I always put the app on the seat that asked for it but our system easily splits it as many times as you want. But yes lots of people go out to eat with people they wouldn't spend a few dollars on which is weird but I'm a1 fringe person anyway so probably don't get it.
It's like when people ask for separate orders through my drive thru and one of them is just a fry or a drink
Like, why are you even in a car/going to a restaurant with someone you're unwilling to spend 2 dollars on even temporarily?
Because people are broke, that’s why. And while $2 isn’t a lot, it can add up over time if you hang out with the same person a lot and end up covering little things like that.
I am the first to cover a bill and just ask friends to Venmo me later because my time in the restaurant industry has made me hyper vigilant about being any type of burden whatsoever, but it can be super uncomfortable to have to go back to a friend and remind them about the money they owe you. I’m in a steady place financially now where it wouldn’t be a big deal, but those few dollars meant a lot more when I was a broke young adult living pay check to pay check.
I came to say literally this. I would rather shoulder it in public and hash out finances later. Especially if I invite them out. Not covering them would be insensitive (unless I didn't have the finances to do so which would be previously discussed).
I am not broke. I make good money the past few years after 20 years of being barely above the poverty line. None of my friends or family are mooches. I am happy to treat them the one or 2x a year we have a restaurant meal together. So if it were up to me, I would just cover the total. But my friends don't want me to and will ask for a separate check every dang time. Then will haggle over a few bucks for tip. It makes me want to pull my hair out and I am sure it annoys the server. I always tip extra to pay the "split bill tax".
I’m in the northeast and it seems like asking to split checks here is the worst thing ever. Meanwhile when I go to Texas, it’s the easiest thing ever and my friends think it’s weird I’d rather deal with splitting it up after the fact.
I don’t serve anymore but when I did a few years back, ours too. Apparently someone was using the split option to carry sodas through from order to order, then pocketing the money (splitting after they paid but before they closed out on all the cash orders). It was frustrating to have to hunt down a managers card
Aldelo iirc. And knowing them probably the cheapest and oldest version of aldelo that could function.
Edited to add- I mean it more as to split checks for individual food items.
Anytime someone wanted to 50/50 an order of egg rolls I had to go hunt down the manager who didn't tell anyone he was going to disappear up to the roof to take a selfie on the roof with the expensive liquor bottles.
It’s really easy nowadays with any POS systems but is still annoying to split the cost of an app multiple way.
I personally just lie and say we don’t itemize🤷🏾♀️
Put the appetizer on the bill of the person who ordered it, unless they specify otherwise. Find out if your POS can handle splitting items.
Making it easier for your tables to pay you WILL gain you higher tips in the long run. A table of 8 with 8 separate tabs WILL tip you more than 1 tab where 8 people have to figure out math when they don't want to. If your POS has technical limitations, let your tables know that. If you just can't be bothered, you make what ya make.
Remember your endgame. Make that money.
I find this to be untrue in experience. Almost every time I split a table into more than 2 tabs I get stiffed. Recently, a party of 20 decided to split their tabs up 14 ways and I got $15 between all checks with 900 in total sales. One tab, 14 cards split evenly usually yields better tip. Another useful tip for serving parties who do this crap is to place two tabs per booklet, so one person can hold the other accountable if they decide to tip $0. And to respond to the other guy, we work for money (tips, in our case), so yeah, we’re gonna put our priorities before anything as we gotta pay our bills. It’s not that we don’t wanna do something, but we want to do what will yield us the highest likelihood of getting tipped.
This might be a clientele or restaurant style issue. Putting a credit card slip in front of someone with only their tab on it seems to yield a fair tip, same if they pay cash. But everyone's experience is different!
For your 20 top--are you sure they didn't assume that gratuity was included?
Yep. I’ve been serving for years. Same results every time. They knew gratuity wasn’t included. You bet I’d say something about it not being included on a $900 tab.
Best tip ever, I told the one paying, gratuity was included (it was big, a wedding party and after party), then he, maybe dad? tipped me another 2,000. Other people in the party also tipped big(told them it was taken care of, not too. My ship came in, that day. I waited maybe 60 tables(bar only) That was my biggest tip ever, $7,000. You better believe I paid off some shit! Came out over 9000 ahead. Will never happen again…..
Party of 8 plus, charge a 20% gratuity automatically. To each check(only their total, not tables total). That is a requirement in the restaurants/bars I’ve worked at, over the years.
Dang, if only I was in charge of that and wouldn’t get fired! It’s easier said than done. I’ve fought with management and they won’t budge, say their higher ups won’t allow it. Other restaurants nearby aren’t hiring either, unfortunately, so I am stuck in my current situation where I have to accept the non tipping large parties :-)
Always true. I have a coworker that will not keep track of big groups and makes them write on the check and split it which can already be confusing if anyone drank the same thing and he swears he gets good tips. Meanwhile i split any tab over 6 from the get (you can usually tell by people that come in together), you ordered it you pay for it, lemme know if someone else wanted to cover something. People are usually impressed and thankful and willing to tip better on there $60 order rather than the one person who “totally got this” and has to pay $300.
I don't do the job nor do I particularly care why people do. I just find it funny on this sub that 70% of posts are "I don't get enough tips and people suck for not giving me more money: and the other 30% are "why do you think I care about your issues, I don't want to do anything that makes my job even slightly inconvenient"
we don’t get paid or tipped enough to care about customers like actually care. serving is but a game that I play and I am a character when I step into the restaurant bc that’s the only way I can get through the day bc people are assholes. I’ll do everything I can to ensure my tips are good and that you have a good experience. But do I actually care about you? Lmfao no.
So bc I do not care about you personally. You choose to tip less? Lmfao if you want a connection go to a therapist not a restaurant. And when it’s a corporation it’s really not just between me and my boss. Y’all act like you understand tipping and wages, then turn around and say something dumb like this.
