Servers Describe The Worst Valentine's Day Disasters They've Ever Witnessed

Valentine's Day is perhaps one of the busiest times for restaurants, with couples forgoing take-out to share their romantic evening together in public.
Many establishments are festooned with red balloons and heart-shaped decor and illuminated by plenty of candles to set the perfect mood.
With so much love in the air, what could go wrong?
Apparently, Cupid's aim is not always on target at restaurants on the popular holiday.
Redditor Sindagen asked:
"Waiters what Valentines day disasters have you witnessed?"

"Hell Of A Show"
"Used to be a professional musician and the four piece band I was in got booked for a Valentines event in a local bar."
"Guitarist invited his girlfriend down so they could be together on the night."
"What he hadn't counted on was his wife getting the night off work and coming to the show too as a Valentines surprise."
"Everything was ok for the first set of the night. The problems began when both Gf and Wife met in the band room backstage. Most of the band escaped the obvious row that was coming and waited by the bar for the 2nd set."
"We all then watched as the wife stormed onstage and began trashing the Fender Telecaster , Stratocaster and all his pedals, leads, amp etc. No one had the courage to stop her . She was rightly pissed."
"Shortly after she left the stage, the gf had her turn, destroying whatever was left of his gear. Between both cheated women, they caused around £2k worth of damage to his set up."
"Needless to say we played the 2nd set as a three piece."
"But it was a hell of a show lol."
Ring With Dessert
"At the beginning of the evening, this man gave me a ring to bring with dessert."
"The couple began arguing before they even ordered and ended up screaming at each other in the restaurant. My manager made me ask the guy - as discreetly as I could - if he still wanted the ring with the dessert. It was that bad. I really didn't want to, but I asked. He then started to scream at me that OF COURSE he still wanted the ring. He was right after all, it wasn't my business at all. So I brought out the ring."
"She said 'Are you f*cking serious?' and left."
"Then the man screamed at me again when I wouldn't let him chase after her / leave without paying. In the end he just threw the money on the table - huge tip, but I think he just gave what he had - and left."
"He had made such a scene we had to give free desserts to the tables next to them to make up for it."
"After the service I told my manager I was never questioning a client's request again."
The Proposal
"Not a waiter, but there was a couple seated a few places away from us. They sat far enough away so that we couldn't hear the conversation, but it was obvious that they were arguing."
"Waiter did his spiel on the set tasting menu, handed out a wine list. Guy orders wine for both of them and she interrupts with 'I'm good I'll just have a water.'"
"They continued over a very uncomfortable meal, during which he kept asking stuff. She'd respond with increasingly annoyed no's."
"Waiter returns, notices that appetizers hadn't even been touched yet. Tops off her water and his wine, then asks if everything was tasting alright. He finishes with a 'I'll give you guys some more time to enjoy.'"
"She (now loud enough to be clearly understood) 'I can't keep doing this with you.'"
"Angrily forks into her appetizer and finishes. just in time for the entree to arrive. Arguing continues, and guy is looking increasingly nervous. Suddenly, he gets down on one knee."
"She 'oh God no.'"
"He takes her hand to put the ring on it I guess. She snatches her hand away like he's lava."
"He (still not reading the signals) 'will you do . . . '"
"She, bursts into tears."
"Entire restaurant audibly 'awww.'"
"She 'I can't believe you would even ASK after what you did. I told you I needed space. I don't even know if I CAN trust you anymore.'"
"After that, things were kind of a blur. I think she threw a couple of $20s on the table, then ran out. He stayed on the ground, still holding up the ring like he wasn't done proposing yet."
"Waiter returned with one of those sweet@ss lava cakes topped with a little 'she said yes' thing."
Asked To Leave
"Saw a couple have a full on argument at a restaurant. I wasn't their server but the table was directly in the center of the restaurant and they were certainly loud enough for everyone to hear. My manager kindly asked them to leave and the guys response was to yell 'I've been wanting to do that sh*t for 2 years now' and stormed out."
Stalker, Party Of One & The Divorce Papers
"Man comes in in a full suit, a bouquet of flowers, a large box of chocolate, and some expensive jewelry."
"He sits at a table and happily tells me he's waiting for his beloved, an hour passes by and the guy went from sweet and smiling to sweating and muttering angrily."
"He then gets up and walks over to a girl sitting with her family and starts yelling at her. He yelled how she betrayed him and how she'd treat her right and she had to be with witm him all the while the girl's male relatives were sheileding her from him."
