Whats with restaurants not splitting checks? (Chicago: wages, living, prices)

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by monksy

You haven't been out much. A lot of waitresses I've had before do that.

I go out to eat very often.

[monksy]

I've had more waitresses get confused over even splits in the check rather than itemising. [There is a button for even splits vs split and moving items]

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by monksy

The issue with cash is say you have a bill of 11 [after food+tax] You tip say 1.65 so you'll have a bill for 12.65. Well the ATM only spits out increments in $20s. The issue is with having to keep up with smaller bills. I'm sure its more trouble for the waitress to return change for everyone in specified amounts than it is to make seperate bills. When I'm travelling for work the best thing I've ever done is to have everyone throw down their corp card and ask for an even split. No one ever worries about per diem anymore nor is there an issue with the waitress tracking down this and that.

Big Star doesn't accept cards and doesn't split checks.

Or you could actually leave a decent tip, throw in a $20, and not worry about it, or take a few bucks from someone else's contribution if you must. If everyone only has 20s, ask the server to break one of them. Or just divy up the change when it comes back. Asking them to bring everybody separate change is just as obnoxious as asking them to bring everyone separate checks.

This isn't rocket science. If you're doing advanced calculus or making the server jump through hoops just so you can save a buck or two, you should probably reconsider whether eating out with friends is really in your budget.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by monksy

I've had more waitresses get confused over even splits in the check rather than itemising. [There is a button for even splits vs split and moving items]

Ok, I've never experienced a problem with an even split.

But I've never heard of someone asking for the waitress/waiter to itemize a bill by order/person. I would never think of asking someone to do that.

[jman07]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Do you want the waiter/waitress to keep track of what everyone ordered and then provide checks to everyone separately?

I have never seen that anywhere in my life.

Ever been to buffalo wild wings? Everywhere back home does it. EVERYWHERE. And you never have to ask! People live in their own little bubble in Chicago.

[Vlajos]

Originally Posted by jman07

Ever been to buffalo wild wings? Everywhere back home does it. EVERYWHERE. And you never have to ask! People live in their own little bubble in Chicago.

Well there you go, I've never eaten there.

You don't know me do you? Why would you say I live in a bubble?

[monksy]

Originally Posted by Vlajos

Well there you go, I've never eaten there.

Don't bother, the wings aren't very good.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Or you could actually leave a decent tip, throw in a $20, and not worry about it, or take a few bucks from someone else's contribution if you must. If everyone only has 20s, ask the server to break one of them. Or just divy up the change when it comes back. Asking them to bring everybody separate change is just as obnoxious as asking them to bring everyone separate checks.

This isn't rocket science. If you're doing advanced calculus or making the server jump through hoops just so you can save a buck or two, you should probably reconsider whether eating out with friends is really in your budget.

Take a look at my response earlier. 1.65 on a 11 tab+tax is 15%, $13 even is 18.8% thats how percentages work. I didn't say I would tip that amount, however that is the way the people in the service industry want to be paid. They're basically sales on commission. On good nights they can rake in quite a lot, in big cities they can rake in as much as consultants get paid. I have a feeling that the waitress is going to be more annoyed at splitting currency. [Also to mention the cash box is audited every so often]

I can understand a reluctance to do this with small groups and where the order is written down, however in any other case its that the waitstaff is lazy. Large groups tend to be autograted and they still ask for additional tip. Most restraunts won't use a paper based system. I've written the software for the systems and it is common to itemize ["split check"], or do even splits. The only places I've seen the reluctance to split is in Europe [mostly Germany, Austria, and France] but then again tipping isn't as high and the workers are paid by the restraunt. They also tend to take pride in their work, compared to here. Friendly not in initial appearences, but hey they know what they're doing and thats all I care about.

On drinks: The service industry loves 2 things. 1. People who drink, they tend to tip more [because they're drunk] and 2. Landing Whales. [Whales are people that frequently come, request the same waitress (rarely waiter) and grossly overtip.

That being said, I appreciate what they do, but I don't care for attitude or judgement based on tip. Also, given the chance I would punch in the order, refill any drinks, and get my meal myself given the choice. Food trucks, asian markets, and biergartens/kiosks are the best example of service-less alternative to restraunts.

[monksy]

Originally Posted by MassVt

Amen. I rarely go on "Yelp", but the restaurant reviews are just pretentious beyond belief. The people giving these reviews should be forced to wait on people just like themselves...

If you can't keep track of how many beers you've had, then it's time for someone to drive you home.

If you have no idea of how much money you've spent on a single visit to a restaurant, then you should just stay home. You ordered the food/drinks--you should certainly know how much the bill is going to be..

Generally the reviews from Yelp are pretty bad in Chicago. I think this is more of a city by city basis, or maybe its the quality of the reviewer kind of problem. I've seen some dead on reviews, some hidden ones [accurate negative reviews], and some completely offtopic ones (often rated as "funny")

[ChiNaan]

Originally Posted by monksy

Take a look at my response earlier. 1.65 on a 11 tab+tax is 15%, $13 even is 18.8% thats how percentages work.

Thanks, Einstein. It's not that we don't understand percentages, it's that you're using 1980 standards for tipping. 20% is standard tip for good service now, and people often leave more on smaller checks. A $1.65 tip, unless it's for one drink at the bar or something, is going to be considered cheap no matter how small your tab is. That's what people are trying to explain to you. You should only leave a tip that small for an entire meal with table service if the service was really bad.

[monksy]

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

It's not that we don't understand percentages, it's that you're using 1980 standards. 20% is standard tip for good service now, and people often leave more on smaller checks.

Why not 200%? Compared to 20% you're now the one being the "cheap ****." After all, the typically arguement used for increasing the socially accepted tip is "Service people are only paid in the taxes that fed+state charges" and "they need the money [subtext: more than you]" I'm not complaining that tipping is the standard, it's that we're subjected to all of the politics and complaints around it.

Originally Posted by ChiNaan

Thanks, Einstein. It's not that we don't understand percentages, it's that you're using 1980 standards for tipping. 20% is standard tip for good service now, and people often leave more on smaller checks. A $1.65 tip, unless it's for one drink at the bar or something, is going to be considered cheap no matter how small your tab is. That's what people are trying to explain to you. You should only leave a tip that small for an entire meal with table service if the service was really bad.

If the service was that bad. I don't tip. I'm not talking about minor errors. I'm talking about a combination of no refills ever [despite having free refills], staff talking to other staff member while your food waits on the service counter, completely wrong orders, burned orders [thats part of your job to send it back before delivering it], extremely long waits to run your card or even get the bill, frequently forgetting things, extremely long waits to get an order taken or to get your food preped (without warning).