@MamaWick wrote:
Do you want to pay for their lobster and cocktails when y'all ordered chicken and ice tea?
@MamaWick - I was reading through all the replies, when I saw this. And it made me laugh because I was remembering that one of my brothers and his wife had a "social circle" of maybe 4 or 5 couples.
They'd go out to dinner regularly and would take turns paying the entire bill.
They told me that it eventually dawned on all of the rest of them, that one couple in particular would order very absteemiously, when it was their turn to pay. Water or coffee, no extras. (I guess assuming everyone else would follow - which they did.)
Then during everyone else's turn to pay, this couple would literally order the most expensive things on the menu: lobster, prime steaks, appetizers, desserts, along with lots of alcoholic drinks.
I told my brother and SIL that I would've dropped this couple pronto! OR asked for separate checks! And it's not as if this particular couple was poor either; exactly the opposite. They were just miserly with their own money.
I also remember a time in London when a group of us (work outing) had a quick meal at a bistro before the theater. Well, surprise, when my friend (single mother) and I were asked to pay a "share" of everyone else's bill, because they'd had a lot of cocktails (we had none) and didn't have enough cash to pay for it! My friend had very little spare money and panicked, but I said "No, we will be paying our own bills." End of discussion. The nerve!
Sorry, if anyone feels insulted - I'd be asking for separate checks. (Oh, and any competent server should know how to provide separate checks; never a problem at any restaurant I've been in.)
"" A little learning is a dangerous thing."-Alexander Pope