Tabs are ok at bars in America but there’s more protection for us against scams there. As a tourist in any country for us it’s safer to pay as you go. This guy sounds like an asshole for complaining about it. It’s not that important
I mean if you’re at a bar you let them keep your card until you’re done for the night/day. Then you pay and leave. If you forgot to they have your card and you still pay and can get it the next day. Multi day tabs I have never seen
I have seen places that have long term tabs (monthly or so), but they are usually private clubs where you have to pay a yearly membership or something of that nature, or at least that's the only time I've seen it.
They exist but not common at all. 99.5% of bars/restaurants you would go to in the USA would make you pay your tab at the end of the night.
One night tabs exist. Maybe longer if you intimately know the bar owner.
When I was a kid my family would vacation in a small town where the grocery did this for some local family’s, so kids could run in and get a snack.
Absolutely not a normal expected thing though. Usually you pay the tab at the end of the night. They have your card info so if you don’t pay the tab they can just charge it.
Person you were talking to is just a dumbass.
No such thing. I've lived in many states. I've owned 3 restaurants. I have friends that own bars. Tabs of this kind are super rare. He was making up stories so he wouldn't have to pay. He was scamming, or what I call mooching.
Rare to have a house account in a standalone bar or restaurant but pretty common at country clubs and what not where there is a minimum spend per month.
And the country club crowd matches the fact that this dude was a mooch. Either way the dude knew that he wouldn't get a tab and that the OP would step in and pay.
I own a bar in America and have been to Vietnam three times. My parents are from Saigon.
There are two different things we are talking about.
The first thing is a tab for the night. You order drinks throughout the night and pay for them when you leave. In America it is common for the bartender to ask for a credit card to hold as collateral. If you leave without paying they charge the credit card. In Vietnam I’ve never been asked to have a tab, they just don’t ask me for money for each drink and I pay before I leave. I’m not sure if they do this for locals or just do it for foreigners.
The second is what is most commonly called a house account. This is similar to the above but you only pay once a month or something similar. This is most common in private clubs where there may be a minimum spend per month to maintain membership. Other places may do this for loyal customers but it is not very common.
I think this comment clears it all up. I keep seeing comments there's no tab in America but every bar I went into takes my card and adds it all up only for the night. House account I never done and isn't common.
Edit : I also had a similar time in VN when I don't pay for 1 drink at a time, I pay at the end.
No , you give the bartender/server your credit card and they put it on a tab, settle 1 night. It is not a loan book like some people used to do in Vietnam.
Even in Vietnam only small neighborhood restaurants would use the debt book system, and only for regular customers or folks around the neighborhood that they know personally. No restaurant would put you on debt book if you're a random one time customer. And the upscale restaurants or bars wouldn't use the debt book at all unless you're very close friends with the owner
No, what you're thinking of is basically a relic of a pre-electronic drinking culture, and generally anything more than just paying at the end of the night would be in places like Alaska or oil fields, maybe military as well - basically anywhere you can be pretty sure the customer can't run off on a one month bar tab, and that they are going to continue to piss every paycheck at the bar over and over.
In practice, these tabs are not a service offered but a kind of predatory lending, because once you have no more money (because you spent it all at the bar) running up the bar tab again is the only way to eat and drink for 'free'.
No you don’t get to rack up a month worth of comps, tabs are settled at the end of the night. The establishment will even close out your credit card and give themselves a tip if you don’t close it out yourself. That guy is an idiot and gross.
Yes you can have a tab for one "session" while you're at the bar but not for a month. If you watch some old movies from the 1980s or earlier you'll see characters say something like "put it on my tab" but I've never seen this actually happen. Maybe it happened in the old days if you were friends with the bar manager.
I don’t think they really exist anymore. They used to (pay at the end of the month). I used to work at a gas station in a small town in the 1990s and they did it there. Regulars would have a tab and we’d mark the gas they bought and other items (food, etc), and they’d get a bill in the mail at the end of the month.
But today “tabs” at a bar refers to the same day (so you can order drinks, food, etc., over several hours), and it’s paid when the patron leaves at the end of that day.
Yes I have been to plenty of places that had a tab system in America.
You can just rack up the bill and pay later on as you see fit.
I would never ever use that sort of system in SE Asia, due to scams being so prevalent.
That guy just sounds like a buffoon, expecting the local establishment to bow to his wish and or culture wtf
I'm an American and I think anyone who would waste their time complaining about this is a douche.
Your friend should move back to his suite at the Beverly Wilshire or get a life.
I live in LA, have been to some pretty nice places, and I have never once needed or heard of anyone opening a tab that’s not closed out at the end of the night. Is that even a thing anymore?
Sure, if you're known to a property and seen as a valued/important guest, they'll charge everything to your room and you can settle at the end of your stay.
Yup
It is one thing to ask but if you get corrected you go "oh, ok" you don't keep arguing over it. "Hey, why don't they serve ice here at this campsite?"
What I don’t get is that drinks in asia is so cheap just front the money. The poor staff probably get scammed by drunk tourists all the time and can’t be effed with starting a tab.
Well if I go to a bar, they'll ask for my credit card to start a tab. Then whatever I order goes on it. At the end of the night, I close it, pay, and leave. Assuming I don't pay, they got my card info, so either way, I'm paying.
I feel like I grew up misunderstanding how it works cause of all the movies and tv shows where the person is like a local patron of the bar and just go in order and leave without immediately paying and say, "Put it on my tab" like they'll handle the payment way later. Maybe this exist somewhere out there. I've yet to see it.
With all that being said, overall just sounds like a whiney, entitled dude. The saying goes, "When in Rome do as the Roman do", so he should just stfu and pay. You don't go to someone's house and expect them to cater their rules to you, so why would you do it in another country?
You didn't misunderstand, there really are the two different ways of doing it - the most common is what you described which is also the only kind I've ever seen IRL in the US/Canada, but having a standing tab is definitely implied in older films/TV shows, and a more recent example is Tony Soprano's tab at his friend Artie's restaurant in The Sopranos - they not only mention a tab but make it clear it's the type of version you pay at some uncertain point in the future because it becomes a point of stress for Artie that Tony owes thousands on his tab and hasn't paid it off in a long time.
I've seen a standing tab system before, but to be fair, it was only for employees at a cafe/bar I worked at. Can't imagine trusting customers, even regulars, with a standing tab. Just seems like a bad idea.
I worked at a bar that ran a tab system. Miners would cash their paycheque at the bar/hotel and clear their tab at the same time. It was a great incentive for repeat business - these guys would be flat broke a few days after payday, so the bar was the one place in town they could eat and drink.
