This Week in Hating
Restaurants that refuse to split a check only tax their customers
When did splitting the bill become so complicated?
A recent birthday dinner at Caffe Bello went great — until the check arrived.Photo by Shelby Hodge
I try my best, I do, to be a low-key diner. I don't make many substitutions, I've never asked for dressing on the side, and when it comes to the bill, my friends and I usually split down the middle, settling up by having one person cover the tip, or with an "I owe you a drink."
But for every rule, there's an exception, and for me that exception occurred Saturday night at Caffe Bello at one of those infamous twentysomething birthday dinners.
Dinner, for the most part, went great: Brightly colored cocktails were consumed, appetizers and entrees were inhaled, Sprinkles cupcakes emerged from the kitchen bearing candles and in general a good time was had by all. Until it came time for the check.
We portioned out the fare for the birthday boy and were halfway through writing down each person's tab to charge when we were informed that the computer system could only charge multiple credit cards the same amount, and that it was physically impossible to do otherwise.
Rather then make those that had ordered $8 pizzettas subsidize the meals of the seafood-eating boozehounds, some paid their tab in cash, which was portioned out as a refund to the overcharged. It took the math skills of several Rice graduates and about 20 infuriating minutes.
As a former server, I know what a headache splitting the tab of a large group can be. But the restaurant was emptying out, and we weren't asking for separate, itemized bills — just the ability to write in what to charge on each card. Is that so much to ask? I don't think so.
CultureMappers, I'm looking for your advice. Were we wrong to want to split the tab our way? Should we have just accepted the even split? Has this ever happened to you? What's the best solution?
