To go or Not To go Dutch?
By taurisca
@taurisca (104)
Indonesia
December 27, 2009 5:28am CST
Who should pick up the tab when you're kind of invited to lunch or dinner?
here's what happened to me during my visit in USA few years ago. A friend of mine, whom I hadn't seen for long time asked me to eat out (have lunch together). We did have lunch together. However, when it was time to pay the bill he hold the waiter to make a separate check for each of us. I was confused. why is that? In my country, when you ask someone to have lunch or dinner together you always foot the bill.
People have their own ideas about who should pay for their meal when they go out. Some would rather pay for their own meal. Some do, some don't. You can't generalize. But don't you think that, if you ask a person to eat out, you should pay the bill?
What's your personal opinion?
2 responses
@squaretile (3778)
• Singapore
5 Jan 10
wow that was quite strange.
personally when i'm travelling usually I have to fight with the host to pay. Or when my friends come to visit me, and I ask them out for a meal, I will always insist to pay,and they will fight with me on that.
i guess if you don't know that friend so well then he might not have wanted to pay for your meal.
or if you are both males, then he might think you are fully capable of paying for your share. or perhaps he wasn't doing so well economically at that point, and would prefer if he wasn't burdened with another person's meal ticket.
@sleepylittlerose (1648)
• United States
28 Dec 09
Considering you were traveling to the US than yes, your friend should have picked up the check. But as a general rule most people in the US when going out to lunch with a friend who is from the US will usually have seperate checks. Here, we see that as a sign that you are just friends. As a female, if it was a guy that you were meeting for lunch and he picked up the bill then it would be considered a date.
