1. ASK NICELY before you order anything!!! This makes the chance of splitting it easier and more feasible. Some computer systems make it impossible to split once a check has been rung in.
2. Some restaurants have no way to split the bill because of old computer systems.
3. Splitting the bill 20 ways for 20 people on Saturday night is IMPOSSIBLE!!!
4. If you have separate checks at some restaurants food comes out at a different time or it takes longer to get the check at the end of the meal because a server has to get a manager to authorize the split or do the math themselves.
As a server the only thing that annoys me is when people ask to split a check and then pay all together anyway. Ugh.
BTW, Trent it is not trivial or easy to split a check, but it can be done most of the time.

Most of the time it is no problem to split the bill for two couples or a table of four. It can be an issue with big parties. When I dine with larger groups I ask for a separate bill, stating I am paying by card if anyone questions it. I always pay by card to get miles and like to leave a larger tip (I am in the industry after all) and so have no issues. When I dine with friends we usually either thrown in what we owe and a tip or split it. But we are all friends and so it usually comes out to the same. I drink less then my friends and they always tell me to throw in less. So work it out amongst yourselves or don’t dine with a group you CAN’T work it out with.
There are other group things to do that allow you to pay on your own: coffee shop. ice cream parlor, all you can eat buffets (set price).
Since the question was focused on groups, since your particular group splits, asking to have a separate check at the beginning will take care of your problem. It only becomes an issue when the entire party chimes in: me too! (I’ve had to split checks 10-20 way before.) Happy dining!

Tonight’s example: I have a $1.88 packages of noodles, cream of mushroom soup + lox casserole experiment in the crock pot that for various reasons, is not edible. I’m not out a lot of money as these were all pretty much on sale, but i feel the guilt of waste as I scraped stuff into the garbage.

However, how much should one tip at a cafeteria-style restaurant? According to the IRS, no tips are expected for cafeteria style restaurants (IRS Tax Regulation 31.6053-3(j)(7)ii and 3(j)(18) if you have too much time on your hands and want to read about it[1]).

One of our favorite restaurants is cafeteria-style, but they have bus-staff to clear the tables when done. Clearly they’re not providing the same level of service as a sit-down restaurant, but there’s some sort of service. We’d like to leave a little something, but don’t know an “appropriate” amount…something more than 0% but less than 15%. Do you or your other readers have a suggestion?

Thanks,

-Tim
(duplicate of my question on Twitter, but was able to expand here)

[1]
http://books.google.com/books?id=-hcesRh9vBMC&pg=PT1158&lpg=PT1158&dq=tipping+%22cafeteria+style%22+restaurant&source=bl&ots=_uXogVuuiz&sig=-sI5SCxBradVSSXuR6exjp6VOGo&hl=en&ei=GgUoSqCUMNuLtgfAk7HlBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4#PPT1158,M1

some options……..

ask a guest to wash the 20 plates

compost your paper plates

look for paper plates with recycled content

dishwashers are typically more energy efficient than washing by hand

You mentioned that “On the other hand, a “savings plan”-style 529 allows you to access the money for any purpose with no penalty other than the normal taxes.” This is not true.

A non-qualified distribution (meaning it does not go to pay qualified expenses as defined in IRS Publication 970 for the designated beneficiary) incurs not only normal income tax on the earnings, but a 10% Federal penalty tax on the earnings, as well as a possible state penalty. There are exceptions to this penalty, including the possibility that the beneficiary dies or gets a scholarship (in the event of a scholarship or admittance to a US Military Academy the amount of the scholarship or tuition can be withdrawn without the penalty), but the exceptions are few.

While it is true that you can withdraw the principal from a Roth IRA without penalty, you still need to meet the 5 year aging requirement.

After all is said and done, it is of course a personal decision as to whether a 529 or a Roth IRA is a better choice. IRA’s give a wider range of investment possibilities, and if you want to actively trade or hold individual securities, it would be a better choice to go with a Roth for that reason. However, the contribution limit differences make for a compelling reason to go with a 529.

In 2009, you can only contribute $5000 to a Roth (and $6000 if you’re over 50). That’s it for your tax-advantaged retirement savings outside of an employee-sponsored plan (ala 401k) or an annuity. A 529 plan will allow you to contribute $13000 a year if you are single and $26000 a year if you are married and file jointly. If you have a large lump sum, you can contribute up to $65k or $130k as an accelerated gift without gift tax implications. That’s a big difference. I think one should think very seriously before committing what little savings the federal government allows for retirement towards educational goals while there is a viable alternative (especially one with much higher limits). I also think one should consider the fact that college costs increase (historically speaking) at around 6 or 7% a year, and so for a lot of colleges saving $5k or $6k a year will not cut it.

All things considered, I think it is a far better investment to use IRA’s for their stated purpose- RETIREMENT, and go with a 529 acct for college.

It really doesn’t matter to me what the industry is used to, it matters what’s right. And passing along a failing product to someone else without disclosing the problems* is simply wrong, regardless of how typical it is.

* I’m _assuming_ Trent didn’t disclose the issue; if he did, and the store acknowledged this, then I am entirely in the wrong here and Trent acted ethically.

GameStop does sell refurbished systems, but I am not sure how they set factory standards. Maybe they make arrangements with the manufacturer? What I do know is that they sell refurbished units for much more, maybe 60-100% more, than unrefurbished units fetch.

Console trading might not be “nice,” but it is a fair system because all sides agree to the rules and price and quality are correlated. Traders requiring more disclosures and testing might eliminate a few lemons, but would also increase the cost of the trade business and dry up the supply of used machines.

I understand that resale stores expect some percentage of system to have issues. I disagree that they expect the devices to be quickly on their way to failure, however. Manufacturer refurbs – from Sony or Apple, for instance – undergo rigorous component testing that isolates problem components that can be replaced with original parts.

Do you really think GameStop – or an independent store – is going to put a resale unit through this degree of testing? I can only speculate, but I very much doubt it.

Again, I understand that buying used means buying closer to broken than when buying new, but that doesn’t mean offloading a unit you *know* is intermittently failing is very nice.

Honestly, if you were to buy a used unit, and it were to be in the condition Trent describes, would you just shrug and say “well, I gambled!” or would you demand a replacement? This is the position Trent is putting someone in. (Unless the store does indeed fully repair the unit; if they do, then this is all bunk; I just doubt this is what happens.)

So if you request this, don’t be mad if your food takes longer to get to you or it takes longer for the server to get your checks ready.

So if Trent said “about every three times this doesn’t come on and you have to restart it,” they wouldn’t really care. He knows this, they know that he knows it, so things like that go unsaid.

I disagree with Trent fairly often about ethics, but I think he did the right thing here.

Lastly, I find it ironic that you make an effort to patronize ethical businesses, and yet in a small way affected the same “caveat emptor” defense that unscrupulous businesses hide behind. Here’s the thing about crap companies: most of them aren’t intentionally evil, they just have a weak moral backbone and allow a multitude of small, individual sins. Engineers cutting corners to hit timelines, managers fudging a number so their financials look good enough for a better Christmas bonus; before long, you’ve got a visibly unethical corporate culture, but it all starts with individual actions.

Criminy, I sound self-righteous, I know. But as someone who clearly makes an effort to act in a personally moral and socially ethical manner, I’m surprised that you don’t have a problem with passing a failing system on to someone. To unfairly play the emotional card: if your kid bought the failing system – even if you ended up getting it replaced under warranty – would you treasure the way it made him feel?

Also the 2 cheaper Bosch brands that Lowes sells don’t qualify for the 1/3rd tax credit (they are .8 efficiency, you need >= .82)