It seems to
me that this article from New Zealand might not reflect how Slovaks see this
issue. What do you do when you go to a
restaurant with others and need to figure out who pays what? What do you think of the author's
recommendations? (By the way, I think the Friends
clip serves as a good illustration of this situation.)
Hi. Welcome to the blog for my IB English B class at Jur Hronec High School in Bratislava, Slovakia. Below you will find links to other websites and discussion questions. My students are required to comment on one of these postings every month and also respond to each other's comments. Feel free to add your two bits, but be aware that all comments are monitored before being posted.
Figuring out who will pay after a meal out with a group of friends is such a commonly experienced struggle, in which I think the majority of people has found themselves at least once in their life. The question awaiting to be answered; How shall we pay for the food? For some people a trivial question and yet, still something that can create an awkward situation at the end of a nice get together.
ReplyDeleteIn general, the decisions made about the bill depend on a couple of things; the occasion and who you are with. For example, with friends that I see regularly, we have developed a very effective strategy to prevent further awkward situations regarding the payment; one of us always pays for the whole group. Since we know we are going to see each other again, this seems like the most sensible thing for us to do, avoiding unnecessary conversations about who is to pay for which meal.
However, I can see how splitting the bill may be a problem for groups of people that do not usually go out together. How to approach the topic? Is it the polite thing to offer to pay for everyone? There is a myriad of things that are to be considered, so that the way you approach the issue does not accidentally offend someone in the process. I have seen people getting angry over being offered to have their food paid for by a member of their friend group, for they said they did not need anyone to pay for them as they can afford to do so themselves. Indeed, it truly is a form of art to handle these situations gracefully.
Moreover, I have also experienced people paying for the whole group just to avoid starting the conversation about the bill. I am also one of those people who would rather pay for the whole thing than start having a discussion about it, especially with the pressure of a waiter standing nearby awaiting an answer. Certainly, some people then offer to pay you back for their food, but I think most of us know what the chances are of it happening in all of the cases.
Overall, I think the article offers some interesting ways of splitting the bill, and definitely ones that I have seen perhaps only on TV, like the socialist approach. Reading through them made me realize just how much there is to be considered in such situations. More importantly, the organizer’s role is not to be underestimated, for the choice of restaurant can prevent further problems regarding the bill. Indeed, dates and other similar situations are usually a different conversation and can get especially awkward when the time to split the bill comes. In these cases, as the article says, “communication is key” and I couldn’t agree more.
Most of us probably have experiences, where they payed for a group and later had to remind their unreliable friends to pay up. It isn't in anyway fun, but often times I believe it may be the only sensible option. Not long ago me and some friends went to the cinema and the first of us who got there would pick up the tickets and the others would pay up after the movie. This situation was simple when compared to food, as everyone had to pay exactly the same amount for each ticket. When it comes to paying for different food, I believe that going dutch, as mentioned in the article, is the best option.
ReplyDeleteGoing dutch is probably is the most egalitarian approach, however if a friend is short on cash does that mean that you shouldn't go out to eat with them? In this case I'd implement the mentioned socialist approach, where the others that aren't as financially strained would chip in to sponsor their friend. Because of this approach, I disagree that splitting the bill can ruin an otherwise pleasant evening. If you enjoy the company of someone financial matters shouldn't affect how much fun you have with them. In the case that the financial situation is too dire, I'd suggest not going out to eat, rather go out on a picnic, which cost the same as eating at home.
Maxim, I have to agree with you on this. It can be very frustrating for the people that are owed money, especially if it takes the others a while to get it to them. They are the ones taking all the ‘risk’ and have to deal with the hassle of trying to get the money back. Usually, when I go out with friends and we use this approach to pay (which we rarely do), we split it immediately afterwards or on the next day - this is because the longer you put it off the worse it will get, and eventually you will probably forget about it.
DeleteWe usually use the dutch method, as it is the most fair and much more efficient. However, if someone does not have the exact amount to pay for what they ordered, I would not have a problem with covering that part of the bill without expecting something in return, especially if they are a close friend. Fighting over a few euros is not a valid reason to end a long friendship.
What surprised me the most is that splitting the bill was described in the article as this daunting task, which to me it never was - I could not imagine having my night ruined by having to pay for what I bought / in the rare case chip in a bit for others. That is simply common courtesy to me.
Martin, I totally understand your point of not worrying about splitting the bill. Personally, I don’t have a problem with splitting the bill and even paying extra to cover for a friend who doesn’t have enough at the given time because I wouldn’t want them to feel stressed or worried especially when I am there to enjoy their company. However, we should consider that different people have different expectations. When someone expects the other to pay and they choose to split instead it can create a conflict as the one who didn’t expect the splitting method is left feeling betrayed and disappointed. On the contrary, I would argue that having these kinds of expectations are egotistical as they can create drama and even leave you feeling bitter after a hangout which should have been relaxing rather than stressful. Thus, I would prefer not having any prior expectations than expecting to split the bill every time.
Delete