I hate splitting the bill at meals out with friends. You know, that pansy "Dutch" crap where everyone tries to calculate the additional cost of that soda verses the water. Or, forbid that you have an appetizer...who picks that up, or do you divide the cost by the total # of people dining and then aggregate that by the # of people in each family to assess a real cost per family?
It's a total headache.
Years ago, my buddy Ming Lu told me of the Chinese custom that whenever a group goes out for a meal, one person always picks up the tab. I thought What a great idea! And now, when I go out with friends I often offer to get the tab and suggest they get it next time.
Usually, my friends are OK with this and graciously offer to return the favor next time. One friend though (and you know who you are!) occasionally comments that I've got some sort of Messiah Complex always trying to demonstrate my power by picking up the tab.
Well, today on Marketplace, MIT economist Dan Ariely gave some credence to my views. He demonstrates that the "pain" of splitting a check is much higher than the pain of picking up the tab.
So, next time you're out with your friends. Take a chance and offer to pick up the tab. You'll find it feels much better than squabbling over that last $1.59 soda.
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