Advice on splitting checks in restaurants..............

Bart Wailes · Post by **Bart Wailes** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 3:57 pm

We have never had a problem using two credit cards for a meal on St. John. It is very easy to do, just ask up front. Usually everyone has a certain amount of money they want to spend on food and drinks and what is the big deal taking sixty seconds to split a tab especially if people in your party don't drink or drink much. Relax, your on vacation. Everyone has a right to manage their own money. It seems that the people who eat and drink the most usually want to simply split the check. Much less expensive for them.

Xislandgirl · Post by **Xislandgirl** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 4:08 pm

Bart Wailes wrote:We have never had a problem using two credit cards for a meal on St. John. It is very easy to do, just ask up front. Usually everyone has a certain amount of money they want to spend on food and drinks and what is the big deal taking sixty seconds to split a tab especially if people in your party don't drink or drink much. Relax, your on vacation. Everyone has a right to manage their own money. It seems that the people who eat and drink the most usually want to simply split the check. Much less expensive for them.

I always want to split the check but it has nothing to do with eating and drinking more. It has everything to do with not worrying about each and every penny that I hve spent. We have dinner with another couple every other week. Some weeks we spend more, some weeks they do. We have never felt that we over paid or under paid, we just paid half and moved on.
A few years ago, we went to dinner with 3 couples. One couple insisted that we work out exactly how much people owed because they don't drink and did not think it was fair for them to pay for our expensive booze. I handed over the check and after about 3 or 4 minutes, they sheepishly told us the totals; They actually owed more then we did (expensive entrees).

Everyone is has different thoughts about money and I think that it is good that Cypress is discussing it before hand with her friends.

mia · Post by **mia** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 5:24 pm

Bart Wailes wrote:
It seems that the people who eat and drink the most usually want to simply split the check. Much less expensive for them.

What kind of "friends" do you have?

....mia

Pia · Post by **Pia** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 7:18 pm

OK Betty - when is the SOTB Tour? and is it still 6 or 6 and Tom

Let us know how many and if the weather and water conditions are good we can take 6 (probably 7 max) out on our boat - Jost or just around STJ - if you would like

Pia

cypressgirl · Post by **cypressgirl** » Fri Jun 01, 2007 8:19 pm

Betty, congrats to your daughter!!!! I can imagine how proud you must be.

I am so excited about trying out Ocean Grill. Everyone seems to love it.

I talked to my friend today and she seems very understanding about the seperate check thing. She's not worried about it, so I'm making more of it than I should. (I told you that I'm a worrier!)

I think it's called "the disease to please".

Bart Wailes · Post by **Bart Wailes** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:10 pm

For over twenty years my coed softball teams and men's softball and volleyball teams have gone out after games. You play for one hour and then eat and drink for two. We have always paid for the items you ordered. People make different amounts of money and people spend different amounts of money. Everyone has the right to spend their own money. It would seem as if you don't respects those rights. Your friends and mine would not be friends for long.

promoguy · Post by **promoguy** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:31 pm

You say it takes sixty seconds, uh huh, uh huh.

Joe: Leroy, let's see you had the cobb salad and the whiskey sour, right?

Leroy: No I had the tostada with extra cheese and guacamole.

Joe: Oh okay. Hey who had the cobb salad?

Francine: Oh I did. But I had the manhattan not the whiskey sour.

Joe: Oh okay. Hey, Billy....when Bobby left did he leave some money.

Billy: Yeah, but it looks like he didn't add the tip or tax.

Joe: Dang it! Frankie and Johnny you shared the pizza right....okay, got it.

Joe: So let's see everyone knows what they got. Now don't forget the tax and by the way, we leaving 15 pct or 20 pct? Yeah, yeah I know Lucille you don't like leaving more than 15 pct.

And forty minutes later......

cypressgirl · Post by **cypressgirl** » Sat Jun 02, 2007 1:43 pm

I wish I had never brought this up. My friends and I are fine with how we're going to handle this. None of us are worried about getting ripped off. I would not travel with anyone that I thought was going to try and cheat me.

If you guys want to keep discussing this subject I'll read along, but I'm cool with everything.

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:27 am

cypressgirl: I'm glad you brought this up! Based on the responses, it seems that everyone has 'been there' before! And it got me thinking about how we usually handle it, which made me realize that when we go out as couples or families, the men usually handle the bill. (Don't know why that is, I was always the math/money gal when I was single.) And the guys just pony up whatever it takes to cover the bill and tip an not worry about it.

I don't know if there's a tapas place on STJ, but that is a great way to do a group dinner. I've had some very fun gal pal dinners eating tapas and drinking sangria. Everyone tries alittle bit of everything and somehow when the bill comes it seems ridiculously low. Ahhh visions of Chicago's Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba... Dang, now I'm jonesing for a sangria and it's Sunday morning!

iowaguy · Post by **iowaguy** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 9:33 pm

I'm glad you brought it up too, Cypressgirl---its a common social issue in modern life. Seems like it would have made great fodder for a Seinfeld episode. Elaine orders an expensive entree, George orders a salad, they split the bill. George spends the rest of the episode complaining and figuring out a way to get even.

Chicagoans, if you're reading, I LOVE Cafe Ba-Ba- Reeba. Give me some chicken and artichoke paella and a pitcher of sangria---now!

chicagoans · Post by **chicagoans** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 10:12 pm

iowaguy: Chicagoans, if you're reading, I LOVE Cafe Ba-Ba- Reeba. Give me some chicken and artichoke paella and a pitcher of sangria---now!

Read it, Iowa Guy! And let me say for the record that I'm a fan of Iowa! 3 times on RAGBRAI hauling my rear on a bike across Iowa gave me an appreciation for the lovely people there! We had some great times on that ride.

cypressgirl · Post by **cypressgirl** » Sun Jun 03, 2007 11:24 pm

Iowaguy.........OMG! Your Seinfeld analogy cracks me up. I promise you, we're not like that, but you could have been a writer for that show. Too funny!!

flip-flop · Post by **flip-flop** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:01 pm

Jerseyboy wrote:
hardonyou wrote:Why is it that the people with the most money are generally the cheapest as well?
In-laws are always the cheapest.

Not my in-laws ... in their family the oldest ALWAYS pays. My husband is the youngest of 5 boys. It works great for us. Maybe I should invite them to STJ

mbw1024 · Post by **mbw1024** » Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:16 pm

flip-flop wrote:
Jerseyboy wrote:
hardonyou wrote:Why is it that the people with the most money are generally the cheapest as well?
In-laws are always the cheapest.
Not my in-laws ... in their family the oldest ALWAYS pays. My husband is the youngest of 5 boys. It works great for us. Maybe I should invite them to STJ

My FIL is not cheap at all. In fact we fight about $$ all the time (nice fights). We took him to Lake George with us this weekend, a trip we were taking to visit his daughter (mmy SIL). He takes the bus to and fro here from Staten Island and when he left Monday morning there was a $100 dollar bill on the table "to cover gas and tolls!".
mind you we drive a hyrbid and spent all of $40 dollars on gas! The man makes me nuts!

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