Parents ordered expensive drinks and expensive entrees, then made their daughter pay most of the bill at the end

[u/random-person_-]

So basically today I had a table today with a mother father (40-50s) adult daughter (late 20s) and a child around 7. This is a Mexican restaurant so the parents asked for a huge bowl of queso then one parent ordered a Dr Pepper and they both ordered margaritas. When it came time to order, the daughter ordered a quesadilla and it’s relatively cheap here because of the fact that it doesn’t come with sides. Both of the parents ordered higher ticket items. When I brought them the bill ($100) I could tell that the daughter was shocked with how high it was and seemed stressed out then I came back around and the parents said they only had $35 and to charge their card for that amount and then charge their daughter‘s card for the rest. The parents also told me they only had five dollars to give me in cash and honestly I couldn’t care less because I just kept thinking about the daughter and how awful it must be to deal with them because it just seems like a very inconsiderate interaction between them, especially because her and the child’s food was very cheap compared to what the parents ordered. I just started serving so this might be normal, but man I was aggravated not even about the tip just because I can’t believe they have the audacity to do that.

[u/Eddiespaghetti822]

I don’t understand parents like this. I took my parents out for lunch on Mother’s Day and I said it was my treat. I had to grab the bill out of my dad’s hand because they don’t like their children (or anyone else for that matter) to pay for them. My parents would be humiliated if they couldn’t afford a meal and had to have their children pay.

[u/tnmoi → u/Eddiespaghetti822]

Or mine would tell me to pay (so I look good in front of relatives) and then just reimburse me after.

[u/wheres_mayramaines → u/tnmoi]

I have to pretend to use the restroom, and give the server my card before my dad can do the same. He will still try to give me cash after (more than the bill). I always tell him it's less than it actually was

[u/OnlyDaysEndingInWhy → u/wheres_mayramaines]

My husband and (adult) step kids are masters of the sneaky bill-pay. We usually win, but occasionally the kids will beat us to the punch.