An American living in the United Kingdom posted a viral video in which she reacts to a millennial’s tweet about zoomers’ bar behavior.
TikToker Haley (@haley.horton) filmed her reaction after viewing an American man’s tweet from a few days earlier. The tweet complained about how zoomers close out after each order instead of opening bar tabs. It also blasted the younger generation for a lack of bar etiquette, claiming it was “psycho behavior.”
Haley responded by slamming both the tweet and American bar culture. Her defense of American zoomers’ bar behavior has been viewed over 154,000 times as of this writing.
@haley.horton american bar etiquette baffles me #americanintheuk #americaninengland #americanineurope #ukvsus ♬ original sound – haley 🌻
With the tweet projected behind her, Haley says, “I saw this on Twitter a few days ago and I cannot stop thinking about it. This is a tweet from an American man. It’s when I read things like these is when I sit back and think to myself, I’m really not as culturally American as I think I am.”
“I’ve lived in the UK since I was 18. One time on New Year’s Eve a few years ago, my boyfriend and I, he’s also British, went to a bar and did exactly what the tweet says,” the TikToker continues. “Because, newsflash, that’s how everyone pays for drinks in every other part of the world.”
“We had absolutely no idea it was a faux pas. This psycho behavior this man described is literally how you buy drinks everywhere else,” she adds.
Many zoomers and TikToker users in general agreed with her, and they expressed their own confusion at the concept of a bar tab.
“Closing out after every round’” like no it’s just paying lmao,” one said.
“In Australia most people go round for round because then you know who’s round you’re up to and it’s instant payments,” another shared.
“I’m Boomer/Gen X in Australia, that’s how we do it (after each round). Otherwise I’d owe hundreds if not a thousand,” a user agreed.
“Only time I’ve ever seen tabs in the UK is for events and occasionally a work function,” someone else added.
One user clarified why zoomers operate in this manner, explaining that the custom was different in the US: “This is a US payment issue. After each round the server needs to run the card and get a slip to sign & tip. It’s a lot of extra work.”
Others disagreed with Haley and said that opening a tab was not uniquely American. They also claimed the tab system is easier than handing your card over to pay for each round of drinks.
“In Germany depends on the bar… I know bars where you ‘keep a tab’ but those are usually more casual,” one user said.
“They don’t pay per round in the Netherlands and Belgium,” another shared.
“I’m confused … closing out at the end of the night is how it’s typically done in Canada. We run a tab,” someone else said.
“I feel like it’s just easier to start a tab and pay after everything then have to take your card out every time you get a new drink,” a third user wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to Haley for further comment.