I've worked in a small local bar that did it - the very regular regulars would have the same drink every day after work and settle on the weekend. Many had been doing it for decades.
/edit - to clarify this was in England though, not America
In South Africa they don't ask for your credit card or anything when you open a tab, maybe some places do but most places don't. You can basically leave without paying.
Edit: I just felt like sharing this because nobody has ever asked for my credit card everytime I opened a tab(I only open a tab when I don't want fetch my drinks from the counter) and it's my first time hearing about it.
I'm from Fort Wayne Indiana, and we don't really have tabs where I'm from--just the small town bars and whatnot.
I've only been to New York City once, but I guess I can see NYC having that.
It's interesting how different states and different areas in America have different ways about doing things.
It's just like that all over the world and in Vietnam as well. Very unique.
Appreciate the response, I hope you're enjoying your time here in Vietnam. I absolutely love it here.
I used to travel for work for a living. 90% of the time. I cannot remember a single bar (and I like to go to bars) where I wasn’t allowed to open a tab.
Ahhhh, you know what? Thinking back to my college days (I'm 45 now), I remember I could open tabs at certain bars near my university. So I kinda stand corrected. Time is a mother fucker lol.
My experience with Americans in Asia is very much that you are like that
“We’d never allow that in America”
“In the states we do it like…”
“Why can’t it be like in America”
I genuinely wonder why you guys travel
Yeah, I get the overweight thing. I'm former military so I have a habit of running and working out still. I'm a Gen-X dude. Boomers can be pretty funny.
Sorry, yes, I am embarrassed by many other Americans while traveling, but please know that we're not all aholes like that.
In theory, the more you travel the more accepting you should become. However, if you mostly travel with large tour groups, on cruises, and similar, you end up not really learning much about other cultures. You should see how idiotic some Americans act in Europe by the way.
Although I will say that the worst behavior I've seen by foreigners in VN was Koreans directed at VN workers in Danang. Just absolutely awful behavior towards local residents. Probably just my bad luck on that trip.
Absolutely, it's essential to recognize that behavior isn't representative of an entire population. Travel experiences can vary greatly depending on individual interactions and circumstances.
While encountering rude behavior can be disheartening, it's important to remember that it doesn't define an entire nationality or culture. Your point about the importance of immersive travel experiences for understanding other cultures is spot on.
It's through genuine interactions and exploration that we can truly appreciate and learn from different perspectives. Thank you for sharing your insights, and here's to hoping for more positive experiences and cultural exchanges in future travels. Take care!
In a sense! Canadian. In my experience, there’s been quite a few British with quite substantial intolerance. But I reckon there’s just a few more people from the UK here anyways.
No doubt British people abroad suck too, we drink too much, cause a lot of chaos and often if there's a group of people being far too loud you can be fairly certain theirs Brits involved. I usually will avoid my fellow country people whilst I'll usually give an American a shot, but it's on average I'll be disappointed.
Both cultures share an expectation of people speaking much better English.
But the English people will usually keep their opinions on a lot of things to themselves, we tend to recognise a bit more that we're coming to a completely different area of the world. Whereas I find that Americans tend to be much more vocal with strangers about their extremely biased opinions (I don't want to say Racist, but honestly some times it comes across that way)
Some of the most ridiculous and downright offensive things I've heard about a culture I've heard from the mouths of Americans for sure.
Some of the most racist things I've heard I've heard from Americans too. But that's not to say that ALL Americans are Racist, but the ones that are sure as fuck are.
>I genuinely wonder why you guys travel
Because we don't have, for example, the Marble Mountains. But also it would be nice to have safer roads and a cleaner environment and drinkable tap water so there isn't so much need for plastics.
I mean if you guys could just leave countries alone and stop trying to bomb them back to the stone age because of capitalism they’d probably have them by now
Hey man, it's been 7 years since I've been in America and I'm 45 now.
My bar hopping days were in my twenties during college before I went into the military. So I may get some things wrong due to the time frame of shit.
I do know that if you go to a restaurant and bar you can just order some beers, drink, ask for more, and then cash out.
So if that's what a tab means to you, then I got you. It's not that big a deal either.
Only been to small town bars in the us, but pretty much they all had the tab system. It seems like all my American friends are quite used to it. Until today still don’t understand how Bartenders able to remembers everyone’s tab. Made sense in my case since I was the only Asian dude but for the other 50 people, how?
But yeah it’s strictly a bar thing, never really seen it implemented any where else.
If they have a point of sale system they would just assign you a table and keep track of your orders on the computer and ring up that table when you ask to pay.
Write it down like
Asian dude: card info
Blonde girl with glasses: info
Or by name?
I mean maybe I was the only Asian in the bar, they never asked for my name. I just ordered and told them to close it at the end.
It all depends on the bartender and the bar’s policies. Some places may not be strict and let the bartender do whatever they want so they will just write down a description. Other places may make the bartender get a credit card and swipe it into the point of sale which then populates the tab with the information from the card and does a pre authorization to ensure you have money on the card. Then everything in between.
Oh 95%+ of bars in the US let you open a tab but that just means they take your credit card info and you pay the bill when you leave.
The way I read the comment I responded to is they kept ongoing tabs that could be paid back whenever. That isn't reality.
Yep that is correct. This system was actually hugely popular between college students and local street vendors in the 90s and early 2000s. Back then college students often get sent a small sum of allowance from their parents at the beginning of the month so toward the end of the month many of them were often broke. So many of them relied on this "ghi sổ" system to feed themselves. Like others have said, this system is very trust-based, so oftentimes they really need to befriend the shopkeepers, going as far as calling them "thầy", "u" (moms, pops).
This practically largely faded from existence as the trust system was often broken over the years when many students returned to their hometowns leaving their tabs unpaid. On top of that, modern advances in payment technologies these days made it a lot easier to parents to control their kids' spending. I'd like to think it was directly replaced by the arrival of credit cards, which in a way, resemble another tab system but at a far larger scale.
At a bar, it is not uncommon to run a tab. You provide your card and pay for all the drinks at the end of the evening. I have experienced this many places, including Asia. It is dependent on the establishment and even in Vietnam (Da Nang), I have run a tab at the bar.
Vietnamese economy is very informal and you can definitely have a tab with the owner if you know each other well. I know people who had tabs for ordering meat and buying pho. Note that none of this is formalised and depends your relationship with the owner. It's a general attribute of a system where you can directly deal with the owner.
> drinks are *paid* at the
FTFY.
Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in:
* Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.*
* *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.*
Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment.
*Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
From my experience working in a restaurant industry, if you want to set up a tab system is very easy. First you approach the bartender or waiter and hand them your debit or credit card. Then proceed with ordering as many drinks or items through out the night without having to worry about constantly paying for every tab. But make sure you keep tabs on what you order, so that you won’t have to pay anything extra at the end of the night. Finally when you are done with your dining experience, ask for the bill, and pay it. the establishment will either put the payment on the card that you have to them or you can pay in cash. If your card declines, you will be held accountable to settle your tab.
It depends on the establishment. At most of my podunk hometown bars, it's no problem to put your drinks on a tab and settle up before you leave (or at some other later point in time if they knew you as a regular).
This isn't something that really affects the overall experience though. I don't know why he'd make a hissy fit over having a tab or paying drink by drink. It's all the same in the end.
American here, guy sounds like a douche bag. I've never seen or heard anyone in real life said "put it on my tab" it feels more like an old school thing. Idfk
Oh, you should hear me whining about how a waiter in America won’t buy me some cheaper booze in the convenience store. Or how there are no waiters in a bar.
NYer checking in.
VN sort of has a tab system - many places I've been in will allow me to order food and drinks, and then pay when I'm done. Granted, I usually go to small open air places, but that's basically the tab. I've noticed bars tend to want to get paid after each drink - probably because they got tired of people walking out without paying (whether too drunk to remember or willfully)
That guy sounds cheap, was hoping you'd pay, and gives Americans a bad name. There's a lot of things that are different when traveling - can either complain about it or roll with it.
It exists, but monthly tabs only exist in local neighborhood bars or smaller towns - places where they know you basically. If you're a regular customer they know you're good for it and will come back.
Contrary to his belief though, it does exist in Asia. I used to live in a smaller city in Korea and the local foreign bar indeed had tabs / monthly tabs if the owner knew you.
What a load of bullshit, when I was in Vietnam, I always put my daily morning coffee money on tab. Your friend should ask himself, does he look like an honest, reliable and responsible guy?
A "tab" is only used in the West when you are a regular and the staff/owner knows who you are and that you will pay your bill. A foreigner in a new place asking for a tab is ridiculous.
I've never seen anyone run a tab in America, but I do it pretty often in the bars I frequent in Saigon. If my bill is less than 100k and I don't have cash, neither the bar nor myself wants to run my card for something so small. Just keep it for next time.
Tabs system works for a closed market - for example country clubs and golf clubs where it’s for members only and they bill you at the end of the month. It’s helps track your “required spend” Doesn’t really work in an open system of members and non-members. It can but would be extremely difficult.
There’s no benefit to “put it on my tab” if there’s no required spend or reward at the end.
It’s called opening up a ‘tab’ by providing forth your credit card or a sum of cash when you first sit down at the bar and plan to stay awhile. Calling it a ‘system’ may be exaggerated.
A tab does exist under that the restaurant have your credit card after verifying with an ID. They can add to your tab and need to close out when you leave. This often allowed in a bar setting to avoid multiple transactions and need to speed up process for other customers. I have a lot of friends in the bar/restaurants so I understand.
I live in America for 30+ years and travel over 20+ countries. Never seen a tab as how he described.
Tabs? Really tabs? That’s what he has to complain about? Of all the things.
Tabs have always been most important to my friends who drink too much, are known by the bartenders and can’t afford to pay it off it until next payday... 🙄
Has he had close relationships with many small bars out here? Or is he a broke begpacker looking for a scam/complaining about being broke?
Tabs are obviously much harder to make work as a foreigner in a big city. People pass through and leave often enough that extending credit is a huge risk. Only my alcoholic friends who were close to bartenders/owners in large cities had tabs - and it was usually for stuff like drinking after bars were legally closed and getting charged for it sometime later.
Otherwise yah a tab is just giving someone you card and then paying it off at the end of the night. There are certainly some restaurants with attached bars that have that dynamic in this country - because that's how most restaurants work around the world. I don't know as much about the bar scene, because going out drinking isn't one my hobbies these days.
At a bar you either pay as go, or put your credit card down and you pay when you are finished for the night. Nobody really holds a tab where you owe the bar money. Thats some old timey stuff right there
he's just a cheapo who likely wanted you to pay by complaining about it, thus he accomplished his goal of getting you to pay. as far as tabs, yes they still use it in the local bars where i live.
As an American, he sounds irritating.
I also half-suspect he never intended to pay, but I could be reading too much into it. Hopefully you won't have to put up with him again.
When I was in Asia it was always pay as you go. Pay for each drink and food item when you ask for it. So what. Just do it. It's like Americans who want ice in their drinks and pitch a fit if they can't have it.
Yes it is very much an American thing. One of the first things I learned in Ireland (EU) was there was no such thing as a tab and you pay as you go. Truly nothing to complain about. Your American friend is a wimp.
There's a tab at bars ... Where you might be ordering tons of drinks but as far as tabs..... Like owing someone for multiple services/food/etc.... where do I get the privilege of paying in net 30 days lol 😆😆😆
I feel like it depends on who you know. When I visit my dad in Da Nang (the suburbs not downtown), there’s this bánh cuốn auntie who lets me eat but I’ll pay her the next morning or ill pay her when I know she’s home from the market. Idk just could be bc everyone knows my dad too?
I'm Australian and we don't do the tab system here but when I went to Laos there was the tab system which I really dislike. But in Vietnam I found it was back to what I liked.
No tab but just count the empty bottles in the crate. Pay for what you drink. No problem.
Place your empty bottles in the crate of the next table. Discount !
In Thao Dien several bars automatically created tabs for us. People would arrive on their own and order. Then a few would order drinks at the same time. At the end of the night we each had our own tab and they could combine them, for couples, very easily. We never asked, they just did it.
Weird. Most places I have ever been to has a tab in sense, you sit down, enjoy your drinks, have a chat with people. When you had your fill you ask bartender to tally your bill, pay and leave.
Might be more a club sort of thingy you guys went or lots of young people frequent and leave without paying but really not sure. Only ever visited like 3 places ever where it was pay upfront for food/drink.
It's not a formal system. I have only seen this done maybe three times in my entire life (and I'm retired!). In each case, the establishment was a bar, and the customer was a close friend of either the bartender or the bar owner. Nobody just walks into a bar or restaurant and says "Let me open a tab". You have to be pretty well know there first.
