It’s simple, right? Grab a group of your besties and head out to a neighborhood bar so that you can drink, laugh, and have one of the best nights ever. Even if the next day the details are a little blurry. But one California-based bartender has taken to TikTok to beg her Gen Z guests to plan their nights out better.
Falon Rae (@falonnm) says that her No. 1, 2026 bartending pet peeve “that is about to send me into orbit” is when people show up to her bar without a wallet. She works at a dive bar, which is not typically a place known for its up-to-the-minute technology.
“Why are y’all showing up to the bar, a dive bar, without a wallet?” she asks in her video, which has garnered over 44,000 views.
Then she mimics a customer trying to settle up, “‘Do you take Apple Pay?'”
She answers, as her most irate self, “‘This bar was built 100 years ago.'”
Next, she shows via exact recreation what she says is “every Gen Z person ordering with Apple Pay.”
Everybody Gets Nervous, Sometimes
So Falon Rae kicks off the interaction with a greeting, “‘Hi, [smile] what can I get for you?'”
Next, she morphs into a kind of amalgamated Gen Z character. She’s holding a small piece of paper, like an iPhone, and her eyes get huge. She apes a Gen Zer, saying, “‘Um, Red Bull vodka?”
The request “pisses her the f— off.”
Probably because it’s less about the drink and more about what she assumes is coming: no tip. Because, by now, even her ancient bar has a point-of-sale system (one) that takes Apple Pay.
But that comes with an observation, too: “There’s a direct correlation between Apple Pay and not tipping,” she asserts. “I don’t get it.”
Abruptly, she shifts topics. She doesn’t think the video will do well because Gen Z will complain that they don’t want to carry a wallet or that her establishment needs to “get with the times.”
Her reply? “‘I don’t give a f—. Y’all are annoying.'”
‘Can I Charge My Phone Behind The Bar?’
With few exceptions, the internet is ready to agree with Falon Rae, and they come ready with their own, um, lived experiences.
“Thee Apple Pay and Not Tipping correlation is so real,” said @maritakari.
Another (presumable) service industry professional chimed in, saying, “Close out after every drink and tip $.66.”
While @.jterruh simply reflected, “I’ve learned it is very millennial cusp of me to be shocked that people don’t carry a physical form of payment. What if your phone dies?! What if there’s a machine issue and it doesn’t process? They stress me out.”
To which Falon Rae replies, “They are not thinking ahead of of their phone dies or not. They’re the same ppl asking if they can charge their phones behind the bar.”
Though another comment does make a potentially salient point, writing, “Mind you tap to pay machine is $60 online.” This was not verified nor refuted.
Does Gen Z Actually Tip Less?
A 2024 Bankrate survey suggested that yes, Gen Z—the generation born between 1997 and 2012—does tip less than previous generations. “Two-thirds of adults said they always tip when they eat at a sit-down restaurant, but only 35% of Gen Zers (ages 18-27) do,” reported USA Today.
Several factors may influence this, including income, pandemic habits, and a moral resistance to it. Newsweek reported that since incomes have not kept up with housing costs, many Gen Zers simply might not have the cash to spare. But that same article notes that they’re also not afraid to splurge.
The pandemic might also have just taught (or not taught) many of Gen Z that tipping doesn’t matter. Because though they are a generation that uses delivery systems (DoorDash, etc.), they “still tip worse than other generations for those services,” reports Newsweek.
There’s also the moral high ground argument—the folks who think the entire system is wrong. Employees who work for tips make less per hour than those who work for a fixed wage. The argument is that tipping promotes intra-business competition, potential discrimination, and is inherently unfair.
Look, everyone forgets their wallet sometimes. And everyone has undertipped before. But when it becomes a habit, a modus operandi even, you’re not asking for a favor. You’re deciding not to Apple Pay people for their work.
BroBible reached out via TikTok direct message and with a comment on the post to Falon Rae. We will update this post if she replies.