I've made a point to only sarcastically do it now after you jump in and instigate. At this point I'm just seeing how long you'll keep doing it.

1/27/2016 11:08:13 AM

So you accept you started the entire conversation with your $1200/"only" $150 per person dinners


[Edited on January 27, 2016 at 11:13 AM. Reason : lettuce hear more about your extravagant expenses ]

1/27/2016 11:11:39 AM

Not my expenses...I was just pointing out that if I had the opportunity to expense a company dinner and get 5% cashback (e.g. like with the Chase Freedom card) I would.

The credit card thread is a complete circle jerk of people talking about how they get points and cash back. Grabbing the bill and having people pay you back is a great way to get cash back on a credit card. I didn't think that example was out of line but ye olde mighty synapse called me out on it. Foiled again!

1/27/2016 11:16:06 AM

Only pussies support usury

1/27/2016 11:22:34 AM

^I thought to be considered usury you have to charge interest to the parties borrowing money from you.

1/27/2016 11:33:34 AM

Quote :

"I didn't think that example was out of line but ye olde mighty synapse called me out on it"

Technically I was 5th or 6th to do so, but thanks for ranking me #1!

1/27/2016 11:33:40 AM

You're always #1 in my mind.

1/27/2016 11:34:08 AM

with friends i like just taking turns grabbing the bill. if i invite someone to dinner, i'm willing to grab the bill.

1/27/2016 1:00:05 PM

another thread gone neo..

1/27/2016 2:28:32 PM

Synapse started it.

Quote :

"That's just neodata being neodata. You must remember he does his best networking in the hot tubs at Vail."

1/27/2016 2:47:00 PM

You sound like everyone's sister in the backseat during a road trip.

1/27/2016 2:51:50 PM

And you're the other sibling that likes to instigate stuff.

1/27/2016 2:59:20 PM

don't make me turn this thread around, and go back home....

1/27/2016 3:04:35 PM

In France, if you split the tab, the server simply divides the total across the number of diners. So different than here. When we go out with couples, we announce at the beginning that we are on our own check, and will usually offer to pay for the wine or drinks at the end.

1/27/2016 3:07:10 PM

Most POS systems divide everything up into seats from the get-go. This helps food-runners know where to bring plates even though they haven't been to the table. So yes...it probably is already organized for you. The only issue is if you're paying for someone else that isn't beside you, you're sharing appetizers/deserts/bottles of wine, etc. With that being said, most decent POS systems can easily split up items such as those as well. It will slow the server down a little bit, but it shouldn't shut the restaurant down or anything.

Only time it can be an issue is if you're with a group and everyone is moving around the entire time, ordering drinks for other people, rounds of shots, etc. It's funny when it's a shit-show at the table, yet the drunk patrons are complaining because a drink or two is incorrect on the bill.

Regardless...its all situational. The wife and I normally go out with other couples, so it's not difficult for the bill to be split...but if it appears to be even somewhat problematic, then we just split it evenly. No point in wasting time or energy arguing about it. Just pay and move on.

1/27/2016 3:29:17 PM

pick up the bill, trust that karma will get you next time

1/27/2016 3:57:59 PM

^Sure, that's easy if it's only like $150/person, but what if you go somewhere nice?

1/27/2016 4:14:12 PM

^hehe.

Again assuming everyone is digitally savvy one person pays and then the other people Venmo said person. Seems like the simplest solution unless the checks are very straight forward. Usually when I go out and offer to pay I just Venmo request the people and they immediately accept the request and I get my money.

Then again there's always that one person who refuses to go digital and wants to mail me a check.

1/27/2016 4:43:53 PM

heh

So dining with people my age, venmo usually works best. However, old people are another story (mainly coworkers). Of the ones that actually own a smart phone, I think I would have my work cut out for me getting them to 1) download the venmo app, and 2) trust that app with their bank info.

1/27/2016 4:48:43 PM

I'm 32, and before this thread I've never heard of Venmo...

1/27/2016 4:51:45 PM

I guess I first heard of venmo a few months back when I purchased some baseball tickets, and the rest of my crew insisted venmo was the very easiest way to pay me back.

It was.

1/27/2016 4:53:02 PM

1/27/2016 4:53:36 PM

Usually venmo does work fine, but there's always some cheap bastard that claims they'll "get to it" and then you have to start texting other people and get one of them to Venmo shame them into coughing up the money they owe.

1/27/2016 5:00:48 PM

I've never heard of Venmo.

Also I like to have cash money on me at most times, but perhaps not always enough to cover neodata's cheap steak dinners

1/27/2016 5:00:54 PM

I hadn't heard of it until a few years ago when some friends and I went to Coachella and were trying to settle up on the house we rented /humblebrag

[Edited on January 27, 2016 at 5:03 PM. Reason : $150 for steak dinner? Why bother?]

