Cheapest restaurant patron I've witnessed
#46
Join Date: May 2008
Location: WAS
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Posts: 1,630
Oh my ... read Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential (available HERE)
I will eat bread in restaurants. Even if I know it's probably been recycled off someone else's table. The reuse of bread is an industry-wide practice. I saw a recent news expose, hidden camera and all, where the anchor was shocked . . . shocked to see unused bread returned to the kitchen and then sent right back onto the floor. ......... I'm sure that some restaurants explicitly instruct their Bengali busboys to throw out all that unused bread-which amounts to about 50 percent-and maybe some places actually do it. But when it's busy, and the busboy is crumbing tables, emptying ashtrays, refilling water glasses, making espresso and cappuccino, hustling dirty dishes to the dishwasher-and he sees a basket full of untouched bread-most times he's going to use it. This is a fact of life. This doesn't bother me, and shouldn't surprise you. Okay, maybe once in a while some tubercular hillbilly has been coughing and spraying in the general direction of that bread basket, or some tourist who's just returned from a walking tour of the wetlands of West Africa sneezes-you might find that prospect upsetting. But you might just as well avoid air travel, or subways, equally dodgy environments for airborne transmission of disease. Eat the bread.
#47
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My grandma did this when Mrs Willie & I got married, despite assuring her that there would be plenty of leftovers for her & my grandpa to take home.
#48
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Oh my ... read Anthony Bourdain's book Kitchen Confidential (available HERE)
#49
Join Date: Nov 2011
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This was actually at a grocery store not a restaurant, but it was so absurd I'm posting it anyway. The guy in front of me at the checkout was buying a few items, including a pineapple, which is sold be weight. Right before his turn to check out, he ripped the crown off the pineapple (the leafy part on top) and shoved it in over by the gum and mints rack. As a portion of the weight of the pineapple, that must be nothing, saving him what, a penny? The cashier actually did scold him and he just kind of grunted in acknowledgement. Figure if you do something like, especially so shamelessly in front of others and just shoving the crown in with the gum, that you're kind of a sad enough person to feel sorry for.
#50
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This was actually at a grocery store not a restaurant, but it was so absurd I'm posting it anyway. The guy in front of me at the checkout was buying a few items, including a pineapple, which is sold be weight. Right before his turn to check out, he ripped the crown off the pineapple (the leafy part on top) and shoved it in over by the gum and mints rack. As a portion of the weight of the pineapple, that must be nothing, saving him what, a penny? The cashier actually did scold him and he just kind of grunted in acknowledgement. Figure if you do something like, especially so shamelessly in front of others and just shoving the crown in with the gum, that you're kind of a sad enough person to feel sorry for.
This same guy probably shucks the corn and peels the outer leaves off the cabbage back in the produce department. Maybe even removes the outer skin from his onions.
#51
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: SEA
Posts: 75
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
#52
You must be Canadian, rounding to .05.. in the US these people will round to the penny!
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
The One With 5 Steaks and an Eggplant
#53
formerly declinespecificinformatiom
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: USA
Posts: 1,140
Cheap people
My wife and I simply avoid people who are cheap, which I consider not just splitting it. If they insist on using a calculator because they dont have the aptitude for basic arithmetic, well....
#54
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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Went to a dinner for 6 a few weeks ago where one of the ladies ordered an entree. She took a bite and decided she didn't like it and ordered something else. As the unwanted entree was just sitting at the table, the other people present started picking at it during conversation, as you do.
Naturally when the bill came aforementioned lady refused to pay for two entrees, citing the fact she didn't eat the first one...
Naturally when the bill came aforementioned lady refused to pay for two entrees, citing the fact she didn't eat the first one...
#55
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You must be Canadian, rounding to .05.. in the US these people will round to the penny!
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
On the rare occasions a waiter will refuse to split the check, I do something similar to you. I grossly over-estimate my portion and throw a corresponding bill on the table (eg. in a group of 4 with a check of 120, I'll throw down a 50), disappear to the bathroom or for a smoke, and leave the penny-pinchers to it. I nearly always find my change neatly stacked in front of my place on my return.
