find out who pays what.
TikTok users have mocked and made light-hearted jokes about the awkward situation, which appears to be a universal experience.
Nate Meeker depicted a situation in which one person at the table meticulously accounts for what everyone received, even dividing the table’s community fries by the amount each guest consumed.
People in the comments were divided over the situation; many agreed that they shouldn’t have to pay for something they didn’t eat: “I’m not cheap, but if I didn’t eat something, I shouldn’t pay for it.”
‘Actually, this guy is not the cheap one. “The cheapskate is the one who asks for more than others and expects the bill to be shared equally,” another user wrote.