|
 This survey originally ran in
the 9/10/03
DebtSmart
Email Newsletter.
To take the survey click here.
How frequently do you go to dinner
with friends?
 |
44.23%
of respondents said "Once a month" |
|
36.54%
of respondents said "Once a week" |
|
17.31%
of respondents said "Once a year" |
When you do go out with your
friends do you:
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36.54%
of respondents said "Split the bill" |
|
30.77%
of respondents said "Use separate tabs" |
|
19.23%
of respondents said "One tab but only pay for what you
order" |
|
11.54%
of respondents said "One of you pays the entire
bill" |
If you split the bill in some
manner, do you:
|
38.46%
of respondents said "Everyone puts cash on the
table" |
|
21.15%
of respondents said "All parties give their credit cards
to the waiter/waitress" |
|
19.23%
of respondents said "One pays cash to other and the other
charges the entire bill on a credit card" |
Your income?
|
28.85%
of respondents said "$70,001+" |
|
21.15%
of respondents said "$50,001 - $70,000" |
|
19.23%
of respondents said "$40,001 - $50,000" |
|
15.38%
of respondents said "$20,001 - $40,000" |
|
5.77%
of respondents said "0 - $20,000" |
Your comments about dining out
with friends or splitting the bill:
"I hate splitting charges with
certain friends because they eat or drink more expensively than we
do. Not that its by choice but I'm not a steak eater and I certainly
don't want to pay for someone else's unless its my
choice."
--Penny
"Some of the answers should allow for
multiple choices. There are times where one person pays, others when
each puts cash, and still others where one pays with credit and
takes the cash from others. I have not heard of splitting the bill
via giving all cards to the wait-staff. I have done the split on my
Charlie Brown's handshake card. But that was splitting points that
build to get coupons."
--Robert
"Its hard to hand the credit
card to a waitress if you have a big party. In that case, one pays
the bill with the credit card and the others pay that person
back."
--Valerie
"If the amount I owe is close to
what everyone else is spent, the bill is divided by the number of
people, otherwise we pay toward the total for what we
ate."
--Marilyn
"Generally, we let the waitress
know up front that the bill is split. Some restaurants don't allow
this, and we never make a fuss. Everyone just tallies up their
amount and we give separate funds the the waitress. Those giving
cash leave it straight for her. Sometimes, we just split it evenly,
regardless of how much we ordered and then if someone got dessert or
a really expensive meal, they pay the tip. It really depends on the
crowd, the waitress, and how much time we have. However, if it isn't
separated fairly - eventually, you don't enjoy going out with those
friends. If you keep the money straight, you always have a nice
evening and want to do it again."
--Anonymous
"When the bill is split evenly
among everyone in the group, the people who have had the budget
dinner, purposely ordered less, end up being overcharged and are
usually too embarrassed to say anything. Telling the waitress ahead
of time that you plan to be on separate bills and sitting next to
your spouse or whoever you will share a bill with, will help the
server keep everyone straight from the get go. Also, putting it on
my card and accepting cash means I often get left with the tip
because there is always one person who will pay strictly for his
dinner and not include gratuity. As an ex-server, I liked the
charge-each-card-equally route, but as a sometimes "budget
eater" I need the separate checks to be in control of my own
spending. Too many dinners where one couple or one person feels
financially cheated will fracture a friendship just as money woes
can hurt a marriage."
--Anonymous
"It is easiest to split the bill
in half including the tip. We never worry about the possibility of
being a couple of pennies off."
--Anonymous
"It usually
works out ok, unless one person didn't eat as much...then everyone
feels awkward."
--Anonymous
"I always ask for separate
checks. I have been caught too many times left holding the bill! In
most restaurants they have the capabilities to ring up separate
totals at their till--most restaurants would expect people to want separate
bills."
--Anonymous
"One way to save a friendship
would be to request separate bills prior to ordering.
"
--Anonymous
"I have a pal who gets frequent cruising
(ship) miles, so this is a real benefit for her. She will frequently
'treat' me back in meals, and this year shared her miles with me so
I could join her on a cruise to Alaska!"
--Anonymous
"I manage an upscale martini
bar& restaurant. I must say that with the current computer
systems most restaurants have now, it is very easy to split a bill
however the customer would like. I would like to add that if your
server is extremely busy and has a party of 12 who want to pay
separately, please be patient! many math errors can occur, or a card
could accidentally get run through twice the best thing to do is to
let the server know that you will be splitting the bill when you
first sit and let them know who is on which check."
--Gina
"When this has happened we
usually end up paying more."
--Anonymous
"Like you, I did not know about
this option. (All parties on the tab simply hand in their credit
card and the waitress divides the total by the number of credit
cards and charges each by that that amount. I never knew about
this.)"
--Kathy
"We've done it all ways. Some
restaurants won't split the bill on cards because of the hassle, but
some will. We have the best luck with pricey casual restaurants
($15-20 entree) and places we go all the time."
--Anonymous
"The way we split the bill
usually depends on what we all order. If we all order something that
is just about equal, then we split it because it's easier. If
someone orders a few drinks or gets an unusually expensive meal, we
each pay for our own."
--Anonymous
"I prefer to have
separate checks. It seems like when we "split the bill" I
always end up paying for more than I ordered. (I always order water,
for instance)Plus I generally do not order appetizers or dessert. So
if we "split the bill" (evenly) it is not really
fair."
--Emily
What do you Think?
Fill out the
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Reader Comments
"I love this
newsletter!"
--Marilyn
"I love this newsletter and the
forum you provide! Keep up the great work!"
--Anonymous
"I love the common sense and
easy suggestions to help me in my daily living. I sure wish they had
required courses like this in both high school (when everything was
bank of folks and 'work' was extra $$) and college (when reality
begins to come in). In today's world it would be good even in
elementary school to teach saving and investing for future
goodies....if I knew then what I know now...I'd probably have
demanded a rebirth!!"
--Anonymous
"love it!"
--Gina
"I enjoy it very
much."
--Emily
--End--
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