I just don't get it thread!!!

Separate checks should be illegal. Nothing pisses me off more. How hard is it to divide a check total by the number of diners? If people want to have their own check they should go to a buffet.

Hard? Not at all. Also possibly not fair depending on the place and the situation.

Expecting a large party to pay on one check is somewhat understandable, but your opinion of split checks, which I acknowledge is hyperbole, is rather extreme...

Separate checks can become a burdonsome task if you have a larger party (10+) and you are busy with several other tables. Do you realize how much time you have to commit to running all those credit cards or getting all that change when you could be doing something else? A couple of weeks ago, I had a table of thirteen teenagers who were on their way to prom, and they requested all separate checks, and all thirteen paid in cash -- most of them needed change back. Nightmare!

Being given the check without asking for it and that insipid "I'll just take this whenever you're ready".

I'm the opposite, I wouldn't mind getting the check when they set the food down

I can't say I understand what's so tacky about separate checks. I almost never carry cash and neither do most of my friends. What's the big deal if I pay for mine and they pay for theirs, or if a group of couples goes out and there's a check for each couple? I can understand how this could get problematic if it were a large group of people, but in most cases I think separate checks are fine.

I can't say I understand what's so tacky about separate checks. I almost never carry cash and neither do most of my friends. What's the big deal if I pay for mine and they pay for theirs, or if a group of couples goes out and there's a check for each couple? I can understand how this could get problematic if it were a large group of people, but in most cases I think separate checks are fine.

I could go either way about the seperate check issue. It's convenient to run only one check for a group of people, but that doesn't make it difficult or tacky to provide the bills seperately.
Buyer Beware.... if you have 6 or more people in your party, it would behoove you to inform your server at the onset of the meal that you require seperate checks. Of course, any good server should be able to navigate chopping 6 checks with no problem, but a little heads up never hurt anyone.
For larger parties that need seperate checks, please pay attention......
When you have 10 - 20 people in your party, PLEASE let your server know ahead of time that bills will be seperate.
And know this, if you have that many guests in your party and you start switching seats, ordering drinks and moving around the table between courses...... DO NOT expect every check to be correct every time.
A good server should be able to remember who got what most of the time, but we do not know who is with who else when the 'musical chairs' game starts while we're in the kitchen picking up food for another table.
Also, we use certain methods of marking seat/position at the table as a point of reference to keep things in proper order. Once we've served a course of food and two rounds of drinks for 15 people, if the guests decide to switch seats, all bets are effectively off for seperate checks being 100% correct.
At that point it's just an educated guessing game.

Separate checks can become a burdonsome task if you have a larger party (10+) and you are busy with several other tables. Do you realize how much time you have to commit to running all those credit cards or getting all that change when you could be doing something else? A couple of weeks ago, I had a table of thirteen teenagers who were on their way to prom, and they requested all separate checks, and all thirteen paid in cash -- most of them needed change back. Nightmare!

When you could be doing something else? Like... serving other people?

Don't get me wrong, I understand how it can be a headache for you, but ultimately serving the needs of your customer is the job. When you make statments like the above, you make it sound more like the people who need seperate checks aren't as important as other diners.

I said earlier and I'll say it again, I don't find it unreasonable to ask for a large party to all be placed on one ticket. But I'm completely befuddled by statements such as Ron's that asking for seperate checks is tacky.

Jeremy is entirely reasonable in his position - he doesn't mind doing split checks, he just asks for some cooperation in terms of keeping things straight. Perfectly reasonable.

Really there are two issues here which are somewhat getting muddled into the same thing, only confusing things more. One is the practice of asking for/providing seperate checks, which is an issue of relationship between customer and service provider. The other is the issue of how a single check is split amongst patrons, which is entirely an issue of the relationship amongst the diners themselves.

The funny thing about it all is that I've been in almost every imaginable combination of the two and honestly believe there is no one way which suits all situations.

Just a few examples:

When we're dining with my family, sometimes I'll get the check, sometimes they'll get the check. It's all in the family, no one really worries about balances and even-shares or any of that rubbish.

There is a certain group of friends who, in college, I would always insist on doing an even split of the check, with me doing the math. Otherwise I couldn't count on them tip properly. And whenever I'm dining out, I do my best to make sure the server is tipped properly for my entire party.

Yet another group of people I would occassionally dine out with, would take severe advantage of the situation if the gruop agreed on doing an even split check. This was a group of about 15 most couples, about half of whom I didn't really know well. And most of the time I didn't even know most of them were showing up... I'd go out expecting a dinner of 4 or 5 and it ended up well above 10. But anyway, back to the point, if certain people in the party knew the check was getting an even split, they'd order apps, expensive entrees, desert, and alcohol. When many of us were only having a salad or a light entree. That only happened once or twice, after the second time I took it upon myself to do the math and tell each person/couple how much they owed.

