Splitting the bill

[BoldonLad]

Wasn’t she drinking anything? Soft drinks are often almost as expensive as alcohol in many pubs.

 

[vickster]

Wasn’t she drinking anything? Soft drinks are often almost as expensive as alcohol in many pubs.

Were they in a pub?
In London at least, unless drinking mocktails, soft drinks are always cheaper than beer, wine, spirits, cocktails in a pub.
(I can’t speak for the horror of Wetherspoons but I doubt you could spend £40 a head there?)

 

[Electric_Andy]

I've never had this happen whilst eating out. In fact the others would always insist that I didn't pay as much if I were in that situation. Seems like the lady should concentrate more on who she socializes with

 

[jowwy]

Its like paying to keep your so-called friends happy.....if they were actually friends they wouldn't have asked her to pay for their alcohol consumption.

I don't drink and haven't for 15yrs or so, there's no way on this earth am i paying for my friends too do so, just because we all went out together

 

[jowwy]

lets put it another way........5 friends go out for drinks and one is driving so cant drink. During the night they have 2 or 3 soft drinks costing a tenner, but the bill for all 5 friend comes to £200, should the non drinker pay £40, when their drinks only came to a tenner and then on top of that, the group then expects the non drinker to drive them all home to save on taxi fair......

i know what i would saying

 

[Kingfisher101]

lets put it another way........5 friends go out for drinks and one is driving so cant drink. During the night they have 2 or 3 soft drinks costing a tenner, but the bill for all 5 friend comes to £200, should the non drinker pay £40, when their drinks only came to a tenner and then on top of that, the group then expects the non drinker to drive them all home to save on taxi fair......

i know what i would saying

No in that situation the driver should get their drinks paid for and some money on top or their meal bought as well for doing all the driving.

 

[All uphill]

This thread has reminded me why I stopped eating and drinking out with groups of people years ago.

(Except for cycling groups who are always decent, kind and generous)

Thanks!

 

[MontyVeda]

Some lady is being criticised on Social Media for not being willing to split the bill equally:

6 people out to Birthday Dinner
Equal split was £40.
But she was not drinking alcohol and opted to pay her food cost of £19.

Folks she was with were not happy.

What does the panel think?

In my experience, the person(s) who suggest splitting the bill are those who ordered the sirloin steak or lobster... they're tight fisted ***kers who want the rest of the table to subsidise their food. But when I stand my ground and say I'll only pay for what i ate and drank, they make me out to be the tight fisted ***ker

 

[si_c]

In my experience, the person(s) who suggest splitting the bill are those who ordered the sirloin steak or lobster... they're tight fisted ***kers who want the rest of the table to subsidise their food.

Astonishingly close to my experience, although that also includes them ordering an expensive bottle of wine, or three.

 

[Archie_tect]

If 6 of us go out for a Birthday celebration then the person whose birthday it is doesn't pay for anything and gets a free meal and drinks... the other 5 then split the bill. In that situation the person whose birthday it is gets the benefit and over the year it works out. In that situation I would not quibble about who ate or drank what.

 

[si_c]

If 6 of us go out for a Birthday celebration then the person whose birthday it is doesn't pay for anything and gets a free meal and drinks... the other 5 then split the bill. In that situation the person whose birthday it is gets the benefit and over the year it works out. In that situation I would not quibble about who ate or drank what.

That's a fair point, but I would imagine that this is also agreed beforehand, I think the point here is that people go out for a meal with drinks, consume loads and then decide that the bill is being split.

 

[NorthernSky]

if someone suggested splitting the bill i'd tell them where to go, especially if my bill was half the price
doesn't take long to work out what you've spent and pay it

 

[BoldonLad]

I'm glad I don't eat with bill inspectors, that delightful post-meal autopsy of percentages and pennies and "who had what" has to be the most soul sucking experience ever. I can't abide it and I don't go out with people who spoil a meal like that.
Bill of 200 quid between 4? Easy, chuck in 60 and be done with it. I don't care if someone had two wines to my one, or that someone had dessert and I didn't. Jeez. It's supposed to be fun, don't suck the life out of it.

If on the other hand you have friends who are going to treat a relaxed, social meal as a subsidised bender and a menu hoover of the most expensive items, then you need to get new friends. I won't eat with people like that either.

+1

 

[BoldonLad]

Were they in a pub?
In London at least, unless drinking mocktails, soft drinks are always cheaper than beer, wine, spirits, cocktails in a pub.
(I can’t speak for the horror of Wetherspoons but I doubt you could spend £40 a head there?)

As I have indicated above, I would always just go for a simple "bill split" life is too short for dissecting the bill IMHO. Recently, we attended a family "do", daughter number 1 drove us there, I bought her, non-alcoholic, drinks (non-alcoholic gin* and tonic), they were more expensive than my wife's straightforward Gin and Tonics. We don't live in London, so, perhaps, that makes a difference.

* non-alcoholic gin? what is the point in that?

 

[vickster]

A family do is say is different though, to going out with peers. When we go out as a family, we usually just take it in turns to pay. Although we’ve rather lost track with Covid!