Science & Technology

Bar Owner Builds an Alarm That Stops You From Forgetting Your Credit Card | Hack Job | WIRED

Do you know what the most frustrating part about owning a bar is? When customers leave, but forget their credit card at the bar! What if we could stop that from ever happening? Mark Kleeb, bar owner and creative technologist based in Brooklyn, has been challenged to solve this dilemma in one week. Find out…

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Do you know what the most frustrating part about owning a bar is? When customers leave, but forget their credit card at the bar! What if we could stop that from ever happening? Mark Kleeb, bar owner and creative technologist based in Brooklyn, has been challenged to solve this dilemma in one week.

Find out more about Mark’s arcade/bar at

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Bar Owner Builds an Alarm That Stops You From Forgetting Your Credit Card | Hack Job | WIRED

57 Comments

  1. Mark Kleeb

    June 3, 2021 at 6:37 pm

    Hey all, thanks for watching! This was a fun project and I’d be glad to talk about any aspect of it

    • Mark Kleeb

      June 3, 2021 at 10:36 pm

      Thanks Geoff!

    • Gavers23

      June 4, 2021 at 10:30 am

      Is there a reason you tried GPS at all to begin with? This feels like a story device since I wouldn’t expect someone with your expertise would think a GPS solution indoors would be a good idea. Even if it did, you wouldn’t have enough location resolution to pin point if they are at the door vs if they are at the table 5-10 ft away. Lots of false positives, and probably also late positives when a customer leaves before the GPS location updates and transmits the new location to the system.

    • Demetrio WS

      June 4, 2021 at 1:30 pm

      Thanks Mark, very clear explanation of concepts without getting too far into the weeds. I definitely appreciate you taking the time to show things that worked and didn’t as well as explaining why.

      A possible elegant solution for the exchange token would be something that benefits the user in both scenarios. For example, give them a discount if they return the token (kinda like those quarter-fed shopping carts). It could be in the form of a durable business card that displays a message “looks like you left your card, return back tomorrow and get a discount off your next tab.”

    • Kyle J. Rhines

      June 4, 2021 at 8:26 pm

      You’re a legend 🔥👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

    • Shane Bekker

      June 4, 2021 at 9:53 pm

      Would be so kind as to post links to the electronics you used so one could duplicate your awesome project. Thank you

  2. Furkan Ozturk

    June 3, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    just google RJV12 algorithm and don’t worry

  3. Efe Cancaşof

    June 3, 2021 at 9:24 pm

    RJV12 bring me 300% profit because of Tesla pump

  4. Giovanni Bastianello

    June 3, 2021 at 9:26 pm

    wasn’t just having a huge sign on the door just sufficient to get people to close their tab? You know, without all the coding and tracking…

    • DeathnoteBB

      June 4, 2021 at 6:49 am

      You think customers read signs?

  5. SÜPER TR

    June 3, 2021 at 9:28 pm

    Why talk about the growth of BTC if there is NFT and the RJV12 algorithm

  6. Marshal

    June 3, 2021 at 9:52 pm

    Or just add a noticeable sign at the exit door…

  7. Varghese Chacko

    June 3, 2021 at 10:57 pm

    👏🏾

  8. Ion Ymous

    June 3, 2021 at 11:09 pm

    cool, i love stuff like this. Though the evaluation between GPS, bluetooth, and RFID was like evaluating a sedan, minivan, or pickup truck to haul a load of dirt. It’s kind of obvious if you know what they are, without even experimenting.

  9. Andrew Tertocha

    June 3, 2021 at 11:16 pm

    The way he holds his pen is driving me nuts

  10. George Michael Robert Lucas

    June 4, 2021 at 12:01 am

    Wait, would you take the wrist band back once they get their credit or debit card back? Or will it sent the card to

  11. Cooper

    June 4, 2021 at 12:16 am

    Completely impractical idea and poor execution.

    It’s a ‘cute’ idea however, we already have low-tech solutions for such problems and also with new technology and electronic payments/pre authorisation; this is never a problem anymore.

  12. Sayre Joseph

    June 4, 2021 at 1:34 am

    One thing i dont get, how are you going to get this on the customer, and what if they didnt forget the card? They’re going to set off the alarm anyways?

    • Yt csabidealer

      June 5, 2021 at 10:22 am

      When you give him your card he trades you the bracelet and when you get your card back you either take it off your self or he cuts it off.
      (I guess)

  13. Nigel Tan

    June 4, 2021 at 2:04 am

    As a computer engineering undergrad, rly rly love this series!!

  14. Totozio

    June 4, 2021 at 3:04 am

    I dont trust even the bank to keep my credit cart for any reason…. how they trust a bar?

  15. Nik Lawrence Results9

    June 4, 2021 at 5:25 am

    How is this possible? 0:12😬

  16. Arishfa Jannat 12

    June 4, 2021 at 6:37 am

  17. David Ramirez

    June 4, 2021 at 10:23 am

    This is super cool, but they should just make taking apple pay mandatory

    • Mark Kleeb

      June 4, 2021 at 2:29 pm

      Actually by law you can’t limit the payment methods in a business. We have to accept all forms of payment. Though Apple Pay certainly makes things easier!

  18. Jonathan Irons

    June 4, 2021 at 11:24 am

    Sorry to be a bit dim here, but why do people leave their cards at the bar? I would imagine this voids the terms of the card, as you’re not supposed to give them to a third party. I’ve never seen this done here in Europe. Cheers.

