Joint Ventures And Splitting Restaurant Bills – Make It About The Experience
That embarrassing moment when the bill comes…
Have you ever have that experience when you go for a meal with a group of friends. The bill comes. You thought you were splitting it between you. And then one guy (or gal) pulls the unexpected…
“Oh but I didn’t have a starter, so I just want to pay for what I ate…”
There’s something in the body language, maybe he or she turns away. And of course, typically, they manage to forget about the tip, or the bottled mineral water, or the bread.
It’s embarrassing for everyone. And our natural reaction is to want to save face – their’s and yours.
So you jump to fair
Of course they DID only have a main course. Maybe it’s better to just pay for what you ate? Everyone puts in for what they ate, you to and from. The bill gets passed around. You scrabble around for change and, yet somehow, there isn’t quite enough money in the pot at the end of it all.
And then there’s that small stain on the experience
Instead of leaving, laughing, joyous, and totally at one with your friends, you leave thinking,
“That was a nice evening”
Nice? Who wants nice? We want jump up and down wonderful!
So the whole experience a bit flat. Not that jump up and down wonderful evening you could have had.
I hear you, making the argument in your head that you should have set the expectations at the beginning. Decided how you were going to split the bill. Got clear from the get-go.
Because, what happens when you decide to be ‘fair’ in the moment, is that it can ruin the bigger experience.
And sometimes that’s more important for everyone.
And then there’s the other way of doing it …
I’m doing a joint venture at the moment. And it’s a total reverse. It’s a big picture ‘in-it-to-win-it’ situation.
We’re in it together. We’re both working as hard as we can, doing our best stuff, just getting on with it.
We’re not counting pennies. We’re not counting cups of coffee or who ate what (metaphorically speaking 
).
We’re not counting where the leads came from. My list, his list, my social media, his YouTube. We’re not counting hours worked that’s for sure!
We’re both just in it, doing what we do, jamming ideas together and having a lot of fun in the process. We cheer each other on as the sales come in and we commiserate when the database freezes right before the big launch.
Of course, we’re in it for the business. We want this to be a win-win-win.
We see the bigger picture
We know that by working together, the results will be better for all of us than if we did it alone. And we deliver a ton more value to you – the customer – than we could possibly do separately.
I never want to be that person in the restaurant who asks to pay for just what I ate. Who forgets that, for a couple of extra $$ one way or another, I can ruin the experience of a great evening.
The bigger picture is more important than being fair
Because you know what, the bigger picture of business is more important than being fair in the moment.
I’m loving my first big joint venture.
Will I do it again? Well, we’ll see what the final numbers say, but right now, I’d do it again in a heartbeat!
So if it crosses your mind to start counting the chips, you want to talk about what’s ‘fair’ in your business dealings. Just stop for a second. Think about the bigger picture. Think about what you’re really in it for and make it a great experience. make it about that connection, and of course, make it your biggest success.
Love your comments, as ever!
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I see your point with joint ventures, especially with the idea of setting expectations but I don’t think the comparison to splitting a restaurant check is fair. I’m usually the one who orders much less than others because a) I’m not a big foodie and b) I don’t eat a lot at a time and c) there’s often limited options for me and d) I don’t drink alcohol. If the difference is a few bucks it’s fine, but I’ve been in situations where I’ve had $7 worth of food and an even split would have been $30. The other difference is that it never seems to put a pall on the evening with the people I go with. I think most people recognize that it’s fair and when there’s not enough money to pay the bill I really believe it’s an honest mistake by people (at least the ones I hang out with).
Michele Christensen recently posted… Realigning my solopreneur business priorities
Hi Michele – I know exactly what you mean – happens to me as well. I guess it’s about setting expectations – and of course a regular group of friends develops that unspoken way of doing things that hopefully suit everyone so it becomes the habit.
Thanks for commenting, I appreciate different points of view
Cathy
cathyp recently posted… Entrepreneur Test
I was ready to respond to your post as soon as you asked the opening question. My answer is, “No. I have never had that embarrassing moment because I always did one of two things: Accepted the unknown by being prepared to accommodate any possible outcome, or, eliminated the unknown by, as you put it yourself, ‘setting expectations at the beginning.”
I agree with your assertion that the big picture is more important the fairness in the moments. As with the restaurant bill, setting expectations in advance will ensure all parties in a joint venture share that assertion. For that matter, setting expectations in advance will ensure fairness in the moments, if that happens to be what is important to those involved in the joint venture.
So my point is this, don’t ever assume anyone shares your view. Have the courage and accountablity to set expectations in advance, or accept the consequences of willingly venturing into the unknown.
Great comment Steve – thanks for coming over! I love that you are open to the unknown and I think there is definitely a lesson for all of us in that. Totally agree on setting expectations as well
Cathy
cathyp recently posted… Book
I certainly know the restaurant experience. We have very good friends who – and they know that we know – will milk the situation the other way, loading up with every extra then suggesting we split the bill.
I suggest that you need to know your partner well. It’s great while things are going well, but what will you do when you suddenly realise your trusted partner is no longer pulling his weight. I once knew a man who had the very first Honda agency in the UK. Once it started doing well, his partner started slacking and then dipping his hand in the till. Of course, each party placed a very different valuation on the business and it ended very very acrimoniously. That’s what JVAs are for. To set out the expectations and an eventual parting of the ways.
Much as I admire your trusting and optimistic outlook, I can only keep my fingers crossed for you.
I should probably put “allegedly” in between “partner” and “started”, but I can’t see how to edit my post
Keith