"Police arrived and it turns out the guy had a restraining against him from the girl and he had been stalking and harassing her."
"What made it even creepier was that he was in his 40s while the girl was barely 20 years old."
"Another is when a man walked up to a woman and her date and just slammed a large and heavy envelope in front of her and walked away."
"The woman went from amorous octopus with her date to treating him as if he was the most disgusting man in the planet to running after the man. Woman was his wife and he had caught her with her side piece and he had served her the divorce papers along with the evidence of her infelidity. What made it worse was that the date had no money and we had to contact the woman to pay us."
The Greedy B
"Working restaurants for 14 years. I had a guy asked me to help him bring the ring and champagne after the dinner and I did that. Being a woman and wanting to witness the romance, I hid around the corner so I could kind of peek at them."
"They were lovey-dovey all through dinner everything seemed good and I fully expected yes. The woman did not react well at all. She told him no and that she was planning on breaking up with him. She added the only reason she was on this date with him is because he said he bought her something special for Valentine's Day. She thought he was going to buy her the car she asked him for, and she was going to dump him next week. Then she said since you didn't get the car, she's dumping him now and she left!"
"The guy was absolutely devastated! I felt so bad for him. I will remember her for the rest of my life because how could I not! What a greedy b****"
Topped With Dessert
"We had a classic of a couple coming in all dressed up and out for their romantic dinner, but as the meal went on they gradually got more and more tense and their muttered argument slowly became very loud. Walking back over to refill drinks or take plates seemed to make it even worse, but I couldn't just leave their (very small) table covered in stuff. By dessert they were basically waging war on each other, and the evening ended with the guy getting a bowl of chocolate cake and ice cream emptied over his head."
"I still have no idea what they were arguing about, but the poor guy just sort of shoved a loads of notes on the table and ran out of there after his partner."
Fired On A Date
"I was a waiter at The Pasta House and another server was pregnant and trying to cover as many shifts as possible before she had the baby so she asked if she could work Valentine's Day for me and I said sure. Dinner reservations fell through for my date and I so we decided to see if I could get a table at the restaurant where I worked. I walk in the door and they are very busy and my manager said, 'Thank god you got my message. So and so went into labor and we need you to take tables...' I told them I was on a date and they said it was my responsibility, so I got fired on the date and we just went to a bar and grill."
– icunicu
Trips To The Bathroom
"Woman was 8 months pregnant. Guy brings her in for Valentine's and has the mariachi band sing their love song."
"He pulls out the expected ring and she says yes. Things looked perfect... Only spicy Mexican food is perhaps not the best choice when 8 months pregnant."
"She hurriedly shuffled to the restroom 5 times. The 5th... She didnt make it."
"Its a very small community so I met them years later at a wedding party. I walked up and introduced myself. I mentioned I had met them before years ago. 'In fact I was there years ago when y'all got engaged. The emotions were just... Flowing that night?' The husband laughed the wife covered her face in shame and I was invited to their DnD group."
Table For One
"With my girlfriend in a restaurant, we saw a young man alone at a table. A bunch of flowers and box of chocolates sorta-hidden behind his chair."
"He had so obviously been stood up by his Valentine's Day date..."
"Poor bastard."
Having It Your Way
"I had a friend he used to work the drive through at Burger King and he told me overheard this conversation on Valentine's day while taking a car's order."
"Girl: Get me a #3..."
"Guy: It's Valentine's Day baby, you can super size it!"
The Sexist
"Had a brief stint as a waiter in high school."
"This one couple look very sweet and loving, no apparent problems. The girl got down on her knee and asked him to marry her."
"He started laughing hysterically and explained to her that proposing is a man's job, not a woman's."
"She was furious. She started screaming about how sexist that was, then got her stuff and stormed out. He looked completely bewildered."
Screaming
"I was working in a very quiet bar a couple of years ago, there was one couple sat in a corner booth having a screaming argument. Very very awkward."
Every now and then, we can't help but be proud of certain accomplishments.
Graduating from college or grad school, earning a promotion at work, hosting your first Thanksgiving dinner.
Though it shouldn't be forgotten that pride is one of the seven deadly sins.
Which should serve as a reminder that we should be careful of what we boast over, and that some accomplishments might not be cause for celebration.
A Redditor was curious to hear some of the more questionable skills and/or accomplishments people have boasted about, leading them to ask:
"What are people stupidly proud of?"
