I love going out to eat. There’s nothing to prepare. There’s no risk of injury to self during preparation. Then there’s nothing to clean up afterward. Eating out is wonderful. Before my husband and I moved to Texas, my mom and I would meet often for lunch. We’d meet somewhere about halfway between us and make a day of it. I miss those lunches, but I’m sure I’ve saved a lot of money staying home.
When mom and I would go out to lunch we’d each present a debit card when the check arrived. We never met a server who was confused or didn’t want to split the check between us. It always worked out well for us; however, I usually ended up with the extra penny because my last name came first.
I’ve been out to eat in a lot of big groups too. I felt the best way to handle it was separate checks for everyone. I wouldn’t think a server would want to do the math on being handed many debit cards for one check, although I think restaurants should have the facility for it.
Separate checks avoids the arguments over who ate what, who didn’t have drinks, and who had only soup. If the server doesn’t want to write out separate checks or take multiple debit/credit cards, that leaves the cash tango. If one of the diners pays the check, then the other diners need to reimburse him. I know if it were me, I’d want to be repaid as soon as possible.
Visa has launched a new service that lets users make payments to other users easily. There are no applications to download, like Paypal, or pertinent banking information to know. For this to work all involved have to bank with participating banks. This can all be done through the diners’ smartphones too.