Breaking Down The Bill: Who Should Pay?

The bill is something that is heavily disputed, along with who should pay the bill.

Who should pay?

Normally the host would pay. The best time to clarify who pays is when the invitation is extended.

If you are the host and paying...

First, be discreet. You can let the waiter or maitre d’hotel know in advance that you’ll be paying for the check. Ideally, find a pretext to leave the table in order to go and pay the bill. Excusing yourself to go to the restroom is a great opportunity to pay for the meal. On your way to the restroom, you can ask the maitre d’hotel for the bill and take care of the bill on your way back to the table. This way, the bill will never reach the table.

If you’re splitting the bill…

Be sure to tell the waiter in advance, you’ll be splitting the bill or one designated person is responsible for splitting into individual amounts if the prices for each dish was different. This can also be applied in situations when you forget to ask for separate checks in the beginning, you’ll can make it easier for your waiter by writing an exact amount to charge to each card.

Use a cash-pay app like Zelle, Venmo, or Paypal, have one person pay for the group’s bill and send requests to each person afterwards. 

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