Just to be clear, I always left enough to cover drinks and food I consumed plus my share of the tax and tip. But I also made sure that I was never the one who got the check for twenty people.
I expected nothing less, m'dear!
I don’t Venmo either. If I’m going out with people that I think might order a lot more than I’m planning on spending, I’ll bring enough cash with me to pay my share and let the others Venmo each other if that’s how they want to pay.
That's smart planning!
In recent years though, I’m not usually going out with big groups to restaurants. I do have some close friends that I go out with frequently and we’ll just take turns picking up the check. I’ll pick up the check this Friday, somebody else will pick it up next Friday. That sort of thing. And what we each order is usually relatively in the same price range, give or take a few dollars, so it’s fair.
It's good you have friends you can trust to get the next check. I realize friendship shouldn't be about how much you spend on each other but it can get awkward really quickly when one person is paying more than the other (unless that one person is fabulously wealthy; then, while it should never be expected, it should definitely be appreciated).
I don't care for going out with large groups and unless it's family, I try to avoid it. All this talk is reminding me of a situation my good church friend was in many years back. She used to go out with about a half dozen friends on a regular basis. They'd go to dinner or go see a movie together. Everyone would bring cash and at dinner, they got one check and everyone contributed. And then one friend fell on hard times. Instead of turning down a few outings here and there, she insisted on going out every single time...and then every single time, she either contributed less than she owed or flat out begged someone else to pay for her and she'd "get them next time". She never did, and eventually they stopped inviting her to go out with them.
If I know I’m going out with a friend who is especially financially strained so they are ordering the cheapest food/drink, I will make sure they aren’t putting more in than they actually ordered. Sometimes I’ll even treat them (which I would not do if they ordered expensive stuff).
I've both done that a few times and been on the receiving end of that a few times.
We probably all know somebody who orders expensively and then suggests splitting the bill. Nope. Not going to do that. And if they are going to put me in that position, I will just have to embarrass them by pointing out why I’m not going to pay for their top shelf drinks or extra shrimp orders.
Yep!