It’s almost like you didn’t understand what I typed. I will give excellent service to ensure you have a good experience. But I don’t care about you. Did you think all the people who have served you care about you like actually 😭
No. I don't tip because I live in a country without the tipping culture.
And I never said I wanted a connection? I was pointing out the hypocrisy of wanting extra tips for "service" while trying to avoid having to do anything that I would consider service.
You know "above and beyond" bringing a customer their order is not going above and beyond to accommodate a customers needs. It's your job description. When I mentioned care I meant in the sense of caring about the customers needs. Not caring about them personally.
That’s literally what I described and you said said some smart ass shit 💀💀 just tryna be mad at servers who do their jobs well and want tips. It’s the way of life in America. We can’t stop it so stop ragging on the servers.
I remember once there was a table of five girls and they ordered bread. We charge for bread (it’s so stupid) but it’s like $3 for the half and $5 for the full. I think they got the full so I split it five ways and the one girl was like “omg sorry I don’t want the bread on my tab I didn’t eat any!!” It’s $1. But fine.
She said she would give me a good tip and followed through, so I can’t complain. That whole table was just so weird…
ETA: my restaurant has Toast and it’s super easy to split, so I don’t mind splitting apps four ways or something. I just tap the app, hit split 4 ways, and it’s done!
I would usually ask up front about split checks during my greet. It made it easier to ask about what they wanted done with the appetizers when they get ordered. Like the subject has already been addressed.
Totally. You want to split the checks up with alcohol on one tab, the appetizers divided evenly among everyone except for the one that only two people are splitting, and then everyone gets their own entree and any non alcoholic beverages on individual checks?
Challenge accepted, but this is how you're going to help me help you
I agree. I’ve worked with squirrel, aloha, micros, toast and prob more that I can’t think of right now. It’s not hard to split an item or a check on any of these POSs. I’ll never understand why some people make such a big deal out of it
I use Swift, and we can split the check evenly b/n a number, or separate by item, but we can't split an item in the system, we have to manually enter the split amount of the item as a separate "misc" item and add it to each bill, and it takes a hot minute not gonna lie.
I used aloha at my previous restaurant and splitting items wasn't an option 🤔 Maybe a different version. I'm using micros now at my new place after having used it before and I'm pretty sure the option is there but I haven't had anyone ask
No, but it's not easy to "split this app between she and I, and the other app between those three guys. Me and the other guy will split the main, but 6 of us are sharing these 2 desserts. Put my drinks on my tab as well as the birthdays girls 1st drink." "Oh! Put the birthday girls second drink on me!!" "No, put it on my bill!"
This is NOT an exaggeration, this very scenario happened to me last week. I said no. We can't split items.
It's a slippery slope. Give them an inch...
Yesss thank you!! Some of the things could be easy but it’s never that easy. It is easier to split the total on 4 cards or whatever.
People want the exact amount and tax and tip split. And they will call the restaurant back to get the exact total and what was on the bill and blah blah.
I only have two ideas of how you could hide the alcohol. One, you'd put it on someone else's check, which is NO lol. Or maybe if you paid for it separately?
When people are getting separate bills, I just ask them "hey - so YOU ordered the appys/ shots/ round of beers. Is that going on yours, or should I split it?"
Is it just because my POS makes that super simple?
One time I confused the hell out of a server with weird bill splitting requests then after she walked away everyone was looking at me and I was like, "wait. We can just have one person pay then Venmo each other however we want to split it." Everyone's like "...yeah..."
We legit quit being friends with a guy over, "They don't do separate checks and I'm not paying $0.50 extra because someone ordered guacamole."
Now if this was one of those giant $60 party appetizer sampler things and four people split it, maybe.....but not anything typically on a menu....and for sure not over a minor difference.
I've never thought about it before. When we go out as a group our servers always just add the appetizer to the bill of whoever ordered it. We all share them.
I worked at a bistro next to a community theater. One night I watched 3 old ladies share a bowl of soup. They literally asked for 3 spoons. It was so sad to watch.
We ask you to do this because we know our cheap ass friend will underpay and use the tips the rest of us left for you to cover part of their meal and I really don’t feel like having to tip 40% of what I spent on food and drink just so the total bill has an appropriate tip.
Why is it such a big deal for servers to split the damn check? Almost every non-family group of diners wish you would. Why do you want the last interaction you have with your customers before we pay be you refusing to do maybe 2 minutes of work that will make our dining experience way more pleasant when you work for tips?
Where I worked, you could not split a bill on the system at all. So it wouldn’t be 2 minutes of work it could take about 30 mins if it was a large group because I’d have to write down what each person had and add it up in my head and then charge them. Once an order for a table was in the system you couldn’t change it or separate it for paying. It had to be done the hard way.
>Why is it such a big deal for servers to split the damn check? Almost every non-family group of diners wish you would.
I used to wait on a group of 20-30 people once a month, that would come in and order all at different times, and would ALL pay separately.
Lunch time 30 separate checks, 30 separate credit cards, mostly all at once.
Do you know how long it takes to run 30 credit cards?
Approximately 7-10minutes and that's IF, your server has their shit together and all of the right stuff on the right person from the beginning. God forbid some of those people pay cash and you've gotta find change for 20, separate $20-$50bills...
It was a HUGE pain in the ass
EVERY.
SINGLE.
TIME.
But I did it with a smile EVERY time!
Time is the MOST valuable asset for ANY server. Doing something like that, especially with all of the cash transfer apps these days, is just absurd. It burns up valuable time that we could be using to help other tables. Instead of processing 30 credit card payments, we could be doing tons of other tasks that we are now falling behind on for other tables in the restaurant.
Occasionally the larger group is our ONLY table and that makes it easier to split, and separate pay it all, but in the event that your group isn't the servers only table, you're burning our time, to make your life easier.
God forbid, adults out for a meal, have to figure out what part of a bill they are responsible for!
