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Meggan

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A number of posters embrace the idea that

“In business the customer is ALWAYS right and should be treated such...”

and among those inalienable rights are life, liberty and the separate check.

You are entitled to your ‘opinion’ about whether or not a restaurant should provide separate checks. And you are entitled to get up and leave if they don’t. But do you have a ‘right’ to separate checks, no.

While the phrase: “Businesses survive on repeat customers and... ‘good word

of mouth, not new customers’.” is a contradiction in terms - if ‘bad word of mouth’ was ‘they don’t give separate checks’ I certainly wouldn’t let that keep me from ‘dining’ out with friends.

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A number of posters embrace the idea that

“In business the customer is ALWAYS right and should be treated such...”

and among those inalienable rights are life, liberty and the separate check.

You are entitled to your ‘opinion’ about whether or not a restaurant should provide separate checks. And you are entitled to get up and leave if they don’t. But do you have a ‘right’ to separate checks, no.

While the phrase: “Businesses survive on repeat customers and... ‘good word

of mouth, not new customers’.” is a contradiction in terms - if ‘bad word of mouth’ was ‘they don’t give separate checks’ I certainly wouldn’t let that keep me from ‘dining’ out with friends.

Exactly, The phrase " The customer is always right" is another NOB expectation- We are in Mexcio- how many times have you experienced tradepeople not arriving for an appointment- or overcharging you on an original quote for some product or walking away in the midlle of a project and not returning for weeks or maybe never-or buy a product that is defective and try to return it to the store where purchased---Business built on Repeat business - je je je

If I was a member of "Johninajics" Dinner group- and they decided after sitting down at the table to leave because of the of the no seperate check issue- I would happily bid them adieu and continue to order my dinner sans group.

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Splitting the bill -- The biggest problem with splitting the bill evenly is not just that some people are motivated to order more than they want, it is also that you have different income levels, different appetites and different moods of the day. Not only do some people end up overpaying, but a thoughtful person, who would consider something expensive, might refrain from ordering that item to avoid making other members of the group pay for it. The opposite is also true. That is the central finding of experimental research published in the Economic Journal. The study also finds that 80% of diners would prefer paying individually to splitting the bill equally.

Of course waiters will prefer this. But it is not for them to decide. Restaurants/waiters expect the customer to tell them how they want to pay their bills. After all, a restaurant’s motivation should be to please his customers in helping them to make their dining a pleasant and easy experience, which is essential if he wants to see them again. For the diner it requires calculation of menu prices, tip, and tax (where applicable). For the waiter, it’s just a matter of putting seats on the proper checks. As an organized, moderately intelligent person, it should be easier for a waiter to separate the checks rather than letting guests doing it.

Separate bill --Perhaps separate bills are not allowed in some restaurants—particularly nicer ones—I have never experienced it. It’s probably because they know people order more on a common bill, and it’s somehow seen as less “classy” to offer separate checks. If you are rejected by a snobby waiter, at least that snotty waiter makes calculating the tip easier for me as I can easily multiply by zero. But, of course, each person will react differently—some would walk out. And I respect their decision; they have guts, but a restaurant has even more guts to refuse a customer’s request.

I have enjoyed reading through all of these posts and was surprised that this could be an issue. My husband and I go often to meet neighbors, members of our club, or people we have never met before who come along with friends, so situations are sometimes awkward when it comes time to pay the check. That is why separate bills are important.

Going with friends -- Some believe that: “If friends are so cheap that this becomes an issue than find new friends.” That has nothing to do with being cheap. While we would like to treat them sometimes (or vice versa), it is not always desired, expected or accepted, therefore separate checks is decided (both in agreement) and no restaurant should force us to do otherwise.

I’m surprised that some people say that the custom is different in Europe. In a nice restaurant in Germany, Switzerland and Spain, the waiter will ask you, after you’ve eaten, whether you want to pay jointly as a group or individually (if you have not specified before). Then the waiter goes around the table discreetly and asks each guest what they had. Usually, a good waiter remembers anyway. The waiter does the math on a notepad (yes, the waiter can add up... gasp) and tells you how much you owe. You give them the amount plus an optional tip. While the waiter does this, especially in a bigger group, everyone else can continue their conversation. And if YOU want to pay together as a smaller subgroup—no problem, just tell the waiter who they are and it’s sorted out quietly.

That is the proper way to do it. Restaurants should practice proper etiquette and customers should not be shy to ask for it (if they so desire).

