The Bill Duel – Part 1: Splitwise vs. Philotimo, and Five Friends Who Don't Know Who Pays

The plate is empty, the glasses nearly so, and then it happens: the bill lands on the table. Five people who were laughing about everything a moment ago suddenly go very quiet. One reaches for a phone, one for a wallet, one discovers something fascinating on the ceiling.

Two worlds, one slip of paper

One world has apps that assign every cent to a name. They work out who owes whom – fair, clean, traceable. Apps like Splitwise turned an awkward moment into a piece of software.

The other world doesn't calculate, it feels: philotimo. The word is nearly untranslatable – literally something like "love of honor", in everyday life more like decency, generosity, showing character. At a Greek table it often looks like this: someone says "Tonight I'm treating," and five voices shout "No, me!" at the same time. A well-known cliché – and like every cliché, not true everywhere.

Both worlds have a good argument. That's the problem.

The playing field: five friends (all made up)

To keep it from getting abstract, we invented three situations. Mara, Jonas, Eleni, Tarek and Lukas don't exist – but everyone knows the situations.

Dilemma 1 – The wine. The five order small plates to share. Two bottles of wine go around the table, but Tarek doesn't drink alcohol and has only water. How do they pay?

A) Everything split five ways. The food was shared, so was the evening.

B) Tarek pays only his share of the food, the wine drinkers split the wine.

C) One person treats everyone, and next time it's someone else's turn.

Dilemma 2 – The birthday girl. It's Eleni's birthday and she invited the group. But nobody talked about who pays what in the end.

A) Eleni pays nothing, the other four split the bill.

B) Eleni treats everyone – her birthday, her party, her rule.

C) Someone quietly goes to the counter beforehand and pays, no discussion.

Dilemma 3 – The calculator at the table. The bill arrives and Jonas casually pulls out his phone: tap, calculate, split. After a minute everything is divided down to the cent.

A) Perfect! Nobody pays too much, nobody too little.

B) I don't care – I'd rather pay a few euros too much than do maths at the table.

C) No maths at the table: we pay quickly, and the settling up follows later via app.

How to join in: one letter per question

Admittedly, it's been pretty quiet under our recent articles. So this time, the lowest hurdle there is – three letters.

Pick your team and reply under the matching comment further down: Team Splitwise ("I do the maths") or Team Philotimo ("I'm treating"). Just write your three letters, for example: 1B, 2C, 3A. If you like, add one sentence: how do you really act when the bill comes?

The big question: Is fairness down to the cent the highest form of respect – or is it generosity that nobody counts?

The mini experiment: who reaches first?

At your next meal with others, just watch who reaches for the phone first and who says "I'll take care of it" first. And include yourself. No verdict needed, just a look.

85 days until New Year's Eve

Today is October 7, and there are 85 days until New Year's Eve – twelve weeks and a day, with a few shared meals and, accordingly, a few bills. Part 2 follows in the next few days with the interim result: how many calculators, how many treaters. And if there are only a few votes, we'll say that honestly too.

And at our place?

Mastiha Mezedopolio is currently closed for our break: closed through Thursday, October 15. From Friday, October 16, we're back for you – at Arndtstraße 12 in Berlin-Kreuzberg. At the Drachmen Fest the four-course menu cost 29 drachmas, and some guests paid it entirely in drachmas. Tell us which team you're on before then, in the comments below.