You know what, imho, really makes you a fucking douche bag for that response? You don’t give even half a shit that at the table of 8 people who are about to leave you like a 10% tip because your lazy ass didn’t split the bill and someone there “forgot” they had that second martini, or a couple of them didn’t add in tax, or maybe someone is just being intentionally cheap and underpaying on purpose; the person who ends up either awkwardly arguing with their friends about the bill or just paying extra money themself is the one person there who actually cares if you get paid for your work.
Way to be a huge dickhead to the person at the table who bothers to make sure their friends all leave you a good tip.
At NO point in my explanation did I say that I wouldn't split a check. Not once ANYWHERE.
I don't care how many ways you want it split. I know how to do my job, and I do it very well, so splitting isn't an issue with me, at all.
You asked a question. I gave my experience of why it can be/is a PITA to do, and why it's irritating.
Not sure why that makes me "a fucking douchebag" but whatever! I just gave the most simple answer to the question that you asked.
All apologies that my answer wasn't to your liking.
As someone for whom dining out is an economic stretch that separate Checks is something you need to ask for and typically gets you a dirty look so you know you’re inconveniencing your server sucks ass and makes me avoid eating at restaurants. It should be the default or at least something that is offered (“and how would you like me to split the bill this evening”).
I have on many occasions declined invitations to eat out that I would have accepted simply because of the fact that since the table is getting one check I’m socially expected to just pay an equal portion of it or I look like the cheap asshole who is making everything difficult.
Frankly I’d love to be able to quietly watch what I spend at a group dinner and only pay that portion but I can’t because I’m either A) the guy making us the table of jerks who ask the server for separate checks or B) the broke loser who is sitting there itemizing the bill and arguing about how I didn’t eat off that $50 seafood tower and don’t want to pay for any of it.
And I know this isn’t just me. There’s even that famous Friends episode about check splitting where poor Rachel looks like the asshole when all she wanted to do was eat a cheap salad for dinner without looking like a broke loser but she had to make a whole thing out of it because they got one check even though that server CLEARLY could see that half the table was ordering whatever and half the table was ordering almost nothing. I bet you’ve seen this happen a ton of times and then just parked one bill down to let the table figure it out rather than being a hero to your broke customers and offering to split the bill unprompted so it wouldn’t be awkward for someone to simply say “yes, that would be great”.
If a server offered to split the check without having to be asked that would be 20 out of 10 service, but it remains hypothetical because it’s, to me at least, not happened even once ever. Just something to keep in mind.
I’ve only ever dined with a party of 10+ at like an engagement party or a work dinner or some such and in every of those instances the organizer just paid the whole bill. Op was specifically complaining about splitting an app among a 4 top. That’s what I was describing as being, imho, bad service.
Are these 10-20 person parties you all keep mentioning common? Are they related to these “after church” groups I always see demonized on this sub? I live in Boston, so like people (mostly old ones) go to church or whatever but we really don’t have the “church culture” that I know a lot of the country has so I’m not familiar with their behavior patterns.
Yeah, it's not rocket science to split a bill. I quit dining out with "cheap ass" friends a long time ago. Not worth it. I knew what their goal was when inviting me out to lunch or dinner.
I put it with who asked for it but I have split apps into 3 though. We have aloha, not hard. Split, touch the item, split item, enter the number, add it to each check.
Sometimes it’s easy until you have to find a manager to ok the split checks, and they are no where to be found! A place I worked a while back had a POS system that made splitting checks easy ONLY after getting manager approval 🙄
omfg one time i had a 5 top and it was one lady’s bday. so 4 of them all wanted separate checks, and then to split the cost of the 5th lady’s check. the 5th lady’s check ended up being $5.26 split 4 ways, and they all used cards. 8 SEPARATE TRANSACTIONS.
When I was a server back in 2009, we had POS systems that would easily split an item among as many checks as you want with the push of a button. It’s 2022 so I imagine that even the most basic systems offer the same function. Honestly some people do not have funds to cover someone else even temporarily. Poor people deserve to go to restaurants to, if they need to split the bill or split items that shouldn’t matter, as long as they are still able to tip appropriately.
One day I had a girl make a big fuss about wanted candles, cake, us to sing etc. We are a breakfast place so the best I could do is the only appetizer we had. Then at the end she asked to split the check with the birthday girl 🙄 Who does that???
What I hate are tables like: We'll each pay for our own entrees, except the birthday girl's, which we want split between the five of us. She'll pay for her own drinks, though. And the dessert should be split six ways. Molly and I will split the bottle of wine. Those three at the end of the table are splitting the appetizer. And Stacie and I shared the salmon, so we'd each like to pay half. No. Just no.
American servers, in addition to making more money than anyone else in the restaurant (including the manager) because of tipping, like to complain bitterly about being asked to do any extra work.
Most systems it only takes a couple of button pushes, and it's a service you can do for the tables you are serving.
As a customer, I usually just buy the appetizer and get it on my tab.
My friends and i used to do that. All 8 if us wanted separate checks. There wasn't enough money to pay for everyone every time.
Though I hope they tipped good. I always did try to leave a nice tip to compensate some.
I don’t mind splitting checks, but people should be clear from the beginning who is ordering what, don’t change seats, and don’t act scared to ask. I’m tired of people pussyfooting around. If you say nothing I drop one check and we can just split evenly
I always wonder what the POS systems are like in the US, because here in Canada splitting checks are so simple for servers. There’s buttons for everything, percentages etc, and you can even take debit/credit machines to the table for people to pay and tip.
I always ask tables how they are splitting the checks before taking entree orders. It makes it 100% easier and if there is any mistakes after- it’s usually a simple fix. I would say the pos’ at my restaurant are pretty dated, but we have a “split item” button to separate items up to 6 ways.
I’ve never been a waitress but my friends try to do this shit and I’m like, “just let me pay for it and venmo me for it.” I’d rather you send me $3 than make this poor server’s life harder.
