Restaurant Credit Card Roulette
Posted on September 25, 2007 by Him and tagged credit, wtf
photo: s e l v i n
The scene:
You and a few friends are eating at a nice restaurant. After everyone is finished with their meal, the bill comes as usual. Everyone then proceeds to throw their credit card into a hat. Instead of the bill being split evenly among the cards, they are removed one by one. The last credit card remaining pays the potentially wallet crippling restaurant food bill.
Does this sound like your idea of a good time? Me neither. But according to this Chicago Tribune article, people willingly play this game. Or maybe not so willingly...
"I was sweating bullets," Ashley said in an e-mail interview. "I felt sick at the thought of having to pay that bill and then trying to explain it (or hide it) when the bill came in. It was both scary and amusing, after the fact, to watch those whose cards had been removed from contention to suddenly 'find' a larger-than-normal appetite and thirst."
Ashley said the final tally for his group that night came to $1,249.
I have to wonder what kind of people these are: adrenaline junkies? impulsive gamblers? super-rich?
This game might be fun once. Maybe twice. And only if I were eating somewhere like McDonald's or something. And if I were never the last one picked.
Would you ever do something like this?
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These soldiers who came into a restaurant where I used to work played this. They made me pick and seemed to have a lot of fun with it. Their version, however, was slightly different: they picked after they finished eating and they picked three cards (out of six) instead of sticking it to one person.
Personally, I'd prefer not to play. I generally try to eat frugally, even when with people who don't.
Matt | Sep 25, 2007
We used to do this when traveling for work. The company policy was that you got a set per diem each day, but if you bought a meal for one or more co-workers, you could expense the whole thing. So we would all throw our Diners Club cards into the hat, and if you didn't "win", you got to eat for free. But nobody ever had to pay their own money.
I worked on a project in DC for a month and went on a great CC roulette streak - I didn't pay for a single dinner, but I still got my per diem.
(In retrospect, this practice probably explains why companies have gotten much more strict about expensing things...)
Wow - who knew!? This seems really silly to me, whether you have the money or not - it's one thing if I choose to pay for the entire dinner, it's another playing CC roulette like this. Heh, maybe it's because I'm so broke all the time that I'm scared by these kinda games :)
I think it would be fun if you often went out with the group of people, everyone consumed about the same amount of food (cost-wise), and you had money to spare. That way you would often get a freebie, and on average you would be paying the same amount as if you had just paid for yourself everytime.
The problem is that probability only works over a lot of trials. It is highly possible you could get stuck with two high bills in a row :(
Oh if I did play this, I would not let people draw any cards until the checks arrived. I would not want them to be encouraged to overindulge because they were "out of the running". That said, it might be fun to pull one card at the beginning for an exceptionally large group (10+), but only one.
Ooh, great idea for an alternate version of the game. Split the bill of n people into n-1 portions, and then every card drawn has to pay that much. The last card standing gets a free meal.
That way you still have the chance of getting a free meal, but the burden is not all thrown upon one person. This also only works if everyone is going to have a similar sized bill.
This is perhaps the dumbest thing I've ever heard. I guess it might be fun if I were very, very wealthy.
Buildandsucceed | Sep 25, 2007
LOL That's funny. I've never thought of that before.
Sounds fun as long as you're not the last one. Even so... I'd feel bad.
Entertaining post though, thanks. Great blog, by the way.
Not a chance on a personal level!
It would have to a regular business practice that was approved by the powers that be. That is the only way. This could be a potentially crippling experience for someone.
CG | Sep 26, 2007
Absolutely not. I don't even like it when someone decides to divide the total bill by the number of people present. I have a food allergy that limits my menu options, with the result that I've had to pay $45 when what I ordered only cost $8. In the politics of the moment (it's only come up in work situations), I've paid, but it bugs me.
If the credit card drawing thing came up with friends... what kind of friends are okay with sticking one person with a bill of more than a thousand dollars? The article itself indicates that these are not people to whom that kind of money is nothing. If my friends wanted to do something like that, I'd seriously question the friendship. It's not nice thing to do.
triple-e | Sep 26, 2007
This sounds like a dare. IF I were to be involved in that kind of thing, it would be drawn at the beginning and the loser picks the food and drinks for everyone. You know, that might be the most frugal night out. Oh, and you have to go out n times and once you pay, your free for the remainder of the time. But the n-1 pay thing someone commented on sounds really fun, I'd pay 2-4 extra for the fun chance at a free night out. CG: Most people in a situation like yours will opt out of the group, and if the people ordering 45 dollars of food can see the fairness of it, then they are just being jerks.
