'A divorce waiting to happen': Valentine's Day disasters as told by waiters

From failed proposals to awkward small talk and fights over ice cream, restaurant wait staff have seen it all while working one of the busiest days of the year: Valentine’s Day.

A group of hospitality workers have come together to swap war stories from V-Days past on Reddit, and we’ve rounded up some of the funniest and most heartbreaking tales below.

Wine and dine

“In college, I waited tables and Valentine’s Day was always a good one in terms of tips.

I once saw a couple come in to eat, halfway through the dinner the man’s wife shows up to surprise the couple. The wife took the wine bottle and poured the remnants on the husband’s head, took off her ring and told the girlfriend she could have him.

He tipped me a $100”.

Splitsville

“I worked at a sports bar. Every couple there on Valentine’s Day was a divorce waiting to happen”.

It’s over

“I walked up to a table and was about to drop off the bill, caught the end of ‘it's over.’ The guy looked at me dead in the eye and said to ‘split that f**kin’ check, right now’.”

Twist ending

“A girl that I worked with went to lunch on Valentine’s Day at an expensive restaurant her boyfriend had gotten a reservation for, she got dressed up nice and was going on about how sure she was that he was going to propose.

He broke up with her.”

Maybe later

“[A woman who had been proposed to] stared like a deer frozen in the headlights for an excruciating 30 seconds before muttering ‘let's talk about this later.’ The couple stayed for the rest of their 6-course V-day special dinner, eating and making painful small talk.”

Case of the ex

“A guy and his date came in for Valentine’s Day. They had a great time, ate a lot of food, drank a lot of wine, and got along really well with my co-worker who was their server.

About two months later they come back in and request my co-worker again, who happily says yes to serving them. He goes up and greets them, the guy introduces his wife to him, and my co-worker mentions something about how much he enjoyed serving them on Valentine’s Day. They go quiet. Wife gets up and leaves, the guy just lowers his head.

Turns out he had brought his mistress in on Valentine’s Day, but my co-worker didn’t realise he was with a different woman this time around so didn’t think anything of it. We never saw the guy again.”

Dinner and divorce

“Had a couple sign divorce papers and cry a bunch.”

Ice cream wars

“I had a man and woman sharing dessert and the man playfully put a bit of the ice cream on her nose so she then did the same and he did it back once more but with a different flavour of ice cream. She then flipped out at him because ‘you know I like chocolate the most why would you waste it you idiot’

In the end, she stormed out cause the man couldn’t comprehend how much she was blowing up the situation.”

Flipped for love

“A guy did a backflip and asked a girl to be his Valentine... she declined. I walked up to him and asked if he was fine, he said it took him a week to perfect the move”.

When the tables turn

“I got dumped on Valentine’s Day last year (I am a waiter)”.

Wives and girlfriends

“Worked at a chain BBQ restaurant, I was a line cook but could see in the dining room. Had a lady and her kids (early teens) come in turn to be seated. She started to freak out, crying, yelling and left.

Turns out the table in the corner was her husband and another lady in a date.”

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