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Splitting the bill -- The biggest problem with splitting the bill evenly is not just that some people are motivated to order more than they want, it is also that you have different income levels, different appetites and different moods of the day. Not only do some people end up overpaying, but a thoughtful person, who would consider something expensive, might refrain from ordering that item to avoid making other members of the group pay for it. The opposite is also true. That is the central finding of experimental research published in the Economic Journal. The study also finds that 80% of diners would prefer paying individually to splitting the bill equally.

Of course waiters will prefer this. But it is not for them to decide. Restaurants/waiters expect the customer to tell them how they want to pay their bills. After all, a restaurants motivation should be to please his customers in helping them to make their dining a pleasant and easy experience, which is essential if he wants to see them again. For the diner it requires calculation of menu prices, tip, and tax (where applicable). For the waiter, its just a matter of putting seats on the proper checks. As an organized, moderately intelligent person, it should be easier for a waiter to separate the checks rather than letting guests doing it.

Separate bill --Perhaps separate bills are not allowed in some restaurantsparticularly nicer onesI have never experienced it. Its probably because they know people order more on a common bill, and its somehow seen as less classy to offer separate checks. If you are rejected by a snobby waiter, at least that snotty waiter makes calculating the tip easier for me as I can easily multiply by zero. But, of course, each person will react differentlysome would walk out. And I respect their decision; they have guts, but a restaurant has even more guts to refuse a customers request.

I have enjoyed reading through all of these posts and was surprised that this could be an issue. My husband and I go often to meet neighbors, members of our club, or people we have never met before who come along with friends, so situations are sometimes awkward when it comes time to pay the check. That is why separate bills are important.

Going with friends -- Some believe that: If friends are so cheap that this becomes an issue than find new friends. That has nothing to do with being cheap. While we would like to treat them sometimes (or vice versa), it is not always desired, expected or accepted, therefore separate checks is decided (both in agreement) and no restaurant should force us to do otherwise.

Im surprised that some people say that the custom is different in Europe. In a nice restaurant in Germany, Switzerland and Spain, the waiter will ask you, after youve eaten, whether you want to pay jointly as a group or individually (if you have not specified before). Then the waiter goes around the table discreetly and asks each guest what they had. Usually, a good waiter remembers anyway. The waiter does the math on a notepad (yes, the waiter can add up... gasp) and tells you how much you owe. You give them the amount plus an optional tip. While the waiter does this, especially in a bigger group, everyone else can continue their conversation. And if YOU want to pay together as a smaller subgroupno problem, just tell the waiter who they are and its sorted out quietly.

That is the proper way to do it. Restaurants should practice proper etiquette and customers should not be shy to ask for it (if they so desire).

Interesting I never had a restaurant ask us if we wanted a separate bill in Germany France or Spain. When we go out with the family we may split the bill between ourselves.

With friends we take turn at picking up the tab or we split the bill between ourselves. The tip in France is included so it is not an issue. The restaurants accept to be paid with personal checks from several people but I have never been asked if we wanted separate checks.

They would probably do it if we asked for it but we never do.

In restaurants that cater to tourists or expense account cusomers you will have no problems getting separate checks.

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Guest RevImmigrant

I agree with Brigitte. I've never had the waiter ask if we want separate checks when Anne and I go out to lunch, but they will usually give us one if we ask. Also here the tip is included in the price of the meal, although there is a new scam aimed at tourists: they write on the bill in English "tip not included." They hope foreigners don't know that the tip is already included and will leave the usual tip extra.

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I agree with Brigitte. I've never had the waiter ask if we want separate checks when Anne and I go out to lunch, but they will usually give us one if we ask. Also here the tip is included in the price of the meal, although there is a new scam aimed at tourists: they write on the bill in English "tip not included." They hope foreigners don't know that the tip is already included and will leave the usual tip extra.

Although speaking the language is no guaranty, it does help cutting back on the rip offs.

The beach areas in France can be pretty bad about that, as I spoke English with my husband, one restaurateur tried everything he knew to get me but I knew he would so he lost that battle. Even tried to get me on the change. We were on a tiny island where the people have to earn enough money in 3 or 4 months to make it for the year so the tourists have to watch out. The other areas were we went except for the ride on the Rhein were not tourist areas and everyone was nice and correct. A few times in Paris waiters at cafes tried to get more tip than the 15%, good try but no deal.

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Splitting the bill -- The biggest problem with splitting the bill evenly is not just that some people are motivated to order more than they want, it is also that you have different income levels, different appetites and different moods of the day. Not only do some people end up overpaying, but a thoughtful person, who would consider something expensive, might refrain from ordering that item to avoid making other members of the group pay for it. The opposite is also true. That is the central finding of experimental research published in the Economic Journal. The study also finds that 80% of diners would prefer paying individually to splitting the bill equally.

