Splitting the bill

[PK99]

Some lady is being criticised on Social Media for not being willing to split the bill equally:

6 people out to Birthday Dinner
Equal split was £40.
But she was not drinking alcohol and opted to pay her food cost of £19.

Folks she was with were not happy.

What does the panel think?

 

[Mo1959]

Tricky one. Alcohol often makes up a very large portion of the bill so if you are a non-drinker it's maybe not entirely fair to always feel you're stumping up when you don't imbibe yourself.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Big difference between £19 and £40. Fine if she wasn’t drinking alcohol and paid for what she had. Sounds like the alcohol guzzlers wanted her to subsidise them.

 

[Tail End Charlie]

Perfectly reasonable, although it's best to make it clear to all before the meal. Also add a bit for service etc. I used to get stung when in a group as I hardly drink and was, in effect, subsidising other people to drink. After a while you realise you're being taken advantage of.

 

[ianrauk]

Yep, I'm fine with that and have in the past ok'ed (along with the others) a lesser portion of a bill for someone who wasn't drinking alcohol.

 

[cougie uk]

Some lady is being criticised on Social Media for not being willing to split the bill equally:

6 people out to Birthday Dinner
Equal split was £40.
But she was not drinking alcohol and opted to pay her food cost of £19.

Folks she was with were not happy.

What does the panel think?

Perfectly fine. Why should she buy her mates drinks ? They've not bought her any.

 

[Cycleops]

As said perfectly reasonable, but she might like pay up anyway to avoid the accusation of being a tight a**e.

 

[BrumJim]

No. Perfectly fine. Agree with @Ming the Merciless that it looks like the drinkers wanted their evening subsidised.

The only time I would object to that is if the non-drinker chose the wine for the rest of the party.

 

[vickster]

All good, I’ve been in a similar situation. Why should she subsidise their boozing? Although I hope she paid her share of the tip on food

 

[Ridgeway]

I always split the bill evenly and i never drink so i always end up overpaying. If it miffed me then it would be up to me to say before ordering what the protocol was, as i'm there to enjoy the company of others i don't like defining the experience as a business transaction before it's even begun.

 

[KnittyNorah]

The reason her 'friends' weren't happy was that they realised she has - quite rightly - declined to continue subsidising their expensive habit. On the face of it at least, they don't seem to be her friends so much as her parasites.

Only if they regularly subsidise an expensive habit of hers - and hers alone - when they go out together, do they have any grounds for complaint.

 

[Moon bunny]

It is quite reasonable for non-drinkers not to be included in rounds in a pub, I don’t see how this is different.

 

[Speicher]

The others were, possibly, not capable of thinking clearly about this. I would divide the £20 by 5 and let the drinkers pay an extra £4 each.

 

[fossyant]

When we had the kids with us we'd pay for our share (kids portions and no booze) as it was too much paying for 4 adults share of a bill if others were drinking, and one of us driving.

If anyone isn't drinking then we don't expect them to cover booze. Even with colleagues if one or two of us has had an extra beer or two, we'll throw in extra cash.

I've been stung before where one person doesn't pay anything. We had a particular group where we'd always be short.

My wife once went out with a group, all eating drinking, and one person at the end said they had no money.. . Don't mind subsidising someone who was skint, but to not let you know before hand.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Let's turn the tables. If i was out in a group i'd see an opportunity and order doubles,cocktails maybe even a bottle of champers. If the tight wad non drinker didn't cough up their bit i would not be too pleased!🧐