You and an old friend catch up at a restaurant. When the bill comes, how do you make sure the poor waiter takes your card?

https://lemmy.world/post/2014348

You and an old friend catch up at a restaurant. When the bill comes, how do you make sure the poor waiter takes your card? - Lemmy.world

I usually whisper, “I’ll flip every table in this joint if you don’t take my card, including the one with that child at it”, and while it has a 100% success rate, I can’t help but feel terrible about it, later. What are some alternatives?

I feel I am too european to understand this; We pay before eating.
You order everything up front and pay up front? What if you decide you’re having a good time and you want to add on another drink?