If you eat and/or drink with everyone, then you split the bill evenly.
It's a rule.
Too bad I wasn't invited.
Think twice before accepting an invitation to a party. That's the lesson Tonya Bowman, 39, learned recently after a birthday bash for a newfound acquaintance at a pricey sushi restaurant.
Don't be bullied into paying for someone else's meal or drinks if they invited you, psychotherapist says.
While Bowman ordered economically -- rice, miso soup and tea -- everyone else acted as if money were no object.
"When the bill came," Bowman says, the birthday girl "smiled and made a big production by way of a toast, saying, 'Thank you all so much for my lovely birthday dinner. I really do appreciate it. You guys are great. Here's to you!' Then she just sat there, waiting for us to decide how to split the bill."
The bill for the birthday girl and her seven "guests" came to a whopping $3,450, which someone suggested splitting evenly. That worked out to $500 per person, plus tip.
"I almost started crying," says Bowman, a municipal employee in Oakland, California. "My heart was racing; my face felt hot. I was embarrassed, humiliated and angry for having been put in that position in the first place. I wasn't told that I would be helping to pay for her dinner."
When the bill was being passed around, Bowman panicked. "I simply put down $50 near my plate and excused myself to go to the restroom," she says. "I walked right by the restroom and out the front door."
The acquaintance sent Bowman an angry e-mail.
"She wanted me to know that I totally ruined her birthday dinner because she ended up having to cover the $450 that I was supposed to pay. She said she had planned to use that money on a spa day for her birthday and now she couldn't because of me. She asked if I could please pay her back, and if I didn't have the money right now, that was OK, because she would be willing to make payment arrangements with me.
"I didn't pay ... and she's no longer my friend or acquaintance."
If you eat and/or drink with everyone, then you split the bill evenly.
It's a rule.
Eff that...you pay for what you eat. That's the rule.
I've been in similar situations where I see people ordering bottles of expensive wine (I rarely drink) and I know I will have to foot for part of the bill.
The rule is you set the rules before hand.
Tonto no like indian givers
the with that mess
There are a lot more women who post here than I thought.
But what if I have a coupon? Separate checks is the only way to go.
I'd say " I don't mind paying $500. let me get my wallet... my wallet ! Someone stole it !" then accuse the guy next to me
Nah, just make yourself vomit on the table and blame food poisoning.
Meal comped and problem solved.
$500 for dinner?? that! The birthday sounds like an asshole by the way.
She invited them to dinner and then expected them to pay?! What a stupid .
$500 for sushi? WTF? Was it sprinkled with gold or something?![]()
Bull ing .
I got into a fight a couple months ago over this.
I went to a birthday thing with 8 guys total, and all I had was two beers and ordered some nachos for myself. My total came out to $11.50 and I added it in my head. Come time to pay the bill and it was over $400 dollars. Me and another dude put a $20 down on the table and I said for us both 'that covers what we got and then some' and the birthday boy and his best friend started ing like we was going to split this evenly.
I said that, I didn't order a bunch of beer and pizza and I'm only paying for what I purchased asshole. Needless to say his best friend didn't like that comment and got his ass beat for swinging at me.
You don't pay for other people's . that, it being dudes birthday, them all.
ing ity !
ing right I'm still ing pissed about that ing ed up ing . .
If it was someone's birthday dinner I was invited to, I'd probably offer to put something down on the birthday boy or girl's dinner just out of generosity, but everyone else...they have to pay for their own .
they can't just spring that on you.
This happened in one episode of Friends
Just go Dutch, I say. It's the only fair way to do it. This isn't socialism here.
I wouldn't have paid anything.
I'd have paid for my own dinner and beverages, and let the rest of them sort their out. Must have been some fat asses there I tell you.
Bringing a gift and paying for my own dinner seems reasonable to me.
depends on where you go. i usually tip about 30-40% so i leave more than others, most of the time.
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