If you order something, you have to pay for it. That is obvious. Otherwise, it’s called stealing, and it is not okay.

Unfortunately, some people, including drunk people, think they can get away with stealing drinks at a bar. Perhaps maybe they think the bartender won’t notice if they don’t pay due to the loud music, the sometimes chaotic atmosphere, and the other customers waiting for drinks. They notice.

One bartender shared a video of an experience she had at work on a busy night. She works at a bar in Nashville, and there were many people waiting to order drinks while she tried to do something that should have been simple – swipe a customer’s credit card so they could pay for their bill.

This particular customer owed $27, and she described him as “drunk.” He gave her a credit card, but when she swiped it, the card was declined. In response, he gave her another credit card to try. Unfortunately, this card was also declined.

The bartender explained that the drunk customer didn’t seem to think that the cards getting declined was a problem. He seemed to imply that “he’s just not gonna pay for it.”

She was not about to let the customer leave without paying for his bill. She explained that the bar where she works has a “liquor count” which means that “every drop of liquor is counted for, if he doesn’t pay for it, I have to.”

The customer told her he was going to go get one of his friends to pay the bill, but she suspected he would simply leave and not come back. Thankfully, she had a trick to make sure he would stay true to his word and actually pay the bill. Watch the video below to see what she did to make sure he actually came back with his friend to pay for the bill.

@jemimajune_♬ original sound – Jemima June

This bartender is now being praised on TikTok for her quick-thinking. One person wrote, “You handled that so well although it’s messed up that the business expects you to cover the costs.”

Another comment reads, “I do not miss bartending. You handled this so well. I used to get way more feisty lol”

Many people also commented on the fact that it seemed pathetic for a card to get declined for $27, but some viewers actually sympathized with the customer explaining, “When I had Wells Fargo my card would always decline at bars no matter the funds I had. It was so embarrassing. I learned to pull cash before going out.”

Have you ever had your credit card declined? What do you think of this bartender’s trick to make sure she’d get paid?