What's my portion? No, I didn't have an appetizer! I have no cash; only my credit card. I don't have any small bills. Here, let me make my own change from the bills you've got there on the table. No, I already put my portion in. Yeah, but did you add in the tax and tip to your portion? Yes, I think so. Wait a minute, I think I paid too much! How much did you put in? I'm not sure, I didn't have small bills, so I made my own change from the cash that had already been put in. I had a $10 bill before, but I don't have one now. I think I paid too much. But, perhaps you put your $10 bill in when you were making the change? No, I don't think so.
The person in charge of the bill (me): "I'm $20 short on the full bill plus the tip we should put in. Has everyone put in their portion?"
Everyone: "Yes"
I refuse to go through this ever again. I now pay the bill, get an itemized receipt, mark who got what, and then send out a "You Owe Me" e-mail. Then collect. The only problem with this is that sometimes I misplace the receipt, or other times, if I'm too busy, I forget to send the e-mail. Then this causes me to have to do memory accounting (although, I do archive those e-mails).
I have gotten stiffed on several occasions (had to pay the shortfall on several occasions because there were so many people on the bill; some had already left; I had no way to figure out who had ordered what, nor who had paid their proper amount).
Whew!!!
How I deal with this chaos: Waitperson arrives, I catch his/her eye and immediately say: Make mine a separate check, thanks." Then I can enjoy my meal and sit back w/ a Cheshire smile when the 2 bills are delivered... Try it. You'll like it.
ReplyDeleteI have tried that. But sometimes the waitperson does not want to take the trouble to do that (perhaps there are too many persons) and tells you that they cannot (or will not). So, that's how it started. I do that at some restaurants where they know me and are willing to do so.
ReplyDeleteJust for the fun of a reaction from the waitperson, and maybe your other dining friends, you could try responding (after being refused a separate ticket) with "Oh, but I'm not with them."... and take it from there. I know you'd have no trouble with carrying off the charade!
ReplyDeleteBesides, are those waitpeople making so much in tips they can afford to be snotty about anything?!?
That's a great ploy. Can't wait to try it. True, they don't make that much in tips, but sometimes they're lazy and don't want to work too hard. Plus, they make different rules for different people in the same group. They wouldn't let me put my portion on a credit card once; said it had to be cash. I told them, then you'll have to wait while I go to an ATM, since I never carry cash with me. They relented. :)
ReplyDelete