dinner w/drinking friends

Recently had dinner with 5 buddies and their sons (went to football game after) and an issue came up about the bill.  I ordered a kids meal and drink for my son and I had a water.  They all ordered meals for themselves and their sons and drank 4 or 5 beers each.  Well when the $300 bill w/tip arrived they all agreed to just split the check 6 ways $50 each.  My kids meal and tip would have been about $10.  Has anyone else ran into this scenerio and how did you handle it? 

Please tell me u didn't pay $50...

Personally - I just ask for a seperate check.  Just tell them no offense, but since you have less than half a stomach now, you can only eat a few bites.   That's what I've done - it works out pretty well.  

First, Welcome to the Men’s Forum. Hope you find all the info, experience and support That this bunch has to offer. The $50 kid’s meal? Never had anything like that happen to me. In the future, going out with the same folks, Order the most expensive thing on the menu, and take a doggie bag home! Best Wishes- Dx

I guess it depends on context.  If it's an important business lunch or the dinner with the to-be-in-laws planning your daughter's wedding, you may just have to suck it up.  And if the discrepancy were minor ($9 versus $12 average, for example), I'd probably let it go.  But there's no way I'd pass on the large difference in this situation.  The incentive to be politely confrontational is especially great with friends/coworkers, because they are repeat players.  That is, you have the talk once, and that saves you getting hosed dozens more times in the future without having to make a stink. One approach might be to preempt the splitting conversation.  Just before (or right after) the bill comes, just state casually to the person or two near you (not the whole table) that you only had $6 worth of food but you're going to leave $15 since the waitress was good and you took up the same-size seat as your beer-chugging buddies.  Your generosity now (tipping 50-100%) helps parry any later implication that you are cheap when you decline to split things evenly.  It might also cause someone else to take up your case for you.  ("No John, Steve's already leaving more than his portion of the bill as it is.") Which raises a related strategy: you need to keep small denomination bills for these situations.  Getting change and/or explaining a weird credit card split to the waitress will leave you more exposed to looking cheap/pushy/inconvenient.

That happened to me also.  I went with 4 co0workers and they tried that sh*t with me.  I threw down my $8 (for loaded baked potatoe and water and tip).  I also had a buddy try it at the Astros game this weekend.  We split the super nachos - well not really split, I had about 7 of them.  He wanted 1/2 and 1/2 - $4.50 a piece. I gave him $3 and told him I supplied the tickets!!!!

I would have asked for separate checks.  If these guys are really buddies, they should have understood your capacity. 

I agree with Jim. When I'm in similar situations, I simply tell the waiter/waitress that I want a separate check for my portion. Especially, when I'm not eating. I'm never impolite about it. I just think it's the fair way to do it.  I've also been in the opposite situation, and I've allowed my friends to foot the bill when I knew they shouldn't have. If they would've spoken up, then I would've understood.  I know this makes me a hypocrite, but I'm just being honest. Ronnie

Its situations just like this that make me glad I don't have any friends. we are usually fighting over whos going to pick up the check, this has yet to be an issue. When it becomes one I think a seperate check fo your oder would wise. Just tell them you're using plastic.  If you supply the tickest to a game your buddy should be paying parking and a few barley pops.

I just have drink with them...makes the bill easier.