Q&A

I received my first email yesterday with a question about "coupon etiquette" in splitting a dining bill when a voucher is involved. As I was emailing my response, I realized that there are probably a lot of people who have been in this same situation and were unsure what to do. If you have any relative questions, I would love to hear from you and I will do my best to answer. Please feel free to email me anytime at couponkitchen@yahoo.com. If you aren't sure, I know there are at least a few other people who are wondering the same thing!

Our friends purchased a Groupon deal at a local restaurant and invited my husband and I to join them for dinner. They paid $20 for a $40 coupon toward the entire meal. We're going to dinner tonight, and I'm wondering how we should split the bill since they're the ones who purchased the coupon. What is the 'Groupon etiquette'?


The polite action would be to split the entire bill evenly, including the cost of the Groupon. If your total bill is $40, I would offer the couple who purchased the Groupon $10. Or, you will most likely owe tax and gratuity, so an easy way to settle would be for the non-Groupon purchasing couple to pay that part of the bill. If your total bill goes over the amount of the Groupon (i.e. $50), you could offer to pay the overage and then each leave your own tip.

If your friends invited you to dinner, they may not be expecting you to offer any payment towards the Groupon. At the end of the meal, I would offer to split the cost of the Groupon or to pay the tax/gratuity as mentioned above. They may decline but I'm sure they will appreciate your politeness and you will most likely be invited to join them for dinner again!