    • rifenbug

      June 4, 2021 at 2:32 pm

      Its the best way to make sure the tab actually gets paid and they don’t leave without paying.

    • Mat S

      June 4, 2021 at 3:34 pm

      @rifenbug meanwhile the credit card company won’t pay any damages, when you give your card away willingly to a bar tender you don’t know.. it’s such a stupid system..

    • Jonathan Irons

      June 4, 2021 at 5:33 pm

      @rifenbug Thanks. But I still don’t get why they don’t just pay for their drinks. I’ve genuinely never encountered this, even on US trips. Is it normal in NYC to open a tab?

    • Jonathan Irons

      June 4, 2021 at 5:34 pm

      I mean, I get this was a tech project, and I like that, but surely there’s a totally simple analogue solution to this perceived problem.

    • MickTheAnt

      June 4, 2021 at 5:44 pm

      @Jonathan Irons This is the norm for basically every bar in NYC. You give the bartender your card and they hold onto it for the night, and every time you order a drink, you just tell them your name. You could technically just pay for your drinks one at a time, but that means every time you order a drink, you’ll hand over your card, they’ll swipe it, give you a receipt, and you’ll have to sign it and add tip. By creating a tab, you only have to do that once at the end of the night. It saves everyone’s time, which is especially important in crowded bars.

    • Jonathan Irons

      June 5, 2021 at 5:28 pm

      @MickTheAnt Thanks! I didn’t know that. Sounds like a lot of admin 😉 But I live and learn! Cheers.

  19. Child of God

    June 4, 2021 at 3:38 pm

    WOW. You are sooo smart

  20. jillian menichetti

    June 4, 2021 at 7:24 pm

    This is the equivalent of using a flamethrower to light up a candle, I love it

  21. tiktok reactor

    June 4, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    Wouldn’t that alarm voice will disturb other costumers

  22. Rayyan Nadeem

    June 4, 2021 at 8:49 pm

    Wouldn’t that alarm voice will disturb other costumers

  23. Adrián Hernández Obradors

    June 4, 2021 at 9:53 pm

    Why would you give your credit card to the bartender? This makes zero sense to me. Seems like he is going just over the simplest solution. Not taking a credit card.

  24. OG Homie

    June 5, 2021 at 1:30 am

    Glad you liked the mod So far!! I Did those 2 last cutscenes If you’re wondering lol
    You need to beat the song on Hard mode to unlock smth 🙂

  25. strangulator42

    June 5, 2021 at 3:25 am

    every bar I go to scans your card when you open your tab and gives it back to you… and I live in a podunk shithole town…

  26. Willem Bekhuis

    June 5, 2021 at 6:58 am

    In the Netherlands we already have something like this. If you leave your card in the terminal it beeps like crazy.

  27. Smirah Banu

    June 5, 2021 at 4:21 pm

    Pls Amanda seyfried doing the wired interview pls

  28. Brea Regans

    June 5, 2021 at 8:19 pm

    Jesus loves you, he died on the cross for you. His death and ressurection saves you alone. Once you believe you are a citizen of heaven.

  29. Computer Lunch

    June 6, 2021 at 12:01 am

    so cool

  30. Pink Cat

    June 6, 2021 at 3:38 am

    When is BTS doing a WIRED Autocomplete interview? (O.O)

  31. Soumitraa Klp

    June 6, 2021 at 8:25 am

    2:49 Gasps in coder.

  32. MrKockabilly

    June 6, 2021 at 8:27 am

    Elegant but would introduce more issues than it will solve. So, for me, not worth it. Peace.

  33. Joe

    June 6, 2021 at 9:58 am

    I dont get it how closing your tab is connected to forgetting your credit card?

  34. Edward Fraley

    June 6, 2021 at 10:41 am

    Well done, regular human bartender Jackie Daytona

  35. linkcell

    June 6, 2021 at 9:45 pm

    If you’re giving them ridiculous bracelets to wear, wouldn’t that be enough to serve as a reminder that they are forgetting something?
    If they want to leave the card on purpose, they will remove the bracelet. And if you do a bracelet that can only be removed when they close the tab (lol, overkill i know) then you might risk not getting any more returning customers.

  36. Alkaris

    June 7, 2021 at 10:06 am

    I would of replaced the alarm sound with TTS or sample audio voice telling them they need to close their tab.

  37. Phuoc Nguyen 777

    June 8, 2021 at 4:53 am

    Great 👍

  38. Sean

    June 8, 2021 at 2:55 pm

    Please shout more.

  39. justlookin59

    June 9, 2021 at 2:59 pm

    Great idea. BTW… Does your arcade have Polybius?

    • Mark Kleeb

      June 9, 2021 at 5:05 pm

      🤫

  40. Roberto Hernandez

    June 14, 2021 at 6:58 pm

    That’s awesome

  41. Brandon McCrimmon

    June 15, 2021 at 3:23 am

    Stop thinking of how to fix stupid and start things of how to remove it as a factor. Many bars of registers that can temporarily hold the card info after entering once. So no need to keep that cards.

  42. jtarmyman4

    June 15, 2021 at 3:57 pm

    an even simpler solution, have “tab cards” made with the bars name and address on it that the customer can put in place of their card and will know exactly where it is if they forget

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