Bartenders are calling out their youngest customers for closing their bar tabs, sparking debate about how Gen Z pays for their drinks.
Why won’t Gen Z leave a bar tab open?
According to a report by the New York Times, Gen Z doesn’t leave their tab open, unlike their Millennial predecessors. That’s regardless of how many drinks they end up purchasing during a night out.
A personal finance professor at the University of Maryland, Dr. Michael McMillan, said the generational difference could be due to the budgeting habits of the younger adults.
“By opening up a tab and saying, ‘Yep, I’m buying a round of drinks and closing it after that,’ you know how much you’re spending,” McMillan told the Times.
However, bartenders lament the new trend of closed tabs, noting that constantly closing tabs takes time away from serving other patrons.
“These kids never learned the proper way to be a barfly,” one bartender said in the report.
Who’s in the wrong?
On Reddit, bar-goers debate Gen Z’s bar tab strategy.
“That’s because getting back to the bar to close out is a pain in the [expletive] and we may suddenly decide to leave,” one explained.
“Also, I’d rather not have to leave my credit card and/or give others the ability to order drinks on my card if they happen to hear my last name,” another wrote.
“When I bartended, I absolutely hated running a card multiple times for the same person while the bar was busy. I also absolutely hate having to go get my card back from a busy bar,” a third added.
Others suggested a happy medium.
“If you’re going to a crowded bar where you know this happens, bring cash and you’ll never have to worry about this again,” a commenter said.
“I really don’t get why all bars can’t get point of sale systems that let the bartender return the card when opening the tab. I leave without closing, auto 20% tip, we’re all happy,” another wrote.
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