A British waitress has a proposal that might make some diners choke on their dessert. “Asking for separate bills should be illegal,” says the server who posts as @daniellakalita. “It should be banned.” Her example is a table of about 10 people who all ordered nearly the same thing and still wanted every check printed on its own.
Her caption leaves no doubt about her mood: “Petition to BAN printing separate bills.”
Ten People, Ten Bills, Fifty Pence Apart
She describes the scene in a small UK restaurant, and her hashtags point to the Manchester hospitality scene. A big group had eaten and drunk almost identically. Each person had about two drinks and one main course. Then came the request: “Can we have separate bills, please?”
Her reaction in the moment was disbelief. She says there is “always like 50p difference between everyone’s bills.” In other words, splitting the total evenly would have left each diner less than a dollar, in American terms, over or under what they actually owed.
She does try to help. “Sometimes I’ll say, hey guys, why don’t you just split it?” she explains. The usual reply, she says, is something like, “Oh no, that’s okay, you just put your separate bills, please, because I just want to pay for what I had.”
It gets worse when groups ask at the very start of the meal. She says a party of 12 will sometimes want a separate tab opened for every single person. “That’s 12 extra tables we need to put on the system for me to remember in a small restaurant,” she says. “I think that’s so, so strange.”
She insists she has never once asked a restaurant to split her own table that way. Her solution for diners who truly want to pay only for their share is simple. Ask for one bill, pull out the calculator on your phone, add up what you had and tell the server, “Excuse me, I’m going to pay this amount, please.”
@daniellakalita
Why Separate Checks Frustrate Servers
To a diner, asking for separate checks feels like a small, reasonable request. To a server juggling several tables, it can mean a lot of extra work at the worst possible time. Each check has to be built item by item, shared plates and bottles of wine have to be divided, and then each card has to be run one at a time. With a table of 10 or 12, that can tie up a server and the payment terminal for a long stretch while other tables wait for their food or their own bills.
Mistakes are also more likely. When a dozen people are each owed a different total, one wrong item on one check can send the server back to the system again. In a small restaurant with only a handful of staff, that slowdown is felt by everyone in the room.
Some restaurants handle this with a firm policy, such as a limit on how many ways a bill can be split or a request that large groups pay together. Others are happy to do separate checks, especially if you ask at the beginning. Policies vary, so it is always fair to ask. Travelers in Britain should also know that many restaurants there add an optional service charge to the bill, so look before adding a tip on top.
How to Split the Bill Without Making Enemies
If you often dine out in groups, whether it is a family birthday, a church outing or a monthly lunch with old friends, a few habits can keep things smooth for everyone, including the server.
Ask about the policy when you book. If separate checks matter to your group, mention it when you make the reservation or as soon as you sit down. Asking at the end of the meal is what causes the most trouble.
Split evenly when orders are similar. If everyone had about the same meal, an even split is fair and fast. A difference of a dollar or two usually evens out over many dinners together.
Do the math yourselves. Like the waitress suggests, take the single bill, use a phone calculator and let each person figure out their share. Many phones have built-in calculators with a percentage key that makes adding a tip easy.
Use cash or payment apps. One person can pay the whole bill with a card while the others hand over cash or send their share through a money transfer app. It takes seconds and keeps the server out of the arithmetic.
Handle the big spenders kindly. If one person ordered an expensive bottle of wine or several cocktails while others drank water, it is fair for that person to cover the extra. Settle this quietly among yourselves rather than asking the server to sort it out.
Tip on the whole meal. When splitting, make sure each person adds a fair tip on their share in places where tipping is customary. Servers often lose out when a check is split many ways and some diners forget.
The waitress may not get her ban, but her point lands. A little planning and a calculator can save everyone at the table, and the person serving it, a lot of time.
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