I Am Tired Of The Rudeness Cruelty Thoughtlessness Of People

It's hard for me to condemn anybody, but I'm exhausted with my own empathy. Today, 2 regulars at the bar I work for couldn't pay their full bills- but kept drinking, knowing that they couldn't pay. One *could* pay, but said it was his last bit of money and could he only pay part and then pay more in the next few days.

I relented, but now he owes me $20. The other guy, his bill was $29.50 and his card kept being declined. He finally admitted that he was supposed to get paid today but realized he wouldn't get paid until Monday. I decided to pay for them both, hoping they pay me back. I did lay into the second guy a bit, explaining that it was risking my job in the long term and that even though I, too, have bills to pay- I would rather take on the sum than get 'written up' (a disciplinary action that could lead to being fired if I had enough of them).

I can't help but feel weak, or taken advantage of, but I guess these guys just have problems and can't stop when they know they need to. I'm not sure where to draw the line and protect myself. What's professional, what's decent?

Kasekosmos · 31-35, F

Yes! My boss is pretty nice. When I accidentally charged people for bottles instead of pints before, he said it was okay and not to pay out of pocket (it's illegal for them to force me to), but I did anyways because it's my mistake. I was going to tell him what happened- and now I have the perfect suggestion for how to deal with it. They're generally good customers and never had a problem until now, so suggesting banning them seems unnecessarily harsh, but having them pay as they go makes perfect sense.