1/27/2016 5:02:09 PM

I would just venmo the strippers I bang, but the transfer limit is only $2999/day

- neoEMCE686

1/27/2016 5:06:02 PM

Venmo is great for buying drugs btw.

1/27/2016 5:07:03 PM

I buy drugs with a credit card now. They basically take out a New Jersey taxi voucher then cash it in. Seems sketchy but everyone does it.

1/27/2016 5:16:11 PM

You guys have heard about Uber and Myspace right?

1/27/2016 5:17:13 PM

It's funny because whenever i'm in charge of restaurant recommendations for work I avoid steak houses like the plague. I think they're more often than not a waste of money.

1/27/2016 5:38:18 PM

fuck I want a steak now

1/27/2016 5:40:43 PM

Don't get me wrong I love a good steak but when people want to go to a steakhouse every single dinner it gets old. Variety isn't a bad thing when it comes to eating out.

1/27/2016 5:42:57 PM

I feel like steak houses are about 95% 'experience' %5 good food

[Edited on January 27, 2016 at 5:52 PM. Reason : and by 'experience' I mean you get to sit in a kind of fancy room that 900000 people have sat in]

1/27/2016 5:52:14 PM

Yeah there's a point of diminishing returns. With most steak houses you're going to get a great steak. It's not worth going to one every single dinner IMO. I try to steer co-workers to more unique restaurants where you're going to be able to order a multitude of things you wouldn't normally find at a steakhouse. Plus the dinners end up being cheaper as well.

Although with last minute dinners it's much easier to get a reservation at a steakhouse than a restaurant that requires days or weeks to get a table. Typically I try to reserve tables a week or so out with an approximate number of people. As long as they don't take a credit card for reservations then it's easy to cancel.

On that note anyone have any good recommendations for food in Philly? Going in a couple weeks and want to book something...

1/27/2016 6:01:04 PM

steaks are really really really good. steakhouses usually are fine but i agree that it's generally overpriced and when i go out to eat i like more variety than a steakhouse offers.

1/27/2016 6:02:08 PM

Yeah exactly plus if you pick a nice restaurant they're almost always going to have a filet on the menu so the people who want a steak get a steak but the other people who want something else get more options too.

1/27/2016 6:04:40 PM

Quote :

"Again assuming everyone is digitally savvy one person pays and then the other people Venmo said person. Seems like the simplest solution unless the checks are very straight forward. Usually when I go out and offer to pay I just Venmo request the people and they immediately accept the request and I get my money. Then again there's always that one person who refuses to go digital and wants to mail me a check. "

this should be part of the service. i thought dining out was about service.

1/27/2016 6:09:19 PM

didn't read much past the OP, but I have never heard of splitting a bill evenly. you pay for what you ordered. if we're taking someone out for their birthday or something, then someone pays for the birthday-haver's food and everyone else just slips them a few bucks.

[Edited on January 27, 2016 at 6:41 PM. Reason : also never heard of venmo. good idea.]

1/27/2016 6:40:26 PM

people split evenly because the dumbass waiter comes with the single bill at the end and then leaves.

MOTHERFUCKER DO WE LOOK LIKE A FAMILY?

if you say "no, can we split this" the waiter looks at you like "lol, i don't know who had what" WHY THE HELL DONT YOU, WE ORDERED IT FROM YOU. if they come to take an order and the group says "The table will have this, this and this" then it is appropriate to give a single bill.

then its awkward because people who make more money don't want to go through the process of

i had x
you had y
she had z

and rather just split it evenly to get it over with.

then once the group has decided you don't want to be that one person like "no, lets make this difficult and spend 10 minutes figuring it out so i can pay 10 dollars less. "

1/27/2016 7:19:57 PM

I usually just go out and order like 10 beers with my meal, while most of them just get one or two, then when the check comes, I tell the lady we are going to split it evenly

1/27/2016 7:42:00 PM

^+1

But you have to be sneaky about it so no one suspects.

1/27/2016 9:35:38 PM

and this bothers me because i always get water

1/27/2016 9:52:52 PM

I usually just pay and ask everyone else at the table to send me 1 bitcoin each.

1/27/2016 10:22:05 PM

I usually only go to places that only accept gold as payment

1/27/2016 10:28:47 PM

You mean you go out to another place to eat instead of flying in a chef from France to your estate? Plebeian.

1/27/2016 10:30:30 PM

I have the secretary book my personal reservations

1/27/2016 10:43:36 PM

If you don't have somebody handling your finances how can you even afford to go out to eat.

It's like HEY FUCKING WOODHOUSE SETTLE THIS SHIT OR I"M GOING TO MAKE YOU EAT SPIDERS AGAIN.

1/28/2016 12:26:06 AM

if its only 2 people i just insist we order one item and split it. they give you too much food for one person

1/28/2016 6:09:05 AM