Bill anxiety is a battle that’s splitting Australian diners
Getting stressed when splitting bills with family and friends at restaurants and cafes is more common than you might think, with some Aussies steering clear of eating out to avoid it. Here’s what you can do.
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Sharing the bill at bars, restaurants and cafes causes anxiety for almost three quarters of Australians.
New research by Latitude x Samsung Pay has found that 77 per cent of women and 66 per cent of men feel nervous when presented with a group bill, and some steer clear of eating out to avoid the situation.
Cafe owner Gab Donoudis has seen plenty of bill anxiety at his eatery OneThirtyTwo in Melbourne, particularly when there’s a large group of people paying.
“We have a lot of big groups come in on the weekends especially, and when it comes to paying the bill you can see customers semi-race each other to the counter to select their items for payment,” he said.
“They’re trying to avoid being one of the last to pay because there’s always a coffee — or three — or additional menu items that people ‘forgot’ to pay for, which the last person in the group get lumped with.
“They always pay of course, but you can see the frustration and resentment towards the group. In some instances, we see or hear those customers reprimand the rest of the group outside, demanding reimbursement — it’s pretty funny to witness.”
Mr Donoudis said there was an emerging “new norm” for customers to pay at the counter for what they ordered rather than split bills down the middle.
Latitude’s research spanned more than 1000 people and discovered more than half found the trend of 50-50 splits unfair, but 46 per cent said they were happy to pay equal shares.
When asked how they felt when someone else paid the bill, 28 per cent said “embarrassed” while 13 per cent said “relieved”.
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Latitude Finance’s etiquette specialist, Anna Musson, said some diners were “stressed out for the whole meal or even excuse themselves when the bill comes to avoid it”.
“No one wants to quibble about money, particularly when you’re having a nice time with friends,” she said.
“So sharing the bill 50-50 allows everyone to make a contribution without quibbling over who ate what or taking the time and effort to work it out.”
Ms Musson said other ways to reduce bill anxiety included checking indicative costs with the host before going out, using a bill-sharing app on your smartphone or offering to pay the full amount if you could afford it.
Originally published as Bill anxiety is a battle that’s splitting Australian diners