I don't think people get that it annoys/embarrasses me. I think they just assume I can't add up.
LMAO!
Last edited by iluv2fly; Feb 14, 2017 at 11:37 pm Reason: merge
#56
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Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: Either at the shooting range or anywhere good beer can be found...
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Went to a dinner for 6 a few weeks ago where one of the ladies ordered an entree. She took a bite and decided she didn't like it and ordered something else. As the unwanted entree was just sitting at the table, the other people present started picking at it during conversation, as you do.
Naturally when the bill came aforementioned lady refused to pay for two entrees, citing the fact she didn't eat the first one...
Naturally when the bill came aforementioned lady refused to pay for two entrees, citing the fact she didn't eat the first one...
#57
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Went to a dinner for 6 a few weeks ago where one of the ladies ordered an entree. She took a bite and decided she didn't like it and ordered something else. As the unwanted entree was just sitting at the table, the other people present started picking at it during conversation, as you do.
Naturally when the bill came aforementioned lady refused to pay for two entrees, citing the fact she didn't eat the first one...
Naturally when the bill came aforementioned lady refused to pay for two entrees, citing the fact she didn't eat the first one...
#59
You must be Canadian, rounding to .05.. in the US these people will round to the penny!
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
I strongly prefer to always split any check evenly per person, regardless of what is ordered, drank, etc. However, unless this is agreed upon prior to the meal, I'll never force it upon others as I'm not aware of everyone's financial situation (or financial decisions up to that point which prohibit them from splitting equally/easily). I'll simply toss my card in and let them figure out what is owed, removing myself from any of the work.
On the rare occasions a waiter will refuse to split the check, I do something similar to you. I grossly over-estimate my portion and throw a corresponding bill on the table (eg. in a group of 4 with a check of 120, I'll throw down a 50), disappear to the bathroom or for a smoke, and leave the penny-pinchers to it. I nearly always find my change neatly stacked in front of my place on my return.
I don't think people get that it annoys/embarrasses me. I think they just assume I can't add up.
LMAO!
I don't think people get that it annoys/embarrasses me. I think they just assume I can't add up.
LMAO!
I find it annoying and unfair for the check to not be split according to what people ordered if the ordering is not even among everyone at the table. Because some people can't be bothered to do a few minutes of math to make things fair doesn't make others "cheap". Think of the situation where one person orders a salad and no drinks (for diet or other reasons) and another orders 4 cocktails and a steak. Why should the salad person subsidize the steak person? It should be embarrassing to expect someone else pay for your more expensive order.
That being said, if everyone pretty much orders evenly, then splitting the check evenly makes sense too.
#60
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I find it annoying and unfair for the check to not be split according to what people ordered if the ordering is not even among everyone at the table. Because some people can't be bothered to do a few minutes of math to make things fair doesn't make others "cheap". Think of the situation where one person orders a salad and no drinks (for diet or other reasons) and another orders 4 cocktails and a steak. Why should the salad person subsidize the steak person? It should be embarrassing to expect someone else pay for your more expensive order.
That being said, if everyone pretty much orders evenly, then splitting the check evenly makes sense too.
That being said, if everyone pretty much orders evenly, then splitting the check evenly makes sense too.
Obviously in the extreme example above, then of course the person who orders the steak pays more. In fact if someone just ordered a salad and no drinks while I wolfed down a steak and cocktails, I would probably insist on just paying the full check myself.
I am referring more to a situation where one person's main course costs 0.40 less that someone else's and another person's glass of wine costs 20c more than my beer. These things come and go - next week it will be the other guy ordering the 50c dearer dessert.
If people are so anal about +/- 20c they should eat alone or just stay at home. In fact the situations I have witnessed, where debates literally come down to 10c one way or the other, have made me so uncomfortable that I have started doing just that and letting them get on with saving their 10c.
Interestingly, I find it is always work colleagues who do this, i.e. professional people on decent salaries. The bartenders, apprentices and students I choose to hang around with outside work are the complete opposite. The 50c or 1.00 differences go back and forth between everyone and nobody cares.