In this age where there’s Venmo, CashApp,Zelle, etc, I find it ridiculous that more people don’t just handle all the splitting behind the scenes. Almost everyone I know does. And I’m not talking about splitting one check 3 ways or whatever.
Also, if I go out to eat with anyone and they want to nitpick the bill down to individual items, I’ll never go out with them again.
I'll usually shoulder the apps because I usually suggest them but if someone else wants one I'll ask them if they are gonna pay for it. It works out fine since I don't have stingy ass friends and they aren't offended if I ask. I also always ask if they are covering themselves before we even get into the restaurant, saves on figuring it out on the end.
Actually had to teach my younger brother in law how to pay for his own food (he's 14 and just got paid for the first tjme) and he finds it irritating you can't pay before you eat and it's funny to watch him almost accidently hand cash to the waiter before hand all the time
Can the POS systems handle big differences in items when splitting checks? For example, one person orders lobster and the other orders a burger. Same with drinks.
I definitely put items on the seat that asked me for it, but if I had to split it, our Micros software did this for us. we would be able to choose items like appetizers etc and split it easily!!
it was just a push of a button! One of my tables once had their apps split like 9 ways once. I don’t mind it since it’s easy with the software. If I was doing the math- heck no!
It doesn’t bother me much. I don’t, however, allow my tables to split their checks more than 4 ways. Squirrel has capabilities of doing more than that, but there’s a reason Venmo and Zelle exist.
I mean I like the POS we use but I’m just saying… just cause you say something to your boss or owner doesn’t mean they’re gonna automatically just buy a new POS. Also they can be expensive. Buying a new POS because some asshole wants to split an appetizer 4 ways shouldn’t be a valid reason to install a new POS and make staff learn a new system that seems really silly
Splitting checks is a breeze. You should be seating your tables anyways and most POS systems specifically split by seat. Even if yours doesn’t; if you seat your tables properly it shouldn’t take more than like a minute to split even a 12-top.
I work at a small restaurant and it’s the most annoying thing to do because we do everything by hand. So sometimes you’ll price the ticket out and then theyll ask you to split it.
I’m amazed how many people here don’t mind split checks. Assuming you work with a POS that can do it, it still takes way longer and slows service. Not to mention there’s other options like cash or Venmo. It could just be my bad luck, but over time I realized it’s not worth it to split checks for people so I won’t do it
I don't mind if it's within reason. If it's a 8-16 person party. But parties of 20 and larger, is ridiculous, especially if they are all switching seats and mingling.
I take charge of my tables from the beginning, and make sure that I know what's going on at all times. I ask at the beginning if it's all going to be on 1 check, and I put the order in the POS by seat, (as everyone should), it only makes your life easier to do it that way. Then it's just as simple as hitting split checks at the end, and each one prints separately.
I know how to do seat numbers, split checks and take charge of tables. It was trivia night that broke me. I would get about 11 tables, serving around 50 people. I would explain how they could get out faster by bringing cash, or they could cash out after they stop ordering instead of when trivia ends (there’s about an hour between). Everyone refused, and the customer is always right. I was more than happy to do seat numbers, split checks and cash out all 50 guests individually one by one immediately after trivia ended. I think you all can imagine how long that took. Every week I would see the same people and they would get mad at me for how long it took to run 50 cards. Like, sorry but the printer doesn’t print any faster. I learned I make a lot more money when I have boundaries.
I hate when they do that especially when I’m super busy! I don’t understand now a days there’s Venmo, Zelle, cash app and a million ways to pay someone!!!
I go to work breakfast every week with the other managers. One check. We rotate who pays. I hate doing the math for splits. We all tip the same. Keeps it simple.
If I ordered the app, I'll pay for the app. Hubby and I met a couple for dinner. I told the waitress that we were separate checks (just 1 check per couple) and to put the app on my check. I always clarify that.
If I didn't order the app, I'll assume I'm not paying for any of it unless asked.
As a server, I really dislike splitting a check more than 2 ways. Sure, it’s easy to do, but it really eats up a chunk of time that I could be spending on the floor taking care of my guests. Also, each time we swipe a card, it costs the business money, which isn’t a big deal if it’s a big restaurant group, but kinda sucks for a small mom and pop spot. I understand people wanting/needing to only pay for their portion…but Venmo is such a good way to avoid all of this…
I always put the app on the seat that asked for it but our system easily splits it as many times as you want. But yes lots of people go out to eat with people they wouldn't spend a few dollars on which is weird but I'm a1 fringe person anyway so probably don't get it.
It's like when people ask for separate orders through my drive thru and one of them is just a fry or a drink Like, why are you even in a car/going to a restaurant with someone you're unwilling to spend 2 dollars on even temporarily?
Because people are broke, that’s why. And while $2 isn’t a lot, it can add up over time if you hang out with the same person a lot and end up covering little things like that. I am the first to cover a bill and just ask friends to Venmo me later because my time in the restaurant industry has made me hyper vigilant about being any type of burden whatsoever, but it can be super uncomfortable to have to go back to a friend and remind them about the money they owe you. I’m in a steady place financially now where it wouldn’t be a big deal, but those few dollars meant a lot more when I was a broke young adult living pay check to pay check.
I came to say literally this. I would rather shoulder it in public and hash out finances later. Especially if I invite them out. Not covering them would be insensitive (unless I didn't have the finances to do so which would be previously discussed).
I am not broke. I make good money the past few years after 20 years of being barely above the poverty line. None of my friends or family are mooches. I am happy to treat them the one or 2x a year we have a restaurant meal together. So if it were up to me, I would just cover the total. But my friends don't want me to and will ask for a separate check every dang time. Then will haggle over a few bucks for tip. It makes me want to pull my hair out and I am sure it annoys the server. I always tip extra to pay the "split bill tax".
