Have I paid my pub bill or not?

I had a bit of a row last night in a pub I reguarly go to.
It's one of those pubs you never go to early but as it happens I wasn't totally tanked up last night.

I almost NEVER leave a pub without paying. I think I've done it about three times by mistake in 15 years.

About three weeks ago I went to pay in this bar and pulled the note out of my wallet.
The landlord got distracted and turned away and I put the money back in my wallet and went to leave thinking I'd paid.
He caught up with me and knowing I'd had the money in my hand I thought I'd paid and only after arguing did I realise he was right.
So I paid and as it is one of my regular pubs went in next day sober to apologise again and he said it was fine and of course he knew I wasn't trying to dodge the bill.

Last night I had paid and he claimed I hadn't. I KNEW I had paid as I specificly remember handing over the note and saying keep the change.
He continued to claim I hadn't paid, I said I had.
So he said OK, have the drinks on me then. Which I also didn't want really.
Luckily an aquaintance of mine had seen me handing over the money so the matter was settled.

This pub doesn't mark on beermats but on a list behind the bar.
I don't want to row with the landlord and I want to keep going there.
He wasn't trying to rip me off but I suspect there is something hanging in the air that I'm a "Zechpreller"

Any ideas?

Insist that you pay beer by beer, problem solved. Bit of a pain in the ass, but better than being called a cheat.

Next time you pay, ask him to give you some kind of written confirmation right away?! Or pay for each drink separately. I don't know if that is feasible in a pub, but it sounds like you'll keep running into trouble there...

Sounds like a tricky situation. Perhaps going there MORE often and make a big thing about paying. So like he sees you more as a regular and realises that you're not a "Zechpreller".

Your post is interesting though, as I completely forgot about foreign pubs often asking for money at end. Munich is gunna be fun learning all this stuff

Also... he sounds like an alright guy if he was prepared to just let you have them. I shouldn't worry about it too much.

you could mark your own beer mat and present it when you settle up, and also humorously ask for a quittung for tax purposes.

just make sure he remembers next time by making a joke about you not trying to run off this time...bit of humour...u mock the way they are suspicious AND make it clear you've paid...

one cocktail night in Muc i decided that i was going to keep a record. i used my mobile phone and everytime i ordered a drink i edited a txt message that listed what i had.

oh... there must be a little Java app i could knock up there

I'd just pay beer by beer...no problem, they'll be annoyed, you'll be annoyed, but no questions at the end.

This has happened in every pub i ever worked at. most of the time after midnight and the patron has had a dozen or so drinks and then gets the bill and then says I paid or wasnt that etc. It also happens from time to time that like you said the bar men gets distracted and is not sure if the bill was paid or not.

Its not in the Pubs interested to try and ask a regular Patron to pay twice as nearly all rely on regular on them and Its 10 times harder to get a new customer then keep the locals happy.

If the Barmen said have the drinks on him It was a way of saying mate I dont to accuse you as your a good customer etc... If he said said it the next time you were in maybe you

A) Didnt pay or part paid eg started the tab again
b)Pissed him off and he wants revenge .. eg the till was out by the amount of money on the tab therefore saying the bill wasnt paid
c)If the barmen was distracted then maybe just maybe your friend who was watching was distracted as I have not met many people who watch their friends pay the tab woth 100% attention to detail.
D) Alcohol is a drug which effects judgement and Most Barmen (me excluded) dont drink on the Job. You going to pay your bill at the end of a night means you have a few sherbits under your belt.

Aussie Steve

Agree, I did this at bluedave's cocktail birthday and the last Curry Night where they had one tab for us all. The staff appreciated it, sometimes it is easier to show the written items taken down fresh after you ordered them than to pronounce murgh dani and booti kabab after three Weißbier in a smoky atmosphere.

Pay in advance. Enter your local, hand over say EUR 100,-- for the night, slosh down whatever and how much you fancy, ask for whatever's left when you leave. You could of course just hand over your credit card and ask 'em to run a tab for you, get the tab number, drink to your heart's content, sign the bill at the end and try not to forget to take the card back home with you when you're finished...

This happened to me once. Then I stopped tipping the bar staff in this particular bar, and I explained to them why.

After awhile i reverted back to paying with tip again. Never happened there since.