A woman is sharing why she will never again fall into the trap of covering the tab for a group of people while dining out.
TikTok creator Kenza Hall (@kenza_hall) shared with her more than 5,000 followers the reason why she chooses to not be the ‘credit card friend,’ meaning covering the tab for an entire table if a restaurant is unable to split the bill multiple ways.
In a video that’s been viewed nearly 2 million times as of Friday, Hall explained a scenario in college when she got stuck paying the bill for a table of six.
“Mind you I don’t talk to a single person from this group ’til this day, and that’s what irks my soul,” she said.
Hall said the group had gone to a Mexican restaurant and racked up a $600 bill. Because the waiter said the table couldn’t split the bill multiple ways, Hall decided to put her card down. It turned out to be something she regretted.
“Strike one was, no one even paid me that night,” she said. “I should’ve been like, ‘No one leaves this restaurant until you give me my money.”
Eventually, people paid her back, she said, but instead of taking into account tax and the tip, people just sent her the menu price of their meal.
“That’s also something that irks my soul is when people don’t send you tax and tip. So now, I will literally calculate it before I pay for it,” Hall said.
Hall isn’t always averse to splitting the check, but she is more likely to do it with close friends than people she barely knows.
“Anytime it’s just been me and one other friend and two other friends, maybe even like a few girlfriends, and we’re like ‘We’re just going to split it evenly,’ it works out great,” Hall said. “But as soon as you get to that mixed group of people at the dinner table all of sudden no one carries a card with them.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Hall via email for a comment.
@kenza_hall Side eye to anyone who doesnt include tax and tip when paying someone back #groupdinners #creditcard #dailythoughts #fypシ ♬ original sound – Kenza Hall
According to St. Louis Magazine, there are various reasons why restaurants may not split payments per table. Numerous reasons include disrupting the flow of service and an increase in the likelihood that some patrons may skimp out on a decent tip.
What prompted Hall to post her video was a post she saw from creator Bria Jones, who shared about a friend-of-a-friend owing her $240 from a night out.
“I like being the credit card friend, but this is weird behavior,” Jones captioned her video.
Commenters on Hall’s video seemed to side with her point of view.
“I don’t understand how ppl aren’t embarrassed to not pay for themselves fully,” user @extralikeavocadho said.
“I’m not the card friend but I will Zelle the person who is, immediately! tax and tip and even round up for the convenience,” user Courtney @cocomaarin said.
“Expeditiously,” Hall responded to Courtney’s comment.
