How to Pay a Restaurant Bill

My ex James could not pay the bill at the restaurant... to save his life.

When James was visiting me for the weekend, our friend Kelley was also visiting. James, Kelley, and I went to my favorite Italian restaurant to catch up.

When the bill came, James said he wanted to use his credit card because he didn't have very much cash. That meant that Kelley and I had to pay for our parts in cash.

James put his card in the bill, and Kelley and I handed him our exact cash.

Instead of taking our cash, like a normal person, James decided to put our cash in the bill with his credit card.

Can you say retarded?

Me: What are you doing?
James: Oh, I thought you guys wanted me to put it in the bill.
Me: Not if you're paying the bill with your credit card...

So James took out our cash and put it in his wallet, and then handed the bill to the waitress.

When the waitress came back with the bill, James added a tip on his credit card while Kelley and I gave him our cash for the tip.

Again, instead of taking our cash, James decided to put our cash in the bill, with the credit card slip on which he had also put a tip.

I snuck a glance over at how much he had left for a tip on his card, and my mouth dropped open.

Me: James... you know you're leaving like a 50% tip, right?
James: Oh... well... I like to tip well. I know how shitty it can be to be a waiter.

While he meant well (apparently), it was an inappropriate gesture from someone who was working at a minimum wage job while he looked for a job in his actual field.

Me: Um... but 50% is a LOT.
James: Yeah, you're right.

At that point, he pocketed our cash, and still left the waitress with a 30% tip.


Don't get me wrong, it's nice to tip well at a restaurant. Once I have a job with which I can support myself, I will tip higher. At the moment, the most a poor college student can afford to tip is 15-18%.