Whose turn is it anyway? (Paying the Check)
July 1, 2013
PiC and I have a new tradition of sorts, a weekly dinner with one singlet friend, and a every couple of months dinner with another singlet* friend. Both are friends from years back, Ye Olden Youth Dayes. I don’t know if it’s weird that we never tried to seek out couple friends specifically now that we’re married but it’s just never been a priority. A friend’s a friend, whether single or doubled up. And I like that, paired or not, our friends feel comfortable with us, paired or not.
*Singlet denoting the fact that they may not actually be single, but they hang out with us sans partner for these regular shindigs.
We’ve gone out to explore weird little joints, relaxed with easy take out, and experimented with new recipes. The responsibility or privilege of deciding what to do next has been alternated like a hot potato, back and forth, but I always feel like since we’re feeding three in total, two of whom are a couple, isn’t it more fair if we paid 2 times out of 3 outings?
Sounds logical to me, but the singlets we dine with usually gives me an odd look when I venture forth with this theory. Granted, we rarely have terribly expensive meals, ranging from $5-20 per person depending on whether we’ve cooked, did take out or dined out, but it does still feel a bit unfair from my perspective.
:: Am I being overly aware or would you feel the same way? What if you were the single one? What if you were part of the couple?
Interesting question! When we visited NYC, it was obvious that restaurants don’t often offer to split the check for you if you’re dining as a group. Is that true in your area as well? Because the easiest solution is just to split it so you and PiC pay for yours while friend pays for his/hers. I’d probably feel awkward that a friend was paying for both of our meals while we only paid for his/her meal when we treated. And if treating is a fun tradition between friends, I agree that it seems fairer for you/PiC to treat twice as often. Now when your friend argues you can say, “Well! This random person on the Internet agrees with me! So I win!” Then snatch the check away. 😉
yeah, I agree with you! 3 people = 3 turns paying.
That’s what we always do. We have quite a few single friends and when we go out to eat, we split the check by 3 with some and for others, we pay 2 times out of 3.
I would just take turns if you couldn’t split the check. But I also wouldn’t make a big deal out of it if the meals aren’t terribly expensive. I wouldn’t want anyone to feel awkward.
We usually ask for separate checks. With only three people, two of them a couple, it’s not that hard for the server to manage.
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