As a server, I'm going to bring the guests one check unless they say otherwise. And if they leave me cash and a credit card and say cash first, then charge the rest, my response is not going to be "actually, let me go separate your checks first."

This whole check splitting thing must be a weird American thing.

Every restaurant I've ever been to in Canada, the waiter always asks if it's all together or separate (itemized). There's tons of reasons why someone would want an itemized list of what they got.

Any decent restaurant with a decent POS system can do this with no hassle, most servers using a POS system are already assigning food/drinks to each seat so the food runners don't have to look like an idiot at the table asking who had the steak and who had the fish.

Personally, I'm more of a take turns picking up the tab kind of guy, but there are definitely times where I want an itemized bill.

Efrog,

I'd guess that the cheaper the place and the younger the clientele, the more likely they are to do separate checks as a standard thing.

seems like a good way to end up short some tips, but at least youve minimized the potential work

I've been in fine dining places that automatically assume you want separate checks if it's like four couples.

How about starting the shift with more change that that?

Not everywhere in the US. I'm a long way from the Canadian border, but it is routinely done that way at every restaurant I go to.

If that happens with most of the people I go out to eat with, you'll be making another trip to the back to generate separate checks or split the one check for us. Either of those does not result in a favorable opinion of your service from anyone at the table.

As far the $100 bills go, that is a terrible set-up by your employer. I'm pretty sure that if I were in your shoes, I'd show up for work with a couple of hundred in $20's (or smaller bills) so I could make change myself and bypass that line. Frankly, I wouldn't work somewhere that my employer had procedures in place that were that frustrating or potentially costly for me.

Please tell me there's a link to this story somewhere in this thread.

Definitely more region based than cheapness based.

I saw someone cash out a .01 credit that was left on a slot machine.

Did,

Where?

Ahhhh got it, I didn't realize that. I figured you guys always went to the cashier 100%. Did not know you guys had petty cash on you to make change.

I've done that... Printing the ticket, never actually cashed it though. Ima hoarder I guess , I end up finding it in my pocket and then just stashing it with all the other low$$ tickets in a drawer with zero intention to cash it. Not sure why I even print the ticket, I guess it's like , well fk I just lost xxxx amount, I'm not gonna give the slot "free money" on top of it lol. Me vs machine :0

I eat out with other couples and large groups at nice restaurants all the time and this has literally NEVER been assumed, mentioned or done at any of them.

I'm trying to imagine a waiter in a nice place asking a medium party of guests if they want separate checks and I can't picture it being anything other than awkward and slightly insulting.

I don't think I've ever eaten anywhere and had them assume our group of 4+ was all on one check. We've always been asked while we're ordering drinks. I would actually be left wondering why they think we'd all be on one check.

When you go into a fast food restaurant with a few friends, do you all order together too?

And why does it matter if it's a nice place or an Applebee's? Would the rules for check splitting be different?

ec: It's not so much that the rules are different, it's just that the people eating at Applebee's are more likely to each want to pay for exactly what they had vs the people at a more expensive place either having one person pick up the check or just split the bill equally.

Separate check people: how are things like appetizers for the table and bottles of wine dealt with? I'm also curious, those of you who find separate checks standard. Where do you live and what types of restaurants are you usually go to?

At most restaurants (regardless of level) I go to, when with a group, it usually goes like this when the server comes to take orders (sometimes at drinks, rarely at appetizers, but usually at entrees):

Server: Will this all be on the same check?

Most assertive or that guy afraid of being stuck with a large check: No. Separate, please. [Often, an assertive woman will then direct the server how to divvy things up. If not, proceed as below.]

Sharp server: [Observes seating and with a questioning look, makes a hand-motion guessing who should be billed as a party]
Average server: So how are we going to split this?
Server with questionable future in the business or at cheaper restaurants: All right. Who's together here?

I'm not sure if this was intended as a shot. I'll assume not though.

Literally every restaurant I've ever eaten at (high and low end) has asked or given separate itemized bills. Most just do it automatically.

Like I said, my preference with people I go out with often is to take turns.

I think I might have told this story already.