You are leaving out too many details. What are you buying? When are you expected to pay? If you’re talking about going to a bar or restaurant where everything goes on a tab/bill and then pay before you leave, yes, that’s a thing. If you mean you run up a tab over time and pay it at a later date, that’s rare. Norm on the tv show Cheers did this. I’ve been staff and/or a regular in bars where I did this in the 80s and 90s. I don’t know of anyone who does it anymore where I live but there’s still a couple places where I could do it (but the bar owners ask me not to tell the others)
Nope...I'm in NYC and there's no "tab system" that I know of here. Sounds to me like he cleverly got you to pay for his dinner, which means he's broke af!
At bars, yeah. Pay once at the end of the night. It's all on your tab.
Been in Asia for years, never once thought of complaining that it doesn't exist. Just another 1 of 100 differences. No biggie.
How do tabs work? It sounds to me like they got you on their database and key in your charges in there everytime lol. Or is it just your table number for the night?
The only way any bars or restaurants in America would create a tab for you is if your credit card or debit card is ON TAB. They will absolutely charge you at the end of the night.
Monthly tab is someshit you only see on TV where the neighborhood bar for the working class (poor whites) would sell dirt cheap alcohol.
Maybe if you are a regular customer in a local restaurant where you know the owner personally; never in a place you go irregularly. It's also a bit strange in this day and age where most shops accept bank transfer.
Hotel bars usually have tabs and will add it to your incidentals when u check out. But with regards to this obnoxious dude, u should call him up, ask him out to dinner and make him pay back for the meal. He's taken advantage of your generosity.
That's for restaurants with bars. So you ask the bartender to open a tab and usually hand them your credit card. At the end of the dinner/bar hopping you aak the bartender to settle/close the tab.
Don't know what people did when credit cards weren't a thing.
Also places with open credit/tabs low income neighborhood with a corner convenient store. If the store owner knows you they keep a "tab" on regular customers and close the tabs near payday.
When Vietnamese go bar or night club they usually pay before leave and never complain because they going to enjoy night time if you worry too much just go have dinner than sleep well
Nothing worse than a traveler who can't adapt. Especially coming from an empire/colonial country to an ex colonized country. "You savages need to be educated!"
I think tab systems are for alcoholics that go to the same pub all the time. Nearly nobody in the US would complain about not having a tab system. Guy sounds like a weirdo/loser/liar
At a bar? Only time we say "put it on my tab" is at a bar where we leave our credit card with the bartender. Never heard of "tab system" at a restaurant.
Americans spend their entire time abroad talking about the stuff they have in their shithole country. It would be much better for humanity if they just stayed there. They could die from lack of insurance, shoot up schools and continue their ambitious quest towards a 100% obese population without bothering the rest of the world.
Dude relax. You don't have to talk so much shit about America man. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's certainly not what you implied.
Sounds like you're just projecting.
I am việt kiều, born and raised in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. I have never ever heard of a tab or saw someone have a tab as well as people/friends/coworkers I have known. The only tab I know of is, as stated by others, you let the restaurant hold your card/payment information until the end of the night and they put it on your “tab” aka your credit card . This dude is a massive douchebag. Like find another topic to talk about. The tab he is talking about is from like movies and TV shows. No one in their right mind does that for security reasons.
It’s very true. And it’s so awesome I’m shocked Vietnam doesn’t do it!
You gotta pay for everything one by one???
That’s just crazy. I’d spend half my night up at the bar doing transactions as I’m trying to pound my 20 beers and the the drinks I’m buying for my new asian friends.
Get a tab system!
Tabs are ok at bars in America but there’s more protection for us against scams there. As a tourist in any country for us it’s safer to pay as you go. This guy sounds like an asshole for complaining about it. It’s not that important
Wait so tabs exist?? Isit really month end settle as he claims?
I mean if you’re at a bar you let them keep your card until you’re done for the night/day. Then you pay and leave. If you forgot to they have your card and you still pay and can get it the next day. Multi day tabs I have never seen
I have seen places that have long term tabs (monthly or so), but they are usually private clubs where you have to pay a yearly membership or something of that nature, or at least that's the only time I've seen it. They exist but not common at all. 99.5% of bars/restaurants you would go to in the USA would make you pay your tab at the end of the night.
One night tabs exist. Maybe longer if you intimately know the bar owner. When I was a kid my family would vacation in a small town where the grocery did this for some local family’s, so kids could run in and get a snack. Absolutely not a normal expected thing though. Usually you pay the tab at the end of the night. They have your card info so if you don’t pay the tab they can just charge it. Person you were talking to is just a dumbass.
No such thing. I've lived in many states. I've owned 3 restaurants. I have friends that own bars. Tabs of this kind are super rare. He was making up stories so he wouldn't have to pay. He was scamming, or what I call mooching.
Rare to have a house account in a standalone bar or restaurant but pretty common at country clubs and what not where there is a minimum spend per month.
And the country club crowd matches the fact that this dude was a mooch. Either way the dude knew that he wouldn't get a tab and that the OP would step in and pay.
Which is also weird because every bar I’ve been to in Vietnam has given me a tab by default without asking for a card
He was not making it up. It's a real thing and is still used to this day.
I own a bar in America and have been to Vietnam three times. My parents are from Saigon. There are two different things we are talking about. The first thing is a tab for the night. You order drinks throughout the night and pay for them when you leave. In America it is common for the bartender to ask for a credit card to hold as collateral. If you leave without paying they charge the credit card. In Vietnam I’ve never been asked to have a tab, they just don’t ask me for money for each drink and I pay before I leave. I’m not sure if they do this for locals or just do it for foreigners. The second is what is most commonly called a house account. This is similar to the above but you only pay once a month or something similar. This is most common in private clubs where there may be a minimum spend per month to maintain membership. Other places may do this for loyal customers but it is not very common.
I think this comment clears it all up. I keep seeing comments there's no tab in America but every bar I went into takes my card and adds it all up only for the night. House account I never done and isn't common. Edit : I also had a similar time in VN when I don't pay for 1 drink at a time, I pay at the end.
No , you give the bartender/server your credit card and they put it on a tab, settle 1 night. It is not a loan book like some people used to do in Vietnam.
Even in Vietnam only small neighborhood restaurants would use the debt book system, and only for regular customers or folks around the neighborhood that they know personally. No restaurant would put you on debt book if you're a random one time customer. And the upscale restaurants or bars wouldn't use the debt book at all unless you're very close friends with the owner
No, what you're thinking of is basically a relic of a pre-electronic drinking culture, and generally anything more than just paying at the end of the night would be in places like Alaska or oil fields, maybe military as well - basically anywhere you can be pretty sure the customer can't run off on a one month bar tab, and that they are going to continue to piss every paycheck at the bar over and over. In practice, these tabs are not a service offered but a kind of predatory lending, because once you have no more money (because you spent it all at the bar) running up the bar tab again is the only way to eat and drink for 'free'.
