Splitting The Check
QUESTION FROM: RABO M
"Do you limit the amount of ways to split a check? What is your policy? Have a manager who doesn't want to do it. I think it comes down to a mindset of ‘the guest always gets what they want’ versus 'there are some times where we just have to put a limit on things' .”
HH ANSWER FROM: Josh Sapienza
There are times where you have to draw the line but this isn’t one of them.
Why on earth would anyone want to put a limit on how someone pays if it encourages them to have a good time and come back without hassles/issue? I realize that there's something to Muscle memory and having a flow… And it's not a lot of fun when something interrupts that flow because you just get into a rhythm but how you wrap up a guests experience and say goodbye leaves a very long lasting impression. I have yet to find a single valid reason for anyone refusing to accommodate a guest's desire to split a check…in fact and never once found not doing so - to be at the restaurant’s detriment. In reality, splitting the check upon request not only prevents the guest from feeling like they are imposing - it helps turn tables faster.
9 times out of 10, the decision has ultimately come down to servers, bartenders or managers either finding it an inconvenience, seeing it as an indicator of other “difficult guest” behavior or unjustifiably finding it offensive.
The guest is the reason for our existence. So, I’m very much of the opinion that those who are not fans of giving the guest what they want - especially when it's both reasonable and well within their means - might be much happier in some other line of work.
I've worked for dozens of concepts and in more than a few cities and have yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why anyone has ever adopted a “no split checks” policy. Every single time, doing so has come down to someone simply not wanting to “break the service flow” or finding it a disruptive inconvenience to take the extra few minutes to reasonably accommodate their guests.
If your servers or Mgrs can't find an extra two minutes to spare in order to divide a check and swipe additional cards then I’ll bet you have much bigger problems than whether or not to split checks…and it probably starts with a lack of training, servers not knowing seat positions and managers not realizing that “auctioning food” is poor form.
As far as the "additional cost excuse” goes: 3.8% x $200.00 is the same as 3.8% x $10.00 twenty times. (See the HH article: “How To Successfully Manage Large Parties” under F&B for more information on automatic gratuities.)
I do realize that some processors charge a per-transaction/swipe fee (in addition to the % of the total charge) but I've never seen one higher than 8 or 9cents/swipe. Which means - those who are using the additional cost as an excuse for inconveniencing the guest, think it's cheaper to annoy a guest than it is to eat the 90cents.
How you start the guest experience and how guest experience ends is just as important (if not more so) than the how the guest enjoys the meal itself . I get it though… it's a personal call and some people like being the one making those calls…"making the rules and “laying down the law” if you will. But, in my opinion - it's just another one of those situations where you have the option to either do something for the guest or do something to the guest. And believe me when I tell you that whichever decision you make, there will be ripple affects to it... from staff culture to guest perception and this can be incredibly important especially for those owners / operators in densely populated and highly competitive markets.
Again, I can only speak from my own experience, but I often describe my life in restaurant's as being a lot like like a Western film. Always the same themes. Always the same story lines. …just different characters and different towns. And whether it’s fast casual or fine dining, every time I've run into a situation where someone says it's a serious hassle - it's typically just a bad choice based on ego or the inability to pause and see the big picture… and never something that time, money or technology has actually dictated.
A lot of the related stress associated with “interrupting a server’s flow” can be avoided simply by communicating / ensuring both guests and staff are on the same page. This is why it’s so important for any parties of 8 or more to be handled as a BEO or at least be handled by a manager who can recommend: a limited menu, family style service (my preference) pre-ordering or dealing with the easily anticipated payment process BEFORE seating the party.
Simply stated - If you don’t have advanced notice or something slips through the cracks, the SOP should be for the server or host to ask if the party will need separate checks, or if they would like to split the check evenly at the conclusion of the meal. It’s not poor form to ask or explain that it’s much easier to make that determination now so that they aren’t unnecessarily delayed when they decide to settle up and leave as splitting the check unevenly themselves will invariably take more time.
NB* If the POS can't do it - one can always leave the original check open, make new ones (handwritten or “don't makes”) and have the MOD void out the originals.
If there is any reason that the above is not helpful or pertinent to your specific location, concept, menu or tech stack - please let me know as I’d welcome the opportunity to include exceptions to the aforementioned rules and/or work with you directly and find a practical solution to your problem.
All the Best,
Josh Sapienza | Managing Partner
UbiquityAdvisors.com & Paire.io: The Dating App For Your Taste Buds