On Second Thought, Can I Get A Won-Ton Soup To Go?

There was a time when team luncheons — birthdays, goings-away, welcomes-to-the-team and the like — were expensed back to the company. In recent years, that has turned into near-Dutch, where everyone pays their own way and the highest-ranking person expenses their meal and the meal of the guest of honor. In turn, we've seen the total check dwindle. When the company pays, everyone was more likely to order a beverage, appetizer, entreé and dessert. People are generally more conservative with their own money.

Today's team lunch was no exception. I opened the menu and inwardly gasped, realizing I barely had enough cash for an entreé and a glass of water. (Split checks, discounts and multiple credit cards have proven problematic in similar experiences.) I ordered as cheap as I could, and still got a meal that was twice as expensive as it deserved to be — I usually get this entreé elsewhere with twice the food for half the price. (I know the jokes about being hungry an hour after eating Chinese food, but this was ridiculous.)

Imagine my pleasant surprise — and thoughts of, "gosh, if only I'd known sooner!" — when our manager paid the entire bill...