A group of us went to Vegas for my SIL's wedding. The first night we went to Ramsey's restaurant in Caesars. There was something like 14 of us. 6 of which I had never met before in my life.

So the bills come, and this was literally the first time I'd ever encountered a restaurant refuse to give separate itemized bills. A bunch of us drank, my MIL and other SIL not so much. Some of the grooms friends indulged heavily. One guy was wasted.

I'm good at math. I went person to person and figured out what everyone owed, they each paid, my wife and I paid for SIL getting married and the groom. Couple people threw us some $20's to help once they saw we were getting it. We get to drunk guy and his wife and he wants to argue about how much he drank/owes. I end up just saying **** it and cover the ~$60 because I'm not about to make a scene or be embarrassed. All because the server couldn't be bothered to press like 6 buttons on the POS screen.

So yeah, I'm not going back out to eat with drunk guy anytime soon, that didn't really help me at the time though.

Also while we were there, 7 of us went to Aureole in Mandalay Bay. 3 couples and the other SIL. Drunk guy and his wife included. Low and behold, they offer us separate itemized checks.

The fabric of society is complex of course, but in situations where you can feel there will be people wanting checks for their specific food, the person ordering the app pays for it, and offers it to the other people.

In the venn diagram of eating out I think there's very little overlap betwween the subsets: "bottles of wine ordered for the table table" and "separate checks."

And of course, splitting / someone picking up the bill becomes more likely when communal food is ordered.

Tom: where do you live?

Efrom: not a shot at all, just an observation/theory. I can only remember this being asked in the south and Midwest at places like chilis/tgif/etc. And like I said, in HS and college in Texas, was v common to get separate checks at all the places we went to.

It would depend. If it's 2 couples with 2 apps usually just each pay for one. Lots of restaurants offer to split stuff like that 50/50 though.

So your bill would come and be; app 1 50%, bottle of wine 50%.

Again though, I'm not advocating one way or another. I just think it's pretty dumb to say people are wrong for wanting to pay for what they ate/drank. Especially with modern day POS systems.

In my experience though, this was the norm way before good POS systems.

Efrom,

Your post (not you, who seem quite reasonable) seems crazy to me. I've eaten out well over 100 times in vegas at all sorts of restaurants with all sorts of groups and can't remember ever once being asked if we wanted separate checks.

This is really interesting to me. I'm gonna start a poll and ask a mod to move this derail to that thread.

IME, if the diners are good friends, they almost always discuss appetizers among themselves before ordering. With no formal agreement prior to ordering appetizers, anyone (or couple) with an expressed interest in a particular appetizer will order that one (or two different apps) and tell the server to put it on their check. Others will do the same. If someone (or couple) does not order an appetizer, it is considered poor etiquette to take more than a taste of someone else's appetizer.

If the diners are not good friends or well-acquainted, couples will generally simply order an appetizer they want. Other couples may well order the same appetizer. If individuals rather than couples, someone often asks if anyone is interested in a particular appetizer. If someone expresses an interest, the first party will order it and ask that it be put on his check.

For wine, again friends will often ask another person/couple if they are drinking wine, if so, what kind they are considering, and if the interests are similar, one person/couple (usually the first) will order a bottle and ask the server to put it on their bill. If a second bottle is ordered, the other couple asks to have it put on their bill. If not, the other couple may ask the server to put the first couple's dessert on their bill.

It really isn't at all awkward.

Edit: ED, I've lived most of my life in the southeast.

It's weird because we go to Vegas every year with the sister that was getting married and her husband, and just take turns all trip getting lunches dinners etc.

If we decide to go somewhere substantially more expensive one night we just spilt with cash or w/e.

I could probably think of 10 different scenarios off the top of my head where I'd want a separate bill though.

Oh yeah, the South!

I just realized that when I visit my dad in NC they are always asking about separate checks, even when it's just me and him eating breakfast. I remember this happening once and I gave him a 'WTF' look. He said that separate checks are a big thing down there, and they assume you want them by default.

I also noticed the guys at the bar he goes to don't really buy each other rounds much. I'm pretty sure these things are a direct result of the fact that most people down there have no money.