Bar tabs or pay as you go?

14 comments

1. If the character is *sitting* at the bar it would be unusual to pay by the drink, yes. If they’re paying by the drink, a reader might assume the character has other priorities, like they may need to exit the place in a hurry or something.

   I’ve been drinking in bars since 1996. If I pay for my drink, it generally means I’m either only having one or I’m not actually sitting at the bar.

2. I only pay as I go if I plan to only have a single drink or don’t know how long I’ll stay. If I plan to have more than one I’ll open a tab.

3. I’m too young to drink alcohol but I assume you’d pay individually for every drink? If you don’t have enough money why not just use a credit card?

4. Yeah, that would be odd. It’s significantly more common to open a tab and then close it out at the end of the night, however I’ve been to some road-side bars in the middle of nowhere that only take cash, and I suppose they might require cash after each drink since they do that accept cards or may not have an automated ledger.

5. Depends on the situation (sitting at bar? sitting at table away from bar? is there a waitress serving them at table? Are they mingling around the bar?), type of bar (dive bar/roadhouse or swanky club?), whether paying cash or credit card.

6. If the character is sitting at the bar and is having/plans on having multiple drinks, then yes, it would be a bit odd.

   Obviously he could still decide to pay as he goes or the bar could be cash only/no tabs, but putting either of these options in your story should probably be an intentional device trying to tell your reader something about the character or the bar he’s at. Otherwise, yeah, it’s out of the ordinary.

7. That’d generally be an indication that is the only drink they’re ordering, and they probably won’t linger at the bar.

8. I only pay by-the-drink if I think I’m only having one or expect to move to a table or leave altogether and want to be able to do so quickly.

   Your bartender will usually ask, but running a tab is standard.

9. If I’m only ordering one drink, I pay. If more than one drink, I run a tab.

10. I leave the tab open until I leave 90% of the time but the pay as you go concept is not foreign to me. I would generally only do it with cash though, unless I know for sure I’m only having one drink.

    Generally it’s something you do when you’re not planning on staying there for long.

11. If you want it to be realistic and your character is having more than 1 drink, have your character open a Bar Tab!

12. In my personal experience there’s 3 kinds of people;

    Those leaving after one, or won’t be at the bar for a while. They usually pay by drink.

    Those who open a tab because they’ll stay at the bar and either won’t be or are unsure of when they’re leaving. They just close it before leaving.

    And finally those who just put money on the bar in front of them and let the bartender handle it. So kind of a mix between the two. But this option tends to happen more in small towns.

13. If a person sits at the bar, they will usually open up a tab and pay at the end. If a person walks up to the bar and sits elsewhere, it’s usually pay as you go.

14. No. Most people pay for their drink immediately unless they are planning on sticking around for awhile and ordering more.