30 Valentine’s Day Disasters As Seen By Waiters

Was the Chef at a pretty fancy place. We did 4 course tasting prix fixe, and were always booked to the brim for Valentines. The owner was out of town and the place was packed during our first seating when the pipes to the apartment above the restaurant burst. Nasty, cold water rained on everyone and everything. Fire department came. Owner said to give everyone champagne, clean the place up and keep going. As if anyone wanted to continue their meal soaked through on a cold ass night in ceiling water.

It was my first week serving and I was trying to do everything by the books. This normal seeming couple is satisfied throughout the meal, I ask if the check would be together or separate, big mistake. I figured it would be together and go to the gentleman but not wanting to assume I asked. They say together, nbd I go get the check and drop it off. Come back and she's writing a paragraph about how I shouldn't have asked, I grab my manager and she stops by the table and crazy lady complains. They leave, the gentleman tips me well and seems embarrassed at the situation. Crazy lady fills out our survey complaining and calls the store 3 times after to complain. I brushed it off because she obviously had insecurity issues but damn what a wild ride.

He proposed, she said no. He cried and tried to change her mind for 20 minutes while she sat there stony-faced. She finally got up and walked out. He paid and left in tears.

A couple came in to the restaurant I work in last year. They split a meal and looked happy enough. Half way through theyre meal I notice the guy seems upset. He's speaking louder and faster and the girl seams a little shocked. The guy start screaming ABOUT SUGAR! And how its the biggest problem of the 21century. How her not caring is gonna get all of us killed and it's her fault. There was a waiter trying to get involved at this point and asking him to stop screaming, the girl was so embarrassed she just left in a hurry, the guy ran out after her with out paying the bill. He came early next day, really embarrassed. Paid the bill, said sorry under his breath and left. Never seen either of them again.

Worked at this Japanese restaurant and had one guy comes and orders a bunch of sushi to go, says he's going to surprise his girlfriend. He comes back like 30 minutes later and asks us if he could return some of the sushi. Apparently his girlfriend has a seafood allergy and couldn't eat anything he ordered and she was mad he spent so much money, so she made him come and try to get some of it back. Obviously we couldn't really give him a refund on the food, but we made him a chicken hibachi on the house so he could have something to take back to her because we felt bad for the guy.

One night at Applebee's, a lovely couple came In and ordered a few drinks at the bar. They were a really cute couple and tipped well. They came back every friday and always tipped well. The day before Valentine's day, the man came in alone and said he was going to propose tomorrow to his girlfriend. It was a very large ring. Easily $10,000. When he came back the next day, the girlfriend appeared distracted and the man was oblivious. When he went to propose she declined and said that she was having an affair. He looked so heartbroken and just instantly dead inside. The rest of the night, the entire restaurant was kinda silent. When they left, I didn't expect him to come back. Found out a week later that he committed suicide outside her house so that she would see what she had done to him.

I served at a Japanese hibachi restaurant and once had a couple come and the dude dumps her after the meal. She then gets up and throws up a trail probably a good 20 feet as she runs to the bathroom. The dude got up and left the girl and I was left to clean the mess.

It wasn’t disastrous for the couple as much as it was the restaurant. I used to work at a small southeastern franchise restaurant, it wasn’t anything you could mistake for upscale. We had someone call in and ask if we could fry the ring he was planning to propose with in a hush puppy. Extremely weird request, but we said sure.

They come in to eat with their families, she gets her order of hush puppies, doesn’t choke on the ring and seems excited enough. Stayed at the table for about two hours total and chatted.

They dined and dashed.

Edit: Had no idea there would be a ton of confusion over what a hush puppy was. In America (or at least the south) a hush puppy is a fried ball of corn meal. I promise it tastes better than what it sounds like.

Also, for all those asking, it was a place called the Shrimp Basket. It’s a pretty small franchise. Sorry to break the hearts of all those that were guessing Waffle House or Captain D’s.

Worked at a high end restaurant in podunk Louisiana. This was the spot for LSU alumni and etc. We have a Valentine's day private party after closing hours. I am bussing the room around 1 am and rich people are THROWING down. Dozens of wine glasses, bottles, food etc. Well this one lady was f***ed up to the gills and thought it would be smart to pull a tablecloth off a table to look for her "insert drunken mutter". Before i could stop her she rips it off, it hits the ground, and glass and s**t flys everywhere. She gets on her hands and knees and started frantically looking for her phone she lost in the process while wearing a little white dress. I looked on in horror and amazement. We immediately rounded her up and ended the party.

Not a waiter, but a chef at a small(ish) restaurant. We were really busy (duh) last year and I was out helping bus some tables real quick. I saw a guy and gal sit down, they asked for water so I got it for them. I came back and the I heard the guy say “So why the f*** do you have Tinder on your phone?” Went back to the kitchen. My FoH manager asked me what happened and I said “What are you talking about?” I guess the girl left quickly while crying and the guy followed shortly after. They left $2 for the water, so that was nice.

This couple was double dating, and waiting for the other couple. We were running 1 lb lobster tail special, and we ran out. The wife went ape s**t on me, furious about the whole situation. Their friends wind up bailing on them, and the wife gets more angry. Husband takes my GM to the side to apologize for her and they decide to leave and gives my GM 40 bucks to give to me.

I weighted tables at a mexican restaurant while I was in college. A couple sitting at a table not in my section, the guy gets down on one knee and proposes with an unopened black box. The girl said "can I see the ring first" he opened the box and she hesitated and then said "ok". A couple I was waiting on could not stop talking about it. They were both mortified for the guy. Then we all kind of wondered if they would actually get married or how long the marriage would last.

Had a couple sign divorce papers and cry a bunch.

my friend and her husband would fake a proposal every year on valentines day for free food. turns out one of the people working that day, also worked LAST valentines day. she shut down the shenanigans and they got kicked out.

they moved to a new restaurant and continued the tradition the next year

I worked at a sports bar

Every couple there on valentines day was a divorce waiting to happen

I waited on one of the owners of the restaurant I was working at with his girlfriend and her tween kids (kinda weird, but probably didn't get a babysitter). He had been dating this woman for a number of months, but it was his first Valentine's Day on a date that wasn't his wife in decades. I don't think he was ready, but he was there to support the business. He broke down crying during dinner and it was heartbreaking. They left early.

Nothing too scandalous, but I'd say "Happy Valentine's Day" pretty much to any couple that sat at my tables, occasionally one of them would say something like "we're not dating". Some of the times, the other person would give a look that pretty much confirmed that they both had very different interpretations of what was going on.

There's an episode of 30 Rock where they mention that "going to IKEA" is a big stress test in relationships. That has nothing on going to a restaurant on the busiest days of the year, particularly Mother's Day, and Valentine's (especially when it's on a weekend). I'd say 99% of the "disasters" I've seen have just been normal run of the mill issues where couples realize they have different levels of patience, and one person undoubtedly gets aggravated with the packed restaurant, and their time is ruined.