Bartenders spill the beans on Gen Z's 'annoying' drink-by-drink payment habit

In bars across America, fewer young bargoers – those born in the late 1990s or early 2000s – are opening tabs, instead choosing to close out and pay after every drink, The New York Times recently reported.

Does the trend bother bartenders? Fox News Digital asked a few for their thoughts.

"Is it annoying to close out the tab after every single drink for bartenders? And the answer is yes. Unequivocally, that is annoying," said Derek Brown, a bartender and founder of Drink Company, a hospitality consulting agency in Washington, D.C. 

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"You have so many things to do as a bartender throughout your shift, and closing out the tab, if you have to do it throughout the evening when somebody's ordering two, three drinks — it takes time, and it's frustrating and annoying."

Today's younger generation isn't the first to annoy bartenders, Brown clarified.

Younger bargoers are frustrating bartenders by paying for drinks one by one rather than opening a tab for the evening. (iStock)

"Every generation has its quirk," he said.

Still, while it may not seem like a big deal to customers, closing out after every drink is a nuisance to those on the other side of the bar, especially when things are busy, Brown said. 

"When somebody comes in and says, 'I'll take a cocktail,' great, and then somebody comes behind and says, 'I'll close it out,' you have to turn around, you have to go to the [point-of-sale machine], and you have to turn around and go back to making drinks," Brown said.

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"All of this while being congenial, keeping a smile, making sure people are taken care of — it can be just a really, really annoying habit between all the other things you have to do. But it is part of the job."

Some younger people claim that paying as they go is a better way to manage their drinking money.

"Once you've had two drinks, then the third one comes a lot faster and easier." 

"This is the positive side of this, right?" Brown said. "If you're closing out every time, it's true. You're going to be able to monitor how much alcohol you're drinking throughout the evening."

Brown said "fiscal responsibility" is important from the consumer perspective.

Some young drinkers believe paying as they go is the best way to manage their money when visiting a bar.  (iStock)

"Once you've had two drinks, then the third one comes a lot faster and easier," he said.

Others have expressed concerns about leaving their credit cards behind or in the hands of the bartender.

One way bars solved this problem was with a new system in which a customer's card is swiped once and then immediately returned.

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"In that case, it's not that difficult," Brown said. "You keep your card. You put it in your pocket. That's what we learned."

Still, nothing stops a person from paying drink by drink.

"Somebody can just keep asking to open and close it [all] evening," Brown said. "We just have to smile and do our best."

Most bartenders can swipe cards and give them back to customers, but that doesn't stop people from paying drink by drink. (iStock)

Another reason for the decline in bar tabs could be that fewer young adults, in general, are drinking.

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A 2023 Gallup poll found that 62% of adults under age 35 say they drink, a 10% decrease over the previous 20 years.

"It depends on what kind of night I'm trying to have."

Katie Fites, a former bartender in Tallahassee and recent graduate of Florida State University, said she doesn't have a blanket rule when deciding whether she's going to open a bar tab.

Katie Fites worked as a bartender at a popular location near the campus of Florida State University. When she's out with friends, she said she doesn't have a blanket rule when deciding whether she's going to open a bar tab. (Chase Douglas)

"It depends on what kind of night I'm trying to have," she told Fox News Digital. 

"If I know that my friends and I are going to be staying in one spot for the night, I will leave a tab open. But if I think that we're going to be bouncing around and there's a possibility I'll forget I've left my tab open and leave, I will not leave my tab open."

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Fites worked at a popular college bar that didn't allow tabs — so most people paid in cash. 

Those who did pay with a card, however, were subject to a $10 minimum.

Card payments can not only slow down bartenders on a busy night, they can also be costly to a bar owner's bottom line.  (iStock)

Card payments can not only slow down bartenders on a busy night, they can also be costly to a bar owner's bottom line. 

Credit card fees, which range from, on average, 2% to 4% of the transaction, are assessed with every swipe, according to Doug Kantor with the Merchants Payments Coalition (MPC).

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These swipe fees totaled a record $187.2 billion in 2024, an increase of 70% since the pandemic, per the MPC.

That means less money for the bars.