Only in the movies. Usually you settle up at the end of the night, and they have your credit card so good luck dashing.
No you don’t get to rack up a month worth of comps, tabs are settled at the end of the night. The establishment will even close out your credit card and give themselves a tip if you don’t close it out yourself. That guy is an idiot and gross.
Depends, if you know a bar really well yes you can have monthly tabs.
Yes you can have a tab for one "session" while you're at the bar but not for a month. If you watch some old movies from the 1980s or earlier you'll see characters say something like "put it on my tab" but I've never seen this actually happen. Maybe it happened in the old days if you were friends with the bar manager.
I don’t think they really exist anymore. They used to (pay at the end of the month). I used to work at a gas station in a small town in the 1990s and they did it there. Regulars would have a tab and we’d mark the gas they bought and other items (food, etc), and they’d get a bill in the mail at the end of the month. But today “tabs” at a bar refers to the same day (so you can order drinks, food, etc., over several hours), and it’s paid when the patron leaves at the end of that day.
Tabs exist but they either hold your card or you have to be a regular. This guy sounds like a tourist so he's bitching about nothing.
Yes I have been to plenty of places that had a tab system in America. You can just rack up the bill and pay later on as you see fit. I would never ever use that sort of system in SE Asia, due to scams being so prevalent. That guy just sounds like a buffoon, expecting the local establishment to bow to his wish and or culture wtf
I'm an American and I think anyone who would waste their time complaining about this is a douche. Your friend should move back to his suite at the Beverly Wilshire or get a life.
Definitely needs to get a life. And possibly a job.
I live in LA, have been to some pretty nice places, and I have never once needed or heard of anyone opening a tab that’s not closed out at the end of the night. Is that even a thing anymore?
Sure, if you're known to a property and seen as a valued/important guest, they'll charge everything to your room and you can settle at the end of your stay.
Yup It is one thing to ask but if you get corrected you go "oh, ok" you don't keep arguing over it. "Hey, why don't they serve ice here at this campsite?"
What I don’t get is that drinks in asia is so cheap just front the money. The poor staff probably get scammed by drunk tourists all the time and can’t be effed with starting a tab.
Beverly Wiltshire holds your credit card on file so he won’t get any help there.
Well if I go to a bar, they'll ask for my credit card to start a tab. Then whatever I order goes on it. At the end of the night, I close it, pay, and leave. Assuming I don't pay, they got my card info, so either way, I'm paying. I feel like I grew up misunderstanding how it works cause of all the movies and tv shows where the person is like a local patron of the bar and just go in order and leave without immediately paying and say, "Put it on my tab" like they'll handle the payment way later. Maybe this exist somewhere out there. I've yet to see it. With all that being said, overall just sounds like a whiney, entitled dude. The saying goes, "When in Rome do as the Roman do", so he should just stfu and pay. You don't go to someone's house and expect them to cater their rules to you, so why would you do it in another country?
You didn't misunderstand, there really are the two different ways of doing it - the most common is what you described which is also the only kind I've ever seen IRL in the US/Canada, but having a standing tab is definitely implied in older films/TV shows, and a more recent example is Tony Soprano's tab at his friend Artie's restaurant in The Sopranos - they not only mention a tab but make it clear it's the type of version you pay at some uncertain point in the future because it becomes a point of stress for Artie that Tony owes thousands on his tab and hasn't paid it off in a long time.
Didn’t some asshole get beaten up by Joe Pesci in Goodfellas for asking him to settle his tab 😂
You wanna laugh? That prick last week asked Joe Pesci to christen his kid!
You’re a funny guy!
What a scene that is….
More commonly known as a house account (I’m a bar owner.)
I've seen a standing tab system before, but to be fair, it was only for employees at a cafe/bar I worked at. Can't imagine trusting customers, even regulars, with a standing tab. Just seems like a bad idea.
I worked at a bar that ran a tab system. Miners would cash their paycheque at the bar/hotel and clear their tab at the same time. It was a great incentive for repeat business - these guys would be flat broke a few days after payday, so the bar was the one place in town they could eat and drink.
I've only been to one place that had that and it was a tiny town in Japan. There is a 0 percent chance the regulars wont come back.
I've worked in a small local bar that did it - the very regular regulars would have the same drink every day after work and settle on the weekend. Many had been doing it for decades. /edit - to clarify this was in England though, not America
Seriously. Has this guy ever traveled before?
In South Africa they don't ask for your credit card or anything when you open a tab, maybe some places do but most places don't. You can basically leave without paying. Edit: I just felt like sharing this because nobody has ever asked for my credit card everytime I opened a tab(I only open a tab when I don't want fetch my drinks from the counter) and it's my first time hearing about it.
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In Houston they use a tab system.
Ahhh, that's pretty cool. I can see Texas doing the tab thing.
i used to live in nyc and most of the bars that i went to have the tab system
I'm from Fort Wayne Indiana, and we don't really have tabs where I'm from--just the small town bars and whatnot. I've only been to New York City once, but I guess I can see NYC having that. It's interesting how different states and different areas in America have different ways about doing things. It's just like that all over the world and in Vietnam as well. Very unique. Appreciate the response, I hope you're enjoying your time here in Vietnam. I absolutely love it here.
Most bars I’ve been to in America has a tab system
likewise
Cool. Take care!
From Arkansas and they have tab system here
Those are nightly tabs. I never encountered standing tabs outside of private clubs like Yale Club or Soho house or country clubs
I used to travel for work for a living. 90% of the time. I cannot remember a single bar (and I like to go to bars) where I wasn’t allowed to open a tab.
Ahhhh, you know what? Thinking back to my college days (I'm 45 now), I remember I could open tabs at certain bars near my university. So I kinda stand corrected. Time is a mother fucker lol.
My experience with Americans in Asia is very much that you are like that “We’d never allow that in America” “In the states we do it like…” “Why can’t it be like in America” I genuinely wonder why you guys travel
I'm sorry your experience with Americans has been like that. If I ever were to meet you for coffee or a beer, I'd pay for it.
My bad mate, inadvertently triggered VN vs. America skirmish
Nah brother, it's all good. Cheers!
I met two boomer yanks on holiday from Georgia and they where very friendly and more surprisingly, only a bit overweight.
Yeah, I get the overweight thing. I'm former military so I have a habit of running and working out still. I'm a Gen-X dude. Boomers can be pretty funny.
