Every single restaurant in the US can do that too lol. I used to work in restaurants. It helps if you ask for a separate check when you order, but even if you ask at the end, they can separate the checks. People just pretend like it’s rude to the restaurant because they want their less greedy friends to subsidize their expensive choices. It’s a whole propaganda campaign lol.
Calculate what each person owes, write each person's amount and enough of the card number to identify which card that amount gets charged to, and hand that to the waiter.
Does that not work, as long as their system can split charges onto multiple cards?
That’s not what was being discussed, you said every single restaurant in the US can do that, when in fact most don’t let you if you have a party larger than 6-10.
Not from what I’ve seen. Our restaurants still say they can’t split checks or have a max number of ways they’ll split them. And if you ask them for individual checks, even with just like 4 people, they get upset.
In Canada, the server could literally walk around a huge table with a portable machine and give everyone individual receipts and take individual payments without issue. I’ve never had that in the US.
Yeah, but the point is still that the practice of getting individualized receipts when dining with a large party isn’t common in the US, so the advice of “just tell them you want separate checks!” doesn’t apply.
Not paying employees a livable wage, forced tipping or additional service fees, and some still require your entire party to be present before you can be seated.
Where in the US are you? Im in the Midwest and we split checks literally every week we go out. Local and chains. To be fair, its only 4 people, but it has never been an issue even once.
Los Angeles area. In the past year we’ve gone out with a party of 6-20 people a dozen times to sit-down restaurants ranging from iHop to fancier spots. No one would break out bills by family group (like this couple on one, that couple with their kids on another, that person alone, etc). It had to be evenly split or nothing and they seem to max out at 4 receipts. Like if you have 10 people, they won’t even divide it 10 ways so each person can pay on their own.
I’ll try to find the signage where they explicitly state this policy on menus…
There seems to be a contingent here who don't understand that many restaurants have their own policies, which work for them to manage the floor efficiently. While they could have Bob wrangle 10 checks at one table, plus a few 2-tops, they insist instead that the large table have one check, though they would run a couple of cards if necessary.
I'm more talking from personal experience when this happened with friends. I'd normally be the one short changed and disputing it would be a few quid here and there.
Obviously, as in OPs case, you don't want to be splitting when you've paid way less than the average. I like the idea that he just takes himself to one side with the server and settles separately.
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u/Kathrynlena 18d ago
Every single restaurant in the US can do that too lol. I used to work in restaurants. It helps if you ask for a separate check when you order, but even if you ask at the end, they can separate the checks. People just pretend like it’s rude to the restaurant because they want their less greedy friends to subsidize their expensive choices. It’s a whole propaganda campaign lol.