35 Waiters Share The Most Painful “Table For Two” Moments That Ended Up Being “Table For One”

Not a waiter but a patron at the restaurant.

My girlfriend had taken me out to this local niche type restaurant, one of the ones that was the type where you could get vintage old game and stuff to play while you got your food. As we get in and seated young man around my age at the time (think 18-20 ish) comes in holding a nice bunch of flowers and he is dressed really nice with the hair done up and everything. it clearly took him a lot of preparation. So me and my girlfriend order nd talk and enjoy the evening and we realize that this guy is still alone. after an hour we have our food and are eating but hes still sitting there drinking a soda and checking his phone, then the door, then his phone, every 5 minutes. This went on for the whole 2 ish hours we where there, it became obvious by his increasing anxiety and glum look that he must've known he was stood up but either couldn't accept it yet or was still desperately holding out hope.

Me and my girlfriend felt so bad for him that when we paid our bill we gave the waitress extra money to send him a cheesecake, waitress ended up giving him 2 just because she felt bad as well.


to this day it still sticks with me seeing that poor kid go through that. And it boggles my mind because the guy wasnt bad looking, there wasnt anything apparently wrong with him, not that it would justify it if there was, it just adds to the confusion. people can really be s****y sometimes.

Edit: some people commented on the waitress giving him 2 pieces. I meant it more in the sense that she gave him 2 pieces but in the sense of a double portion. Not 2 separate servings to rub it in. I apologize for not clarifying that.

Happened to my friend. She was a hostess at a restaurant and sat this old lady at a table while she was waiting for her friend. She stayed there for a few hours asking every now and then if her friend had showed up. My friend was heartbroken and told this to her coworker who was working the other side of the restaurant. Turns out her coworker also had an old lady alone at a table who had been waiting patiently for her friend. The ladies got a chance to chat a bit before they left, so it was a happy ending at least!

A woman came in 4 nights in a row just in case she got the day wrong. She’d sit at the bar wearing the same flowery dress every night and would hopefully look at the door every single time it opened. Left in tears the first two nights when we closed, the third and fourth nights she just stared vacantly at the door until we had to make sure she left.

I never saw her again, I don’t think any other staff did either but we all felt really bad for her. She got a couple free drinks and apps, we didn’t even care if it was a scam cause she seemed so broken about it.

Not a server (anymore or at the time) but I still remember this one like 20 years later.

My DnD group was currently that week without a place to game, so we went to the local Dennys. We told the waitress that we would be there for about 6 hours. (Yes we tipped her very well for camping that long).

Anyway about an hour into our session this guy comes in and sits at a two top in clear view of me. He sets a single rose on the table and sits down. When the waitress took his drink order he was all smiles.

Nothing really dramatic happens, but over the next four hours or so I just watch his body language change. He checks his phone like every 2 or 3 minutes. Never gets a call, never seems to get or send a text. Finally after the four hours he just gets up, leaves a 20 on the table (he only ordered a soft drink as far as I could tell, and just walks out.

No idea why but that image of the table, a single drink, the tip, and the abandoned rose stayed with me all my life.

The wait-er here.
This was at my first job when I was maybe 16 or 17 and didn't have many friends. I had been asked by coworkers to go bowling one afternoon. I was excited to go as I didn't really get to go hang out with anyone very much and my crush was the one who asked me to go. I got the details from my crush via text and got to the bowling alley a little early to make sure I had the right place. I headed in and realized i was the first one there. Over the next hour, I called reach person who had said they were going and each one sent me to voicemail. I'm pretty sure the alley staff thought I was being sketchy as hell too. I ended up going home and just never brought it up at work, even though I know my manager would have gone off on the staff for doing that to me (dude had a soft spot for me and told me I was like the kid he never had, he was a really kind man).

Not a waiter here.
On my 18th birthday this girl invited me out to drink with her friends, because all of mine were too young to drink. I said no at first, but they insisted so I went along. Got there when they said they would. Ended up waiting at the bar 2 hours before they showed up. Had a short introduction and then they went off to the bathroom. One of her friends came back out and told me that she wanted me to leave. It really hurt, but I didn't see the point of arguing.

Worst part was when I got home I found out she was spreading lies that I had stalked her to the bar and told all our mutual friends. One hell of an 18th birthday.

They had a reservation for 12 people. It was the girl's 17th birthday and she arrives first with her boyfriend. Her dad comes a few minutes later. The 3 of them wait about 45 minutes and decide to just order. They eat and are about to leave, when the rest of her family shows up drunk. They make a scene about how they weren't hungry and had to show up so nobody would be mad at them for not coming, eat her cake and leave. The birthday girl was crying and her dad and boyfriend were trying to console her.

We had a 21st birthday party booked for 20, the family showed up early with a few friends. They had a few drinks and let the staff know some of the party were running late. Half an hour in, when the late people were supposed to arrive, two friends left.

An hour went by and the birthday group ordered. Got their starters, told the service staff some more people were coming. About two hours in the mother said just bring the mains out.

It was so sad, I felt so bad for them. Being stood up by *fourteen* people, and the two friend who *did* show up didn’t even eat.