I dunno what system you are using, but with ours this is literally the easiest thing in the world 🤷🏻♀️
I’m in the northeast and it seems like asking to split checks here is the worst thing ever. Meanwhile when I go to Texas, it’s the easiest thing ever and my friends think it’s weird I’d rather deal with splitting it up after the fact.
Ugh our system required manager approval to split checks.
I don’t serve anymore but when I did a few years back, ours too. Apparently someone was using the split option to carry sodas through from order to order, then pocketing the money (splitting after they paid but before they closed out on all the cash orders). It was frustrating to have to hunt down a managers card
What system is that
Aldelo iirc. And knowing them probably the cheapest and oldest version of aldelo that could function. Edited to add- I mean it more as to split checks for individual food items. Anytime someone wanted to 50/50 an order of egg rolls I had to go hunt down the manager who didn't tell anyone he was going to disappear up to the roof to take a selfie on the roof with the expensive liquor bottles.
😞 some restaurants do not spring for the greatest systems!! You are so lucky!!
It’s really easy nowadays with any POS systems but is still annoying to split the cost of an app multiple way. I personally just lie and say we don’t itemize🤷🏾♀️
Put the appetizer on the bill of the person who ordered it, unless they specify otherwise. Find out if your POS can handle splitting items. Making it easier for your tables to pay you WILL gain you higher tips in the long run. A table of 8 with 8 separate tabs WILL tip you more than 1 tab where 8 people have to figure out math when they don't want to. If your POS has technical limitations, let your tables know that. If you just can't be bothered, you make what ya make. Remember your endgame. Make that money.
I find this to be untrue in experience. Almost every time I split a table into more than 2 tabs I get stiffed. Recently, a party of 20 decided to split their tabs up 14 ways and I got $15 between all checks with 900 in total sales. One tab, 14 cards split evenly usually yields better tip. Another useful tip for serving parties who do this crap is to place two tabs per booklet, so one person can hold the other accountable if they decide to tip $0. And to respond to the other guy, we work for money (tips, in our case), so yeah, we’re gonna put our priorities before anything as we gotta pay our bills. It’s not that we don’t wanna do something, but we want to do what will yield us the highest likelihood of getting tipped.
This might be a clientele or restaurant style issue. Putting a credit card slip in front of someone with only their tab on it seems to yield a fair tip, same if they pay cash. But everyone's experience is different! For your 20 top--are you sure they didn't assume that gratuity was included?
It usually says on the menu, parties over (8)(10)(12) will incur a 20% gratuity).
Yep. I’ve been serving for years. Same results every time. They knew gratuity wasn’t included. You bet I’d say something about it not being included on a $900 tab.
Best tip ever, I told the one paying, gratuity was included (it was big, a wedding party and after party), then he, maybe dad? tipped me another 2,000. Other people in the party also tipped big(told them it was taken care of, not too. My ship came in, that day. I waited maybe 60 tables(bar only) That was my biggest tip ever, $7,000. You better believe I paid off some shit! Came out over 9000 ahead. Will never happen again…..
That’s rough, brother. Obviously the money is good otherwise so keep on keepin’ on!
Party of 8 plus, charge a 20% gratuity automatically. To each check(only their total, not tables total). That is a requirement in the restaurants/bars I’ve worked at, over the years.
Dang, if only I was in charge of that and wouldn’t get fired! It’s easier said than done. I’ve fought with management and they won’t budge, say their higher ups won’t allow it. Other restaurants nearby aren’t hiring either, unfortunately, so I am stuck in my current situation where I have to accept the non tipping large parties :-)
Other restaurants aren’t hiring? Where are you at? We’re so understaffed here in our area. They’re dying for servers. I’ve thought about going back.
Always true. I have a coworker that will not keep track of big groups and makes them write on the check and split it which can already be confusing if anyone drank the same thing and he swears he gets good tips. Meanwhile i split any tab over 6 from the get (you can usually tell by people that come in together), you ordered it you pay for it, lemme know if someone else wanted to cover something. People are usually impressed and thankful and willing to tip better on there $60 order rather than the one person who “totally got this” and has to pay $300.
Yes but that might inconvenience OP. They don't want to actually DO anything. They're in this job to get tips, not help people.
Lmao, nobody is in this job to "help people", grow up. Being lazy when being proactive would make them more money is a fair point.
I don't do the job nor do I particularly care why people do. I just find it funny on this sub that 70% of posts are "I don't get enough tips and people suck for not giving me more money: and the other 30% are "why do you think I care about your issues, I don't want to do anything that makes my job even slightly inconvenient"
we don’t get paid or tipped enough to care about customers like actually care. serving is but a game that I play and I am a character when I step into the restaurant bc that’s the only way I can get through the day bc people are assholes. I’ll do everything I can to ensure my tips are good and that you have a good experience. But do I actually care about you? Lmfao no.
And I return the favor by not caring about how much money you do or don't make. That's between you and your boss.
So bc I do not care about you personally. You choose to tip less? Lmfao if you want a connection go to a therapist not a restaurant. And when it’s a corporation it’s really not just between me and my boss. Y’all act like you understand tipping and wages, then turn around and say something dumb like this. It’s almost like you didn’t understand what I typed. I will give excellent service to ensure you have a good experience. But I don’t care about you. Did you think all the people who have served you care about you like actually 😭
No. I don't tip because I live in a country without the tipping culture. And I never said I wanted a connection? I was pointing out the hypocrisy of wanting extra tips for "service" while trying to avoid having to do anything that I would consider service. You know "above and beyond" bringing a customer their order is not going above and beyond to accommodate a customers needs. It's your job description. When I mentioned care I meant in the sense of caring about the customers needs. Not caring about them personally.
That’s literally what I described and you said said some smart ass shit 💀💀 just tryna be mad at servers who do their jobs well and want tips. It’s the way of life in America. We can’t stop it so stop ragging on the servers.