Jennifer Engels | Sep 26, 2007
I work at an investment bank in NY and I know that the traders at my bank do this all of the time. Sometimes the guys in my group do this as well, but I've never had to. Oddly enough, I've found that banking is one of the few areas where men will still pay for women. Maybe not the most equal thing in the world, but I'm not complaining.
I am with you, I would not want to play this game...unless I was never the last one picked, and we were eating at McDonald's or something. However I can definitely see the benefits if you are not the last one to be picked!
Well, if it's a group of friends you regularly go out with -- then I suppose it's kind of a "fun" way to take turns?
devil | Sep 29, 2007
No, I wouldn't play this game. No, it doesn't sound fun.
Fun things are fun. Not stupid baby games.
I witnessed this at a previous job; coworkers and I went out for lunch. They actually had the server draw the "losing" credit card. He was really scared, b/c basically he was drawing the loser who would also be paying his tip.
I opted out. I asked to pay for mine in order to not have to play. I was really uncomfortable with the whole thing.
Jess | Sep 30, 2007
Actually, I've seen this once used as a pick up line with me and my group of girlfriends. I wouldn't normally recommend something like this... but it did get us girls socializing with them. A guy came up and asked if we'd like to play a game. Hesitant at first, he gave me the details. All the guys threw in their credit cards. And one by one I selected one, until there was one last credit card, which is the card that had to buy a round of drinks (for both the men and women.)
The idea of doing this for a sit down dinner is beyond me. In general, I don't like other people paying for my expenses, so this would make me feel pretty uncomfortable.
The Travelin' Man | Oct 3, 2007
I have done this. It is fun...but there should be some unwritten rules. First, it should be a group of people with whom you are comfortable - people who go out all of the time, for instance. Next, it should be people who are (mostly) on equal footing financially (one person should not be sweating whether they can afford rent if their card gets pulled). Lastly, the card should be pulled at the END of the meal to avoid those that wouldn't dare order a beer or dessert all of a sudden getting thirsty or a sweet tooth. After that, it is all just details.
There is a group of friends who go out to dinner all the time. We all make about the same amount, and eat at reasonably-priced restaurants, where the bill, including a shared appetizer, entree, and a handful of shared desserts or a couple of beers could come to around $50/pp including tip. In a group of eight, that is going to cost at most $400. If you all go out together all the time - it is a fun way of splitting the bill - and theoretically, you only have to pay once every eight times. We, of course, have a friend with no luck, who we affectionately call "Mush" who ends up picking up a disproportionate number of checks - but, it is all in good fun...and he can afford it. Usually, when one guy gets stiffed more than normal, everyone kicks in for the tip to lighten the load.
Leanne | Oct 7, 2007
I think it's horrible but hey.
I have a friend who invited me to go out with a group, at the end we divided it up but were paying cash. My friend informed them at the beginning of the meal that she has only $20 and that's all she can eat. They said fine. I hadn't heard the agreement where I had been sitting.
Anyway, I ordered frugally but wound up paying for everyone's huge appetizer and drink orders. I didn't drink. I was sick about it and the way I was looked at to come up with even more to help "them" out with how they ran it up.
From now on I'm adopting my friend's way of stating up front how much I'm willing to pay next time. I don't want to be put in that position anymore.
Leanne | Oct 7, 2007
I'm not quite sure why my post just did that and added my last sentence in only the 3rd one? sorry! Hope this one doesn't do it too.
Ugh. That's nowhere near fun. I'd probably throw up if they picked my card. And even if they didn't, I'd feel horribly guilty and bad for whoever ended up paying the bill.
My boyfriend and his friends play this game whenever they all go out to an expensive celebratory type meal--probably 6-8 times a year.
He and his friends do like to gamble, but so do I and I think the game is outrageous, especially as he has been stuck with what seems like more than his fair share of those tabs. They don't eat often enough or with the same group enough for the risk/reward to even out.
None of them are really loaded (though all can probably afford the occassional group tab without putting it on credit).
I think they do it because a) they've had more than a little bit of alcohol by the time the tab comes, and b) they all feel remorse for how much they spent on food and drink individually, and they consider it worth the risk in order to get a free meal.
I think my bf always regrets the game the next day, whether he gets stuck with the tab or not.
Catherine | Sep 25, 2007
That does NOT sound like fun to me! But I'm not an adrenaline junkie or a gambler... just a frugal gal trying to get by.
What's with the new trend of putting pictures in the posts? I find it to be distracting, but it might just be me.
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