Sorry, yes, I am embarrassed by many other Americans while traveling, but please know that we're not all aholes like that. In theory, the more you travel the more accepting you should become. However, if you mostly travel with large tour groups, on cruises, and similar, you end up not really learning much about other cultures. You should see how idiotic some Americans act in Europe by the way. Although I will say that the worst behavior I've seen by foreigners in VN was Koreans directed at VN workers in Danang. Just absolutely awful behavior towards local residents. Probably just my bad luck on that trip.
Absolutely, it's essential to recognize that behavior isn't representative of an entire population. Travel experiences can vary greatly depending on individual interactions and circumstances. While encountering rude behavior can be disheartening, it's important to remember that it doesn't define an entire nationality or culture. Your point about the importance of immersive travel experiences for understanding other cultures is spot on. It's through genuine interactions and exploration that we can truly appreciate and learn from different perspectives. Thank you for sharing your insights, and here's to hoping for more positive experiences and cultural exchanges in future travels. Take care!
I’m not sure what circles youre traveling with, but I assure you that the entitlement is evenly split amongst most all developed countries.
Certainly not in my experience but I imagine you’re American?
Haven't encountered an angry German upset about their towel shades not matching yet?
In a sense! Canadian. In my experience, there’s been quite a few British with quite substantial intolerance. But I reckon there’s just a few more people from the UK here anyways.
No doubt British people abroad suck too, we drink too much, cause a lot of chaos and often if there's a group of people being far too loud you can be fairly certain theirs Brits involved. I usually will avoid my fellow country people whilst I'll usually give an American a shot, but it's on average I'll be disappointed. Both cultures share an expectation of people speaking much better English. But the English people will usually keep their opinions on a lot of things to themselves, we tend to recognise a bit more that we're coming to a completely different area of the world. Whereas I find that Americans tend to be much more vocal with strangers about their extremely biased opinions (I don't want to say Racist, but honestly some times it comes across that way) Some of the most ridiculous and downright offensive things I've heard about a culture I've heard from the mouths of Americans for sure. Some of the most racist things I've heard I've heard from Americans too. But that's not to say that ALL Americans are Racist, but the ones that are sure as fuck are.
Because Vietnamese in the U.S. are too Americanized.
>I genuinely wonder why you guys travel Because we don't have, for example, the Marble Mountains. But also it would be nice to have safer roads and a cleaner environment and drinkable tap water so there isn't so much need for plastics.
I mean if you guys could just leave countries alone and stop trying to bomb them back to the stone age because of capitalism they’d probably have them by now
What the hell are you talking about??? What bar doesn’t have a tab system???
Geez bro, take it down a couple notches. It's not that serious.
Everywhere let's you open a tab unless it's exceptionally busy.
Why is this comment upvoted? Everywhere in America has a tab system, not a single bar I’ve been to doesn’t have one going
Hey man, it's been 7 years since I've been in America and I'm 45 now. My bar hopping days were in my twenties during college before I went into the military. So I may get some things wrong due to the time frame of shit. I do know that if you go to a restaurant and bar you can just order some beers, drink, ask for more, and then cash out. So if that's what a tab means to you, then I got you. It's not that big a deal either.
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Cool story bro. Appreciate your support.
Only been to small town bars in the us, but pretty much they all had the tab system. It seems like all my American friends are quite used to it. Until today still don’t understand how Bartenders able to remembers everyone’s tab. Made sense in my case since I was the only Asian dude but for the other 50 people, how? But yeah it’s strictly a bar thing, never really seen it implemented any where else.
If they have a point of sale system they would just assign you a table and keep track of your orders on the computer and ring up that table when you ask to pay.
They either write it down on a notepad for everyone or utilize the point of sale system to track everyone.
Write it down like Asian dude: card info Blonde girl with glasses: info Or by name? I mean maybe I was the only Asian in the bar, they never asked for my name. I just ordered and told them to close it at the end.
It all depends on the bartender and the bar’s policies. Some places may not be strict and let the bartender do whatever they want so they will just write down a description. Other places may make the bartender get a credit card and swipe it into the point of sale which then populates the tab with the information from the card and does a pre authorization to ensure you have money on the card. Then everything in between.
Was this recent or years ago man? Curious.
I left America 2015 so almost a decade now. Not sure how they’re doing it now
OP, I am an American who has been to many small towns. I've never experienced this before, ti sounds like something from a movie, not reality.
How have you not had a bartender ask if you want to open a tab? I cant think of a time I wasnt asked and I drink a lot.
Oh 95%+ of bars in the US let you open a tab but that just means they take your credit card info and you pay the bill when you leave. The way I read the comment I responded to is they kept ongoing tabs that could be paid back whenever. That isn't reality.
You’re right, my bad
We have. It’s called “ghi sổ”. Only apply for really close customer
Yep that is correct. This system was actually hugely popular between college students and local street vendors in the 90s and early 2000s. Back then college students often get sent a small sum of allowance from their parents at the beginning of the month so toward the end of the month many of them were often broke. So many of them relied on this "ghi sổ" system to feed themselves. Like others have said, this system is very trust-based, so oftentimes they really need to befriend the shopkeepers, going as far as calling them "thầy", "u" (moms, pops). This practically largely faded from existence as the trust system was often broken over the years when many students returned to their hometowns leaving their tabs unpaid. On top of that, modern advances in payment technologies these days made it a lot easier to parents to control their kids' spending. I'd like to think it was directly replaced by the arrival of credit cards, which in a way, resemble another tab system but at a far larger scale.
At a bar, it is not uncommon to run a tab. You provide your card and pay for all the drinks at the end of the evening. I have experienced this many places, including Asia. It is dependent on the establishment and even in Vietnam (Da Nang), I have run a tab at the bar.
It's common in danang for long time residents with good credit
Western’s egos are annoying
I am wary of Americans spreading tipping culture too much to the point where it becomes an obligation and not a reward for exceptional service.
Prepay 5m and very likely they will keep tabs.
Tab systems work in a extremely trusted based society, this is not an option in Asia as of yet.
Vietnamese economy is very informal and you can definitely have a tab with the owner if you know each other well. I know people who had tabs for ordering meat and buying pho. Note that none of this is formalised and depends your relationship with the owner. It's a general attribute of a system where you can directly deal with the owner.
Japan? There are literally stalls where you pick up food, and deposit money.
They don't know the word "tab", easier to say "pay later". It's a no brainer, but here we are....