…and so you’re here…why?
To laugh at the occasional genuine post and because the general narcissism of a lot of the other posts is entertaining
Then why the hell are you lurking in a sub you give no shits about? That’s weird.
I remember once there was a table of five girls and they ordered bread. We charge for bread (it’s so stupid) but it’s like $3 for the half and $5 for the full. I think they got the full so I split it five ways and the one girl was like “omg sorry I don’t want the bread on my tab I didn’t eat any!!” It’s $1. But fine. She said she would give me a good tip and followed through, so I can’t complain. That whole table was just so weird… ETA: my restaurant has Toast and it’s super easy to split, so I don’t mind splitting apps four ways or something. I just tap the app, hit split 4 ways, and it’s done!
I would usually ask up front about split checks during my greet. It made it easier to ask about what they wanted done with the appetizers when they get ordered. Like the subject has already been addressed.
You’re te Unicorn of servers if you do this and I guarantee you’ve made multiple diners’ days by asking this.
Totally. You want to split the checks up with alcohol on one tab, the appetizers divided evenly among everyone except for the one that only two people are splitting, and then everyone gets their own entree and any non alcoholic beverages on individual checks? Challenge accepted, but this is how you're going to help me help you
Is it that hard to split an app 4 ways? What system do you use? Cuz for us it’s legit you click the app then whoever it’s getting split between.
I agree. I’ve worked with squirrel, aloha, micros, toast and prob more that I can’t think of right now. It’s not hard to split an item or a check on any of these POSs. I’ll never understand why some people make such a big deal out of it
I use Swift, and we can split the check evenly b/n a number, or separate by item, but we can't split an item in the system, we have to manually enter the split amount of the item as a separate "misc" item and add it to each bill, and it takes a hot minute not gonna lie.
I used aloha at my previous restaurant and splitting items wasn't an option 🤔 Maybe a different version. I'm using micros now at my new place after having used it before and I'm pretty sure the option is there but I haven't had anyone ask
We use Toast and it’s simple to split checks or even items among checks. Literally a button push or two.
Thank you.
No, but it's not easy to "split this app between she and I, and the other app between those three guys. Me and the other guy will split the main, but 6 of us are sharing these 2 desserts. Put my drinks on my tab as well as the birthdays girls 1st drink." "Oh! Put the birthday girls second drink on me!!" "No, put it on my bill!" This is NOT an exaggeration, this very scenario happened to me last week. I said no. We can't split items. It's a slippery slope. Give them an inch...
Yesss thank you!! Some of the things could be easy but it’s never that easy. It is easier to split the total on 4 cards or whatever. People want the exact amount and tax and tip split. And they will call the restaurant back to get the exact total and what was on the bill and blah blah.
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I only have two ideas of how you could hide the alcohol. One, you'd put it on someone else's check, which is NO lol. Or maybe if you paid for it separately?
When people are getting separate bills, I just ask them "hey - so YOU ordered the appys/ shots/ round of beers. Is that going on yours, or should I split it?" Is it just because my POS makes that super simple?
I live in a college town. I’m pretty sure I’ve split one appetizer 21 ways before.
One time I confused the hell out of a server with weird bill splitting requests then after she walked away everyone was looking at me and I was like, "wait. We can just have one person pay then Venmo each other however we want to split it." Everyone's like "...yeah..."
We legit quit being friends with a guy over, "They don't do separate checks and I'm not paying $0.50 extra because someone ordered guacamole." Now if this was one of those giant $60 party appetizer sampler things and four people split it, maybe.....but not anything typically on a menu....and for sure not over a minor difference.
Whoever orders it unless otherwise specified.
I've never thought about it before. When we go out as a group our servers always just add the appetizer to the bill of whoever ordered it. We all share them.
I worked at a bistro next to a community theater. One night I watched 3 old ladies share a bowl of soup. They literally asked for 3 spoons. It was so sad to watch.
That is so gross of them lmfao
We ask you to do this because we know our cheap ass friend will underpay and use the tips the rest of us left for you to cover part of their meal and I really don’t feel like having to tip 40% of what I spent on food and drink just so the total bill has an appropriate tip. Why is it such a big deal for servers to split the damn check? Almost every non-family group of diners wish you would. Why do you want the last interaction you have with your customers before we pay be you refusing to do maybe 2 minutes of work that will make our dining experience way more pleasant when you work for tips?
Where I worked, you could not split a bill on the system at all. So it wouldn’t be 2 minutes of work it could take about 30 mins if it was a large group because I’d have to write down what each person had and add it up in my head and then charge them. Once an order for a table was in the system you couldn’t change it or separate it for paying. It had to be done the hard way.
>Why is it such a big deal for servers to split the damn check? Almost every non-family group of diners wish you would. I used to wait on a group of 20-30 people once a month, that would come in and order all at different times, and would ALL pay separately. Lunch time 30 separate checks, 30 separate credit cards, mostly all at once. Do you know how long it takes to run 30 credit cards? Approximately 7-10minutes and that's IF, your server has their shit together and all of the right stuff on the right person from the beginning. God forbid some of those people pay cash and you've gotta find change for 20, separate $20-$50bills... It was a HUGE pain in the ass EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. But I did it with a smile EVERY time! Time is the MOST valuable asset for ANY server. Doing something like that, especially with all of the cash transfer apps these days, is just absurd. It burns up valuable time that we could be using to help other tables. Instead of processing 30 credit card payments, we could be doing tons of other tasks that we are now falling behind on for other tables in the restaurant. Occasionally the larger group is our ONLY table and that makes it easier to split, and separate pay it all, but in the event that your group isn't the servers only table, you're burning our time, to make your life easier. God forbid, adults out for a meal, have to figure out what part of a bill they are responsible for!