Of course waiters will prefer this. But it is not for them to decide. Restaurants/waiters expect the customer to tell them how they want to pay their bills. After all, a restaurant’s motivation should be to please his customers in helping them to make their dining a pleasant and easy experience, which is essential if he wants to see them again. For the diner it requires calculation of menu prices, tip, and tax (where applicable). For the waiter, it’s just a matter of putting seats on the proper checks. As an organized, moderately intelligent person, it should be easier for a waiter to separate the checks rather than letting guests doing it.

Separate bill --Perhaps separate bills are not allowed in some restaurants—particularly nicer ones—I have never experienced it. It’s probably because they know people order more on a common bill, and it’s somehow seen as less “classy” to offer separate checks. If you are rejected by a snobby waiter, at least that snotty waiter makes calculating the tip easier for me as I can easily multiply by zero. But, of course, each person will react differently—some would walk out. And I respect their decision; they have guts, but a restaurant has even more guts to refuse a customer’s request.

I have enjoyed reading through all of these posts and was surprised that this could be an issue. My husband and I go often to meet neighbors, members of our club, or people we have never met before who come along with friends, so situations are sometimes awkward when it comes time to pay the check. That is why separate bills are important.

Going with friends -- Some believe that: “If friends are so cheap that this becomes an issue than find new friends.” That has nothing to do with being cheap. While we would like to treat them sometimes (or vice versa), it is not always desired, expected or accepted, therefore separate checks is decided (both in agreement) and no restaurant should force us to do otherwise.

I’m surprised that some people say that the custom is different in Europe. In a nice restaurant in Germany, Switzerland and Spain, the waiter will ask you, after you’ve eaten, whether you want to pay jointly as a group or individually (if you have not specified before). Then the waiter goes around the table discreetly and asks each guest what they had. Usually, a good waiter remembers anyway. The waiter does the math on a notepad (yes, the waiter can add up... gasp) and tells you how much you owe. You give them the amount plus an optional tip. While the waiter does this, especially in a bigger group, everyone else can continue their conversation. And if YOU want to pay together as a smaller subgroup—no problem, just tell the waiter who they are and it’s sorted out quietly.

That is the proper way to do it. Restaurants should practice proper etiquette and customers should not be shy to ask for it (if they so desire).

I agree with Bridgett and Rev Immigrant- Sounds like she was on a tour bus- eating in large groups where it was predetermined to do seperate checks- I lived briefly in Spain and traveled eextensively there and spent a few summers in France- Never did a waiter ask if we wanted seperate checks- but I was always with Spaanish or French friends--- not a tour bus.

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THE POINT OF THE POSTER WAS: Never go to a restaurant that refuses to issue separate checks!

Is this unacceptable? Some of you believe so, and you stated your own reasons which, in my opinion, were often beside the point. This simple comment became a debate and was judged and condemned by those who believe that the restaurant/waiter has all the rights without even caring that his simple refusal can put you and the people at your table in an embarrassing situation.

If YOU decide to split the check equally (or not equally), or if YOU decide to treat one or more guests, that should be YOUR decision. It should not be dictated by management. You should never be intimidated by waiters who refuse to accommodate you, the "customer". If you want an individual check, you should get it. It is a legitimate request.

The most important point in my exposé was missed. Only one point was noted—-my experience in Europe. I brought it up in response to a person who believed that asking for an individual check was a North American custom (which is not). Your comments suggested that I am either a liar, or that I did not know what I was talking about or that I must have been on a bus tour (which is not the case) and how so irrelevant! The issue here should be: restaurants/waiters who refuse individual checks have no etiquette (translation: rules governing their professional conduct); the restaurant’s conduct not the client’s. Regardless of what is being done or not done (here or Timback 2), the client should always be entitled to ask for his own check.

I mentioned Germany, Switzerland and Spain--where I lived long enough. France was not on my list, but it does not mean that it is any different. Some of my experience in certain restaurants, especially in Switzerland and Germany, was a charm when came time to pay. It was discreet and pleasant. Even if you did not see it done with your own eyes, you have to admit that type of conduct is proper when it's time to collect from a large group. Strange that no one commented on that aspect.

My husband tells me that, he or someone else, makes a discreet sign to the waiter before we order to indicate how to distribute the bill and our request was NEVER refused. No matter the size of the group.

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