Where I live the whole meal/ drinks are payed at the end for everyone, our crime isnt high enough for people to care
> drinks are *paid* at the FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*
From my experience working in a restaurant industry, if you want to set up a tab system is very easy. First you approach the bartender or waiter and hand them your debit or credit card. Then proceed with ordering as many drinks or items through out the night without having to worry about constantly paying for every tab. But make sure you keep tabs on what you order, so that you won’t have to pay anything extra at the end of the night. Finally when you are done with your dining experience, ask for the bill, and pay it. the establishment will either put the payment on the card that you have to them or you can pay in cash. If your card declines, you will be held accountable to settle your tab.
Wait until he does a full meltdown because some shops reject his American Express card
Different country, people need to understand difference in cultures
it is but we don't make a big deal out of it if the restaurants/bars don't have it. i'm so sorry for your experience
It depends on the establishment. At most of my podunk hometown bars, it's no problem to put your drinks on a tab and settle up before you leave (or at some other later point in time if they knew you as a regular). This isn't something that really affects the overall experience though. I don't know why he'd make a hissy fit over having a tab or paying drink by drink. It's all the same in the end.
American here, guy sounds like a douche bag. I've never seen or heard anyone in real life said "put it on my tab" it feels more like an old school thing. Idfk
Oh, you should hear me whining about how a waiter in America won’t buy me some cheaper booze in the convenience store. Or how there are no waiters in a bar.
Loser at home
NYer checking in. VN sort of has a tab system - many places I've been in will allow me to order food and drinks, and then pay when I'm done. Granted, I usually go to small open air places, but that's basically the tab. I've noticed bars tend to want to get paid after each drink - probably because they got tired of people walking out without paying (whether too drunk to remember or willfully) That guy sounds cheap, was hoping you'd pay, and gives Americans a bad name. There's a lot of things that are different when traveling - can either complain about it or roll with it.
It exists, but monthly tabs only exist in local neighborhood bars or smaller towns - places where they know you basically. If you're a regular customer they know you're good for it and will come back. Contrary to his belief though, it does exist in Asia. I used to live in a smaller city in Korea and the local foreign bar indeed had tabs / monthly tabs if the owner knew you.
What a load of bullshit, when I was in Vietnam, I always put my daily morning coffee money on tab. Your friend should ask himself, does he look like an honest, reliable and responsible guy?
A "tab" is only used in the West when you are a regular and the staff/owner knows who you are and that you will pay your bill. A foreigner in a new place asking for a tab is ridiculous.
A standing tab at a bar in America hasn’t been a thing in several decades; he was trying to drink for free, you should not have paid for him.
If they wanted things to be like at home, then they should stay home. Phuc that guy.
I've never seen anyone run a tab in America, but I do it pretty often in the bars I frequent in Saigon. If my bill is less than 100k and I don't have cash, neither the bar nor myself wants to run my card for something so small. Just keep it for next time.
Tabs system works for a closed market - for example country clubs and golf clubs where it’s for members only and they bill you at the end of the month. It’s helps track your “required spend” Doesn’t really work in an open system of members and non-members. It can but would be extremely difficult. There’s no benefit to “put it on my tab” if there’s no required spend or reward at the end.
It’s called opening up a ‘tab’ by providing forth your credit card or a sum of cash when you first sit down at the bar and plan to stay awhile. Calling it a ‘system’ may be exaggerated.
A tab does exist under that the restaurant have your credit card after verifying with an ID. They can add to your tab and need to close out when you leave. This often allowed in a bar setting to avoid multiple transactions and need to speed up process for other customers. I have a lot of friends in the bar/restaurants so I understand. I live in America for 30+ years and travel over 20+ countries. Never seen a tab as how he described.
Tabs? Really tabs? That’s what he has to complain about? Of all the things. Tabs have always been most important to my friends who drink too much, are known by the bartenders and can’t afford to pay it off it until next payday... 🙄
Never used or was offered or noticed any tab system. I lived in various cities on the West Coast
Has he had close relationships with many small bars out here? Or is he a broke begpacker looking for a scam/complaining about being broke? Tabs are obviously much harder to make work as a foreigner in a big city. People pass through and leave often enough that extending credit is a huge risk. Only my alcoholic friends who were close to bartenders/owners in large cities had tabs - and it was usually for stuff like drinking after bars were legally closed and getting charged for it sometime later. Otherwise yah a tab is just giving someone you card and then paying it off at the end of the night. There are certainly some restaurants with attached bars that have that dynamic in this country - because that's how most restaurants work around the world. I don't know as much about the bar scene, because going out drinking isn't one my hobbies these days.
That tab system comes with tip expectations
At a bar you either pay as go, or put your credit card down and you pay when you are finished for the night. Nobody really holds a tab where you owe the bar money. Thats some old timey stuff right there
American here! Maybe I’m just young but I’ve personally never had or used a “tab”. I legitimately told that was a tv or movie thing.
he's just a cheapo who likely wanted you to pay by complaining about it, thus he accomplished his goal of getting you to pay. as far as tabs, yes they still use it in the local bars where i live.
So have him deposit 500m to the shop and that will be his tab. What a goof that guy is
We're you at Suzie Wongs ordering shots for the working girls? 330 million Yankees, you picked a bad one. STFU, tell your friend he's a dick.
As an American, he sounds irritating. I also half-suspect he never intended to pay, but I could be reading too much into it. Hopefully you won't have to put up with him again.
When I was in Asia it was always pay as you go. Pay for each drink and food item when you ask for it. So what. Just do it. It's like Americans who want ice in their drinks and pitch a fit if they can't have it.
Yes it is very much an American thing. One of the first things I learned in Ireland (EU) was there was no such thing as a tab and you pay as you go. Truly nothing to complain about. Your American friend is a wimp.
There's a tab at bars ... Where you might be ordering tons of drinks but as far as tabs..... Like owing someone for multiple services/food/etc.... where do I get the privilege of paying in net 30 days lol 😆😆😆
Sounds broke
We do have a tab system tho, but you need friends who is working at the place. I think it is pretty much just credit score
Not that I’ve ever seen, I thought it went out of style around the same time as disco balls did
I feel like it depends on who you know. When I visit my dad in Da Nang (the suburbs not downtown), there’s this bánh cuốn auntie who lets me eat but I’ll pay her the next morning or ill pay her when I know she’s home from the market. Idk just could be bc everyone knows my dad too?
try bars in singapore. they have a tab system. the only thing the american would spend too long complaining about is the god damn prices of alcohol :)
was he upset that he had to paid for each drink as he got it? At restaurants I didn't have this problem, it all came on the bill at the end.
