Talkin' 'bout splitting a check can set off a bomb!

Talkin' 'bout splitting a check can set off a bomb!

Yesterday I posted a quote from a Neel Shah commentary in The Awl about splitting the check and man oh man did it create conversation. Previously I didn't even know folks had arguments by quoting portions of reblogged quotes back and forth ad nauseum! Amazing! Much of the argument that ensued was from folks that obviously didn't either read the very first line of the quote or click through to the whole piece it was lifted from. Basically the source states that if you're over the (somewhat arbitrary so let's say it scales a few years forward and back) age of 25 and out to dinner with a group of friends you (with a few exceptions) split the check evenly, and if you're under 25 you pay for your portion but over tip a little to compensate for the inevitable Denny's math that causes the pot for every group check to fall short. Apparently the idea of splitting a bill evenly drives some people INSANE. Oddly, I got the impression most of the loudest outcry was from a reading population falling under the 25 year old cut off age so I think they may have missed the point.

Look, the bottom line is that when adults who are established in their jobs enough to have disposable income that allows them to order from a menu with the knowledge that they better be willing to pay for every goddamn thing go out to eat we make a judgment call when the check comes around. If everyone ate similar amounts then we split the check. If we didn't we throw in the appropriate amount per person along with a hefty tip. More often than not, because you tend to eat out with groups of people you trust and like and have an established pattern of behavior with once you hit those post 25 year old years, we just split the check (this helps self-correct especially in the case when dining with couples since one person in a pair tends to eat more while the other eats less) and are done with it.

And if you're in a party of 5-plus, and the server adds an 18% gratuity, YOU STILL TIP MORE so you at least hit 20% (and, if your party was particularly large -- obnoxious or not, you're still a handful -- tip more than that!)!

[Image via Jim Reynolds]