Not a waiter, but worked at a coffee shop for several years and made friends with tons of regulars. One of the regulars, we'll call him J, was working on his PHD in Art History or something to that effect at the university near us. He came in one day, got his usual tea and asked if I could charge him for a latte, but make it later, no big deal. I was bussing tables and asked who the latte was for and very excitedly expressed that he was meeting a lady and it was "kind of a date". He was an awkward kind of guy, but very interesting and incredibly friendly. One hour passes, no show, two, no show, finally three, he's looking despondent and starts collecting his things and leaves.

She showed up 20 minutes later asking about J. Apparently they got their times completely mixed up. He comes in the next day and I mention that she came in looking for him and he looked so excited. I found out a week or so later from him that she basically blew him off a second time. He was so crestfallen, it broke my heart.

My co workers just told me this story last week and I cried! I work @ a semi-classy seafood restaurant in southeast Michigan and the host who has been working there for a long time said she had the sweetest old man who came with a single rose and vase, set it up himself and ordered a bottle of champagne, sitting by the table in a chiller and everything...and he just waited. For a date that never showed. Literally cried when she told me this!

Another one they had was the guy who set up the reservation called to cancel it the day of and asked the host to please inform his date. They told him they obviously didn’t have her number and he just hung up. The woman showed up dressed to the nine and was stunning apparently. His loss!

Not a someone, but a something.

This happened about 2 months ago, so it was during COVID, everyone has to wear masks, have their temperature checked to be allowed in the restaurant. I was appointed as the guy who is in charge of being the host, where I make sure they have their temperature checked and then appoint them a seat.

Then came across a girl, who was clearly not a local, was really cute and shy, spoke in a really soft tone. I checked her temperature, got her a seat, served her food when it was ready, and that was it.

Since this wasn't during peak hours, I always glance around the whole area to see if customers are done eating and ready to have their table cleaned, or see if any customers needed some assistance with anything. Then I noticed the girl had already finished her food for over 20-30 minutes or so, was just sitting there, seemingly waiting for something. I didn't approach her because I didn't want to come across as a busybody so I just continued on with my work.

Then she finally left and I went over to her table to clean it up, and I noticed she left a note that she wrote on the napkin. It went,

"Thanks for the food, it was really delicious. But why wasn't my ice cream offered to me? Also, the boy (referring to me) was really polite."

For context, whenever a customer orders an ice cream from us, they had to self collect at the counter with their receipt, this is a standard for us because they want the customers to finish their food first before preparing their dessert, as most people won't eat the main dish with the dessert. But unfortunately our managers never made it a duty to let the customers know about it, so I always have people asking where their ice cream is.

I felt so incredibly bad, that I took the napkin to my colleagues managing the counter to read it, and that girl was stuck in my mind for the rest of the day, knowing that she didn't get her ice cream because she was shy and didn't want to make it seem like she was complaining that she didn't get her ice cream, so she sat in silence waiting to have her ice cream served, but ultimately left.

This gentleman in his mid forties came to my restaurant frequently and would not order his drink until “his wife got there”. He would wait for a few minutes, then pull out a framed picture of a woman, set it on the table, and proceed to order his food and drink. He would talk to the framed picture and have dinner with “her” about once a week. I noticed him doing this often and told my coworker I thought it was cute he was having dinner with his late wife and she replied,”Oh, no that’s not his wife. He found that picture at good will and has been a relationship with it ever since. He told me that a long time ago”. What did I expect from working right off the freeway in crack town. Very true story, no lie.

Had a lady probably in her late 70s, early 80s come in with her daughter for a birthday dinner. They got there early and set up some small decorations on the table: a bouquet or two, some balloons.


They waited for over an hour and a half before they told me that they guessed no one was coming and they'd go ahead and order. They had invited over a dozen people, and no one even called. I told the lady that the people she invited were missing out, and we chatted for a bit. I tried to make sure that I checked in on her a lot, made small talk, c*****d a few dad jokes, and while she was very sweet, you could tell she was disappointed.


I mean, at her age, who knows how many birthdays you have left...at that point in your life I feel like family and friends would be the most important thing to you. They finished, thanked me, left a tip, and departed.


Later that evening, about *five hours later*, two young men, about 20-25 showed up and asked if the such-and-such birthday party had been seated yet. I told them they'd missed a fun dinner, and that it had ended hours ago. They didn't seem to care and just ambled out.


EDIT: Forgot to mention that the daughter *was* texting the would-be guests but got no answers.

I wouldn’t call it pitiful to watch, but my own story is that I came to a hookah lounge looking to meet up with a girl I liked (just met) and her male friend. I got us a table in the back, and waited for about 30+ minutes. She said she was walking and was on the way. But eventually the male friend won, he didn’t want to go and convinced her to go with him someplace else. Afterwards she let me know that he was probably just jealous and told me when we got together in the future she just wouldn’t invite him. We ended up hanging out several times after that.

Looking back at our interactions, it seems like she likes the attention, but feels bad sometimes when it gets out of hand and hurts someone else. Don’t know if she just pity’s me or if she was genuine. A lot more has happened since......don’t think I’ll respond the next time she texts me (might just need to let it go).

I (male) was waiting for my date (female) when the waitress asked "Want any water before he gets here? Ah I mean she gets here? Wait no ... water?"

"Water please," I replied.

EDIT: If you're reading this and you don't have some water within reach, your mom is a ho.