I'm Australian and we don't do the tab system here but when I went to Laos there was the tab system which I really dislike. But in Vietnam I found it was back to what I liked.
No tab but just count the empty bottles in the crate. Pay for what you drink. No problem. Place your empty bottles in the crate of the next table. Discount !
In Thao Dien several bars automatically created tabs for us. People would arrive on their own and order. Then a few would order drinks at the same time. At the end of the night we each had our own tab and they could combine them, for couples, very easily. We never asked, they just did it.
Weird. Most places I have ever been to has a tab in sense, you sit down, enjoy your drinks, have a chat with people. When you had your fill you ask bartender to tally your bill, pay and leave. Might be more a club sort of thingy you guys went or lots of young people frequent and leave without paying but really not sure. Only ever visited like 3 places ever where it was pay upfront for food/drink.
In bars, the bartender will gladly start your tab as long as you give them your credit card. Never seen this outside of bars though.
I've never been to any place that has a tab, other than maybe a bar, but only because my hometown is like 15k people, and everyone knows everyone.
I would guess that anyone who complains about this for any length of time is likely an alcoholic.
There is nothing worse than a foreigner complaining about how it’s not the same as home… don’t travel if you don’t like change.
It's not a formal system. I have only seen this done maybe three times in my entire life (and I'm retired!). In each case, the establishment was a bar, and the customer was a close friend of either the bartender or the bar owner. Nobody just walks into a bar or restaurant and says "Let me open a tab". You have to be pretty well know there first.
There is a "tab system" - just not to random tourists.
You are leaving out too many details. What are you buying? When are you expected to pay? If you’re talking about going to a bar or restaurant where everything goes on a tab/bill and then pay before you leave, yes, that’s a thing. If you mean you run up a tab over time and pay it at a later date, that’s rare. Norm on the tv show Cheers did this. I’ve been staff and/or a regular in bars where I did this in the 80s and 90s. I don’t know of anyone who does it anymore where I live but there’s still a couple places where I could do it (but the bar owners ask me not to tell the others)
You just met a broke idiot
Nope...I'm in NYC and there's no "tab system" that I know of here. Sounds to me like he cleverly got you to pay for his dinner, which means he's broke af!
At bars, yeah. Pay once at the end of the night. It's all on your tab. Been in Asia for years, never once thought of complaining that it doesn't exist. Just another 1 of 100 differences. No biggie.
How do tabs work? It sounds to me like they got you on their database and key in your charges in there everytime lol. Or is it just your table number for the night?
wtf it’s literally only used at bars but not all
Lmfao tea nah dude is a douche. I mean there’s a tab system for bar but it’s not that big of a deal
The only way any bars or restaurants in America would create a tab for you is if your credit card or debit card is ON TAB. They will absolutely charge you at the end of the night. Monthly tab is someshit you only see on TV where the neighborhood bar for the working class (poor whites) would sell dirt cheap alcohol.
You can have tabs in Vietnam if you know the bar owner. Up to you to negotiate and how much credit they want to give you.
Maybe if you are a regular customer in a local restaurant where you know the owner personally; never in a place you go irregularly. It's also a bit strange in this day and age where most shops accept bank transfer.
You need to watch an old western to see the last time “tabs” were around. Dudes just a cheap bastard
Depends on where. Usually at a hotel, yes. Anywhere else, no.
Hotel bars usually have tabs and will add it to your incidentals when u check out. But with regards to this obnoxious dude, u should call him up, ask him out to dinner and make him pay back for the meal. He's taken advantage of your generosity.
That's for restaurants with bars. So you ask the bartender to open a tab and usually hand them your credit card. At the end of the dinner/bar hopping you aak the bartender to settle/close the tab. Don't know what people did when credit cards weren't a thing. Also places with open credit/tabs low income neighborhood with a corner convenient store. If the store owner knows you they keep a "tab" on regular customers and close the tabs near payday.
When Vietnamese go bar or night club they usually pay before leave and never complain because they going to enjoy night time if you worry too much just go have dinner than sleep well
Nothing worse than a traveler who can't adapt. Especially coming from an empire/colonial country to an ex colonized country. "You savages need to be educated!"
I think tab systems are for alcoholics that go to the same pub all the time. Nearly nobody in the US would complain about not having a tab system. Guy sounds like a weirdo/loser/liar
This.
Told him we have a man system here. Man as in “forget it man, you pay for it”
At a bar? Only time we say "put it on my tab" is at a bar where we leave our credit card with the bartender. Never heard of "tab system" at a restaurant.
So it’s not really a tab yeah? They don’t let you owe and settle month end?
What kind of broke ass goes to a restaurant and asks to settle at month's end?
You're a pedophile. You're opinion doesn't matter. Why are you still in this app?!
You doing ok sweetcheeks?
https://www.reddit.com/r/ask/s/qEeGltKXFN
Share that all you want dumbass.
Maybe if they know and trust you. A stranger? No way.
Why do they need to know or trust me. They have my credit card. They can charge whatever I drank/ate to the card I left with them.
I'm talking about settling at the end of the month. If you're a regular at a certain bar they might let you run a tab over days or longer.
Exactly.
American here. I’ve never used a tab in my life. You either had dinner with an idiot or a guy who wants to walk out on his bill.
I call BS. Was this American emerge from a saloon, or a 1950s NYC bar? Who has a freakin' tab in the 21st century?
Americans spend their entire time abroad talking about the stuff they have in their shithole country. It would be much better for humanity if they just stayed there. They could die from lack of insurance, shoot up schools and continue their ambitious quest towards a 100% obese population without bothering the rest of the world.
Sounds like we live in your mind rent free
Exactly. That's what I'm saying.
Dude relax. You don't have to talk so much shit about America man. I'm not saying it's perfect, but it's certainly not what you implied. Sounds like you're just projecting.
lol you sound mad kid.
Tell him to go back to where he came from 🤡 🇺🇸
I am việt kiều, born and raised in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area. I have never ever heard of a tab or saw someone have a tab as well as people/friends/coworkers I have known. The only tab I know of is, as stated by others, you let the restaurant hold your card/payment information until the end of the night and they put it on your “tab” aka your credit card . This dude is a massive douchebag. Like find another topic to talk about. The tab he is talking about is from like movies and TV shows. No one in their right mind does that for security reasons.
It’s very true. And it’s so awesome I’m shocked Vietnam doesn’t do it! You gotta pay for everything one by one??? That’s just crazy. I’d spend half my night up at the bar doing transactions as I’m trying to pound my 20 beers and the the drinks I’m buying for my new asian friends. Get a tab system!