But most of the time, when dining in mixed parties, the server is more than willing and often even offers to do split checks. And I'm usually thankful that they save use the trouble, and the tip goes up accordingly.

When dining in a group I totally appreciate separate checks. I don't drink alcohol very often and don't eat meat, so my bill is frequently less $ than the rest of the group. Not always, but usually. And even when I'm dining with friends, I do not plan to subsidize their meals.

I can't say I understand what's so tacky about separate checks. I almost never carry cash and neither do most of my friends. What's the big deal if I pay for mine and they pay for theirs, or if a group of couples goes out and there's a check for each couple? I can understand how this could get problematic if it were a large group of people, but in most cases I think separate checks are fine.

Why would you need cash? Just hand the server your three credit cards and say, please put $_____ on each one. Voila, easy.

I had a table of 20 at Derby, who of course came in a little "toasty" already if you catch my drift...they snuck 3 extra people in, after I had figured all the seating in the computer, without telling me and were moving around constantly, ordering round after round, and eventually one of them drunkenly stumbled over to the server station and tried to tell me how to split up the check. I told him I was in the midst of ordering the main course, and really had to focus, that I would be happy to try and figure it out in a minute when I came back around for another drink order...he then asked for a gin and tonic, and I said, honestly I can't do that now, but I'll be back over there in 2 minutes after I put in the main course order...he said "don't come back without a G&T." I really had to work to not blow my top, and after he left I did punch the server station, but I eventually figured out how to work all the seats correctly, and would have been able to split the check, when they finally got drunk enough that one of them just picked up the tab...sheesh!

That is the kind of nightmare scenario we are referring to when we gripe about separate checks!

Separate checks should be illegal. Nothing pisses me off more. How hard is it to divide a check total by the number of diners? If people want to have their own check they should go to a buffet.

Hard? Not at all. Also possibly not fair depending on the place and the situation.

Expecting a large party to pay on one check is somewhat understandable, but your opinion of split checks, which I acknowledge is hyperbole, is rather extreme...

I think it is neither extreme nor hyperbolic. I can't imagine going to dinner and then asking the server to separate out from everyone else what I ate and what I drank and then give me my own check. I think it is silly.

I can't say I understand what's so tacky about separate checks. I almost never carry cash and neither do most of my friends. What's the big deal if I pay for mine and they pay for theirs, or if a group of couples goes out and there's a check for each couple? I can understand how this could get problematic if it were a large group of people, but in most cases I think separate checks are fine.

Why would you need cash? Just hand the server your three credit cards and say, please put $_____ on each one. Voila, easy.

What the???!!! That IS separating a check, Ron.

Separate checks should be illegal. Nothing pisses me off more. How hard is it to divide a check total by the number of diners? If people want to have their own check they should go to a buffet.

Hard? Not at all. Also possibly not fair depending on the place and the situation.

Expecting a large party to pay on one check is somewhat understandable, but your opinion of split checks, which I acknowledge is hyperbole, is rather extreme...

I think it is neither extreme nor hyperbolic. I can't imagine going to dinner and then asking the server to separate out from everyone else what I ate and what I drank and then give me my own check. I think it is silly.

You make too much money. You are to eh about it.

as i said, it's really not hard, and chances are most servers keep the seats separate anyhow, so it's really very easy, it's just when it gets to be a large number of people that it can throw a wrench in the situation.

Separate checks should be illegal. Nothing pisses me off more. How hard is it to divide a check total by the number of diners? If people want to have their own check they should go to a buffet.

Hard? Not at all. Also possibly not fair depending on the place and the situation.

Expecting a large party to pay on one check is somewhat understandable, but your opinion of split checks, which I acknowledge is hyperbole, is rather extreme...

I think it is neither extreme nor hyperbolic. I can't imagine going to dinner and then asking the server to separate out from everyone else what I ate and what I drank and then give me my own check. I think it is silly.

You make too much money. You are to eh about it.

Nope, just a regular middle clas fella here. It comes from having been a server for many many years. I learned to dine out by the code. I will never break it. I don't order my dressing on the side. I don't ask to split entrees. I don't bring my own food to a restaurant. I don't special order. I believe that dishes should be ordered as the chef conceived them. I say please and thank you. I have tremendous respect for restaurant owners, chefs, and servers.

I can't say I understand what's so tacky about separate checks. I almost never carry cash and neither do most of my friends. What's the big deal if I pay for mine and they pay for theirs, or if a group of couples goes out and there's a check for each couple? I can understand how this could get problematic if it were a large group of people, but in most cases I think separate checks are fine.

Why would you need cash? Just hand the server your three credit cards and say, please put $_____ on each one. Voila, easy.

What the???!!! That IS separating a check, Ron.

No, it's not. The server present one check for $90 to a party of three. We ask that he put $30 on each card. We DO NOT ask for each of our own individual checks with just the things on it that each of us ordered, so that one check is $27.48, one is $32.52, and the last is $30 even.

Big difference.