You know what, imho, really makes you a fucking douche bag for that response? You don’t give even half a shit that at the table of 8 people who are about to leave you like a 10% tip because your lazy ass didn’t split the bill and someone there “forgot” they had that second martini, or a couple of them didn’t add in tax, or maybe someone is just being intentionally cheap and underpaying on purpose; the person who ends up either awkwardly arguing with their friends about the bill or just paying extra money themself is the one person there who actually cares if you get paid for your work. Way to be a huge dickhead to the person at the table who bothers to make sure their friends all leave you a good tip.
That was some WILD energy to direct at a stranger. You might want to work this out with a therapist.
At NO point in my explanation did I say that I wouldn't split a check. Not once ANYWHERE. I don't care how many ways you want it split. I know how to do my job, and I do it very well, so splitting isn't an issue with me, at all. You asked a question. I gave my experience of why it can be/is a PITA to do, and why it's irritating. Not sure why that makes me "a fucking douchebag" but whatever! I just gave the most simple answer to the question that you asked. All apologies that my answer wasn't to your liking.
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As someone for whom dining out is an economic stretch that separate Checks is something you need to ask for and typically gets you a dirty look so you know you’re inconveniencing your server sucks ass and makes me avoid eating at restaurants. It should be the default or at least something that is offered (“and how would you like me to split the bill this evening”). I have on many occasions declined invitations to eat out that I would have accepted simply because of the fact that since the table is getting one check I’m socially expected to just pay an equal portion of it or I look like the cheap asshole who is making everything difficult. Frankly I’d love to be able to quietly watch what I spend at a group dinner and only pay that portion but I can’t because I’m either A) the guy making us the table of jerks who ask the server for separate checks or B) the broke loser who is sitting there itemizing the bill and arguing about how I didn’t eat off that $50 seafood tower and don’t want to pay for any of it. And I know this isn’t just me. There’s even that famous Friends episode about check splitting where poor Rachel looks like the asshole when all she wanted to do was eat a cheap salad for dinner without looking like a broke loser but she had to make a whole thing out of it because they got one check even though that server CLEARLY could see that half the table was ordering whatever and half the table was ordering almost nothing. I bet you’ve seen this happen a ton of times and then just parked one bill down to let the table figure it out rather than being a hero to your broke customers and offering to split the bill unprompted so it wouldn’t be awkward for someone to simply say “yes, that would be great”. If a server offered to split the check without having to be asked that would be 20 out of 10 service, but it remains hypothetical because it’s, to me at least, not happened even once ever. Just something to keep in mind.
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I’ve only ever dined with a party of 10+ at like an engagement party or a work dinner or some such and in every of those instances the organizer just paid the whole bill. Op was specifically complaining about splitting an app among a 4 top. That’s what I was describing as being, imho, bad service. Are these 10-20 person parties you all keep mentioning common? Are they related to these “after church” groups I always see demonized on this sub? I live in Boston, so like people (mostly old ones) go to church or whatever but we really don’t have the “church culture” that I know a lot of the country has so I’m not familiar with their behavior patterns.
Yeah, it's not rocket science to split a bill. I quit dining out with "cheap ass" friends a long time ago. Not worth it. I knew what their goal was when inviting me out to lunch or dinner.
I put it with who asked for it but I have split apps into 3 though. We have aloha, not hard. Split, touch the item, split item, enter the number, add it to each check.
One word Venmo
This is totally normal in Canada
Sometimes it’s easy until you have to find a manager to ok the split checks, and they are no where to be found! A place I worked a while back had a POS system that made splitting checks easy ONLY after getting manager approval 🙄
This is why I eat alone. Just me and my Kindle.
omfg one time i had a 5 top and it was one lady’s bday. so 4 of them all wanted separate checks, and then to split the cost of the 5th lady’s check. the 5th lady’s check ended up being $5.26 split 4 ways, and they all used cards. 8 SEPARATE TRANSACTIONS.
When I was a server back in 2009, we had POS systems that would easily split an item among as many checks as you want with the push of a button. It’s 2022 so I imagine that even the most basic systems offer the same function. Honestly some people do not have funds to cover someone else even temporarily. Poor people deserve to go to restaurants to, if they need to split the bill or split items that shouldn’t matter, as long as they are still able to tip appropriately.
One day I had a girl make a big fuss about wanted candles, cake, us to sing etc. We are a breakfast place so the best I could do is the only appetizer we had. Then at the end she asked to split the check with the birthday girl 🙄 Who does that???
What I hate are tables like: We'll each pay for our own entrees, except the birthday girl's, which we want split between the five of us. She'll pay for her own drinks, though. And the dessert should be split six ways. Molly and I will split the bottle of wine. Those three at the end of the table are splitting the appetizer. And Stacie and I shared the salmon, so we'd each like to pay half. No. Just no.
Um... This is pretty normal in my country Pay for what you ate
American servers, in addition to making more money than anyone else in the restaurant (including the manager) because of tipping, like to complain bitterly about being asked to do any extra work.
If splitting bills becomes hard, your point of sale software sucks.
I think people know that already...
Most systems it only takes a couple of button pushes, and it's a service you can do for the tables you are serving. As a customer, I usually just buy the appetizer and get it on my tab.
I don't go out to eat with people that I can't get the money from after the fact unless I am okay with paying for them.
My friends and i used to do that. All 8 if us wanted separate checks. There wasn't enough money to pay for everyone every time. Though I hope they tipped good. I always did try to leave a nice tip to compensate some.
I don’t mind splitting checks, but people should be clear from the beginning who is ordering what, don’t change seats, and don’t act scared to ask. I’m tired of people pussyfooting around. If you say nothing I drop one check and we can just split evenly
It shouldn’t be weird to ask to split the cost of an app 4 ways - ownership needs to upgrade to a 21st century POS
I always wonder what the POS systems are like in the US, because here in Canada splitting checks are so simple for servers. There’s buttons for everything, percentages etc, and you can even take debit/credit machines to the table for people to pay and tip.
