The natural flow of a modern dining experience assumes that a single table will want a single check but, of course, this isn't always the case. The way people live and manage their relationships is reflected in the way they dine. Independent people may insist on always paying for their own meal no matter who they dine with while more communal minded groups may take turns paying an entire check or pull from a shared fund for shared meals.

Choosing how and when to pay for a dining experience is the right of your customers, but it's a nightmare for your wait staff, especially when the diners can't decide how to split. 

Every variation of check-splitters creates a new and difficult challenge that is only exaggerated by the checkout process of the restaurant itself. Whether your register is near the front, hidden behind decorations in the center of your dining room, or tucked away in the kitchen, managing a split check is a major hassle. Fortunately, modern mobile technology has created a way to let customers split their own checks? With a simple device and app combination, your diners can discuss, split, and pay their bills with no waiting or waiter headaches.

Chatty Old Friends

Among your friendliest restaurant patrons are old friends who come to eat and chat in your comfortable dining environment. These pairs and groups often arrive during the middle hours of brunch and early dinner and like to stay sometimes as long as three hours nibbling at desserts, ordering extra drinks, and talking the day away. While their business may be good-natured, when it comes time to split the check, they will chat for ten minutes about who ate what while your waiter's time ticks away, expecting the poor staff member to remember their most recent decision. With a payment app that works on their phones, these chatty friends can have the entire payment conversation without the participation of your busy waiters.

Couples 'Going Dutch'

Restaurants more than any other industry see the results of the modern dating environment, which is one of equals. Each couple decides how they prefer to handle the financial side of dating. Some go traditional, some take turns. Many decide on the cosmopolitan custom of 'going Dutch', which is to split the check down the middle with each party paying for their own order. However, explaining their dating policies to waiters often makes this practical decision into an awkward encounter. If you've ever wished you could give a couple their privacy, self-managed payment at the table is a great way to do this.

Conflict Resolution

When people meet to have dinner, sometimes it's not so friendly. Restaurants are a traditional neutral ground for two parties who are having a dispute. Both business and interpersonal problems can often be settled by sharing a meal and talking things over in a space that doesn't belong to anyone involved. These groups often glower, argue vehemently, and tend to be brisk with the wait staff because they are focused on their own problems. This is fine but it makes handling the check a little delicate, especially because how payment is handled is part of unique power balance between the parties. One of the best ways to deal with this is not at all, and a remote payment method allows your waiters to bow out gracefully

Natural Departures

While hundreds of meals may be started in your restaurant each day, they end in many different ways. For some groups, the meal itself may be the purpose of their visit and for others it is merely a detail in their busy day. Some people are too absorbed in each other to think about their dining experience while others drink in your decorations and chat with the staff. Some customers will rush out and others will linger. No matter how the dining experience ends and who is left with the bill, you can give your customers a private end to their personal experience with an at-the-table payment solution.

Coworker Meetings

You can always tell when a group of people from the same company come in to have lunch or dinner together, especially when the company isn't paying. Everyone becomes overly aware of the prices of dishes and sharing is negotiated at the table before hand. While the entire group may be friendly and cooperative, there are often more than five parties at the same table creating an unusually difficult task for your wait staff. With a mobile solution, your professional guests each have the opportunity to show off their phones while handling their individual bills.

Percentage Calculators

When some parties split the check, they have a precise and mathematical plan for how to do it. 60% of the entree and 20% of the dessert matters a lot to them, and they expect your wait staff to remember the formula. Most restaurants have served at least a few percentage calculating enthusiasts who really seem to delight in spending several minutes with a pen and napkin. Their deep discussion about pasta salad portions may be amusing, but it's nearly impossible to keep track of, much less punch into a cash register. These customers more than most will enjoy the opportunity to manage their own check on their mobile devices rather than explaining their complex method to a hapless waiter.

Multi-Family Parties

When a large family or social group with multiple family groups come together in a restaurant, it's often more work than a single waiter can handle. They push tables together, mix up their groups in the seating arrangement, and expect waiters to tell them apart anyway. These groups do tend to order a lot of food and share it around, but at the end of the meal it always turns to discussion. There's always at least one dish ordered by one group and eaten by another and sometimes sorting out the bill requires representatives from every group speaking with a waiter. A check payment app allows these groups to now only sort out their own payment, it gives a manageable item-by-item list of what was ordered so no one has to rely on memory or stressed waiter handwriting.

Restaurants are a unique balance of tradition and innovation, constantly seeking to streamline your technical process while giving your customers the modern dining experience they've come to know and love. Why not take advantage of technology that's already proven its usefulness in the online market and gig economies? With mobile device payments right at your tables, customers can choose their own payment agreements and methods and leave in their own time while your waiters are free to attend to your still dining patrons.

 Are you looking for a simple solution to streamline your operations, increase table turnover times, and provide your customers with a memorable, tell-their-friends-about-it experience? The Ready App integrates seamlessly with existing payment workflows and POS solutions—allowing your FOH staff to spend their time where it matters most. Try Ready for free today.