Audio By Carbonatix
Bar culture in the U.S. has always been a little casual when it comes to open tabs. Order a drink, hand over your card, and maybe you’ll remember to close it before stumbling out.
But according to one bartender, that’s starting to become a serious problem—especially when people are purposefully disabling their cards before the charge goes through.
Bartender Explains Why You Should Always Close Your Tab
In a recent TikTok, bartender Elissa Dunn (@hellqueencocktails) responded to a video by @heathston, who claimed he never closes his tab.
“They’re just gonna charge you a 20% tip,” @heathston says in his video. “Which is what I was gonna do anyways.”
That comment didn’t sit right with Dunn, who explains that while this statement is true for her Scottsdale bar, it might not be the case everywhere.
“My bar adds on an automatic 20% gratuity if you walk out on your tab,” Dunn says. “That is not the norm. It’s usually somewhere about 15 to 18%.”
But Recently, Something’s Changed
Dunn says she used to sympathize with people who bounced without closing out—especially if the bar was slammed.
“It’s a pain in the butt to go to the bar right now,” she says, imagining what patrons might be thinking. “It’s really busy. … The bartenders can do it at the end.”
But lately, she’s noticed a disturbing trend.
Customers are intentionally leaving before closing out and then disabling or locking their cards using mobile apps—effectively making it impossible for bartenders to run the tab at the end of the night.
“We go to charge that card… card doesn’t f—— work,” Dunn says. “Card gets declined, or it will only charge for a certain amount.”
Not only do bartenders lose the tips, she explains, but the restaurant also eats the full cost of the drinks.
“It’s basically like you just walked out on your tab,” she adds. “Might as well not have a card anyway.”
Bars Might Start Holding Onto Your Cards Again
If things don’t change soon, Dunn warns, customers might have to start parting with their physical cards again.
“We’re gonna have to start taking cards. … And I don’t want to do that,” she says. “I hate having to hold on to physical cards.”
While there’s no perfect fix, Dunn makes it clear that if people keep gaming the system, everyone loses. “There’s people just ruining it for everyone,” she concludes.
Is This Really Happening?
Bartenders online chronicle a steady flood of patrons who leave without closing their tab, only to immediately freeze their card on the way out.
One bartender on r/restaurant wrote, “Customers walk out of their tab and freeze their card…we wait a week and try again. Sometimes it’s a month before it works.”
Further down the discussion, another bartender suggested taking an ID along with the card to lock in payment.
“I always take an ID with cards because people get drunk, leave their cards, then dispute the charge… or lock their card before you can even run it,” they shared.
On TikTok, bartender Michelle Kimball posted a video showing her bar’s astonishingly high 372 open tabs still awaiting final charges—proof of why bartenders can’t risk letting a customer walk with their card before settling.
Commenters Weigh In
People in the comments weren’t surprised—and some admitted their bars are already adapting.
“This is why my bar holds physical cards AND ID,” one person shared.
Another warned, “People are turning off their cards on their app when they walk out.”
“Tell your manager to keep running them constantly for like a month at random times,” someone else suggested. “Sooner or later you’ll get lucky on at least some of them.”
“I’m too European for this,” a third person joked.
BroBible has reached out to Dunn via email.
Content shared from brobible.com.