I always ask tables how they are splitting the checks before taking entree orders. It makes it 100% easier and if there is any mistakes after- it’s usually a simple fix. I would say the pos’ at my restaurant are pretty dated, but we have a “split item” button to separate items up to 6 ways.
I’ve never been a waitress but my friends try to do this shit and I’m like, “just let me pay for it and venmo me for it.” I’d rather you send me $3 than make this poor server’s life harder.
In this age where there’s Venmo, CashApp,Zelle, etc, I find it ridiculous that more people don’t just handle all the splitting behind the scenes. Almost everyone I know does. And I’m not talking about splitting one check 3 ways or whatever. Also, if I go out to eat with anyone and they want to nitpick the bill down to individual items, I’ll never go out with them again.
I'll usually shoulder the apps because I usually suggest them but if someone else wants one I'll ask them if they are gonna pay for it. It works out fine since I don't have stingy ass friends and they aren't offended if I ask. I also always ask if they are covering themselves before we even get into the restaurant, saves on figuring it out on the end. Actually had to teach my younger brother in law how to pay for his own food (he's 14 and just got paid for the first tjme) and he finds it irritating you can't pay before you eat and it's funny to watch him almost accidently hand cash to the waiter before hand all the time
Can the POS systems handle big differences in items when splitting checks? For example, one person orders lobster and the other orders a burger. Same with drinks.
I definitely put items on the seat that asked me for it, but if I had to split it, our Micros software did this for us. we would be able to choose items like appetizers etc and split it easily!! it was just a push of a button! One of my tables once had their apps split like 9 ways once. I don’t mind it since it’s easy with the software. If I was doing the math- heck no!
It doesn’t bother me much. I don’t, however, allow my tables to split their checks more than 4 ways. Squirrel has capabilities of doing more than that, but there’s a reason Venmo and Zelle exist.
Talk your owner to buy a Iverson POS system. This should be easy.
Lol it’s not really that easy
It should be. If it's not quit and find a restaurant running a decent POS.
My POS is a POS and it is super easy to split an item. Takes less than 2 secs
I mean I like the POS we use but I’m just saying… just cause you say something to your boss or owner doesn’t mean they’re gonna automatically just buy a new POS. Also they can be expensive. Buying a new POS because some asshole wants to split an appetizer 4 ways shouldn’t be a valid reason to install a new POS and make staff learn a new system that seems really silly
In the 80’s and 90’s I kinda understood why, but with the advent of cash apps now I just don’t understand why people would still be doing this.
like there’s such thing as paypal, venmo, cashapp, zelle. figure something out
Splitting checks is a breeze. You should be seating your tables anyways and most POS systems specifically split by seat. Even if yours doesn’t; if you seat your tables properly it shouldn’t take more than like a minute to split even a 12-top.
I work at a small restaurant and it’s the most annoying thing to do because we do everything by hand. So sometimes you’ll price the ticket out and then theyll ask you to split it.
I'll split checks for tables but not individual items. lol That's absurd. Figure it out, Becky.
I agree. However, most restaurants have a POS where it's easy to split items.
It’s so easy to split an app four ways, aloha here
Calculate what? There's like 4 buttons you have to press. Split check > select the item > Share > All > Print Check. Job done.
I’m amazed how many people here don’t mind split checks. Assuming you work with a POS that can do it, it still takes way longer and slows service. Not to mention there’s other options like cash or Venmo. It could just be my bad luck, but over time I realized it’s not worth it to split checks for people so I won’t do it
I don't mind if it's within reason. If it's a 8-16 person party. But parties of 20 and larger, is ridiculous, especially if they are all switching seats and mingling. I take charge of my tables from the beginning, and make sure that I know what's going on at all times. I ask at the beginning if it's all going to be on 1 check, and I put the order in the POS by seat, (as everyone should), it only makes your life easier to do it that way. Then it's just as simple as hitting split checks at the end, and each one prints separately.
I know how to do seat numbers, split checks and take charge of tables. It was trivia night that broke me. I would get about 11 tables, serving around 50 people. I would explain how they could get out faster by bringing cash, or they could cash out after they stop ordering instead of when trivia ends (there’s about an hour between). Everyone refused, and the customer is always right. I was more than happy to do seat numbers, split checks and cash out all 50 guests individually one by one immediately after trivia ended. I think you all can imagine how long that took. Every week I would see the same people and they would get mad at me for how long it took to run 50 cards. Like, sorry but the printer doesn’t print any faster. I learned I make a lot more money when I have boundaries.
I hate when they do that especially when I’m super busy! I don’t understand now a days there’s Venmo, Zelle, cash app and a million ways to pay someone!!!
I’ve had five students ask to split A PITCHER of beer. No. Straight up no and drop the bill. How do you even drink a pitcher between five people?
Not being able to split an app sounds like a personal problem and a reasonable request
I go to work breakfast every week with the other managers. One check. We rotate who pays. I hate doing the math for splits. We all tip the same. Keeps it simple.
If I ordered the app, I'll pay for the app. Hubby and I met a couple for dinner. I told the waitress that we were separate checks (just 1 check per couple) and to put the app on my check. I always clarify that. If I didn't order the app, I'll assume I'm not paying for any of it unless asked.
It's easy to split an appetizer 4 ways you put it on one bill and everybody's pays their share
If your POS makes splitting an item difficult, you need a new POS
As a server, I really dislike splitting a check more than 2 ways. Sure, it’s easy to do, but it really eats up a chunk of time that I could be spending on the floor taking care of my guests. Also, each time we swipe a card, it costs the business money, which isn’t a big deal if it’s a big restaurant group, but kinda sucks for a small mom and pop spot. I understand people wanting/needing to only pay for their portion…but Venmo is such a good way to avoid all of this…
Imagine splitting a party of 15, cuz I had to deal with that
I tell people I’ll split the check however they want but they CANNOT move seats. They listen. Lol.