Yeah... not cool.
"Being cruel."
"My ex actually said, 'Yeah, I saw this guy in a pub yesterday who tried talking to us so I basically burned his stupid shirt for an hour lol,' which is one of the main reasons I broke up with him."- AnyCurrency6027
Always read the fine print.
"Those IQ tests people share but they don't know how to read their results."
"Had some guy just so proud that he was in the top 90%."- 7grendel
Can knowing and doing nothing really be considered an accomplishment?
"Willful ignorance."
"Example: pride in not knowing how to do basic math."- stupidlyugly
"Willful ignorance."- storm_the_castle
Definitely not the parent who deserves to be celebrated..
"My dad, a father of 7, brags that he's never changed a diaper."
"Like, congratulations on being no help?"- Porrick
...Where do you even start?...
“'I’m proud of myself, I haven’t cheated in a while'.”
"Me: 'it’s been 2 months and I’m not f*cking proud of you'.”- Pufferfish4467
They shouldn't be allowed to have pets!
"That their dog weighs so much, but really it's an obese sausage with legs who can't even take three steps without running out of breath."- whiskybidnus
But what's the payoff?
"Long commute times and working hours."- KyotoGaijin
"I'm terrible at my job, let's celebrate!"
"Teachers being proud that their classes are hard and their students are always failing."- GreatXs
It's hard to imagine what some of these people were thinking when they boasted about these non-accomplishments.
In all likelihood, they weren't thinking at all.
I love TV!
Some television shows are a part of my DNA. That's why an ending is so important.
In the end we want to be forever satisfied. Which is a near impossible ask. Not everyone is going to love the chosen ending.
But sometimes writers really get it right... Buffy the Vampire Slayer... (save for *@#*'s death!!) is EVERYTHING.
But then they can get it really wrong... Game Of Thrones fans are STILL fuming apparently.
Redditorslice29wanted to discuss all the best entertainment endings we've ever watched.
They asked:
"In your opinion, what TV show had the most satisfying ending?"
I hate and love endings of shows. I love them when they're done well. I hate that it's over. Let's start with one of my favs!!
End of Life
"Six Feet Under."
sweet_jones
"Watched this in real time with my mom. The whole show. Every episode. As they aired. I grew up along with it, and the ending felt like the opposite of a death - I was a grown up. You're right."
ipakookapi
Dirty Harry-style...
"Sledge Hammer! For those too young to remember this gem from the 80s, it was a show that satirized the Dirty Harry-style bad cop dramas that were in at the time. The show ended with Sledge trying to defuse a nuke ('Trust me, I know what I'm doing...'), failing."
"And then the camera slow-pans across the charred landscape of the ruined city and you hear the distant voice of the long-suffering police chief yelling 'HHHAAAAMMMMMMMEEERRRRR!!!!!!' Priceless."
ekchew
We Live!
"Blackadder Goes Forth The ending of a comedy set in WWI trenches to end with everyone dying after going over the wall is both sobering and satisfying."
PhreedomPhighter
"When Darling thinks the war is over because all the guns stopped firing. 'Thank God! We lived through it! The Great War: 1914-1917.' But we know there was still another whole year of war to go through."
Jose_Jalapeno
Shocker
"Newhart. No one in America saw that plot twist coming."
soIstartBlasting
"And with the rise of the internet, I doubt any show could pull off a twist like that again and take people by surprise. The Season 1 finale to 'The Good Place"'was a rare exception of this happening post-internet."
WaldoJeffers65
"The twist is that good, and so few people saw the show during its original run, that there are probably tons of people discovering it every week. I don't want to ruin it for anybody."
WaldoJeffers65
Last Call
"Cheers. 'We're closed.'"
Taskerst
"Thought the same thing. Have been going through the series again, usually one a day and about to start the last season."
SnooLobsters4636
Ah 'Cheers.' Not my favorite show, but a great end. And 'Six Feet Under?' GENIUS!
Afterlife...
"The Good Place."
gr3ybacon33
"I need to rewatch that show. If someone told me to watch a show about the afterlife, philosophy, morality, interspersed with d*ck jokes I wouldn't be able to take it seriously but somehow they pulled it off."
jn2010
The Tie Up
"Gravity Falls. Tied everything up nicely, but left me wanting more, but what good show doesn't?"
smugfruitplate
"I want more so bad, but we all know it's better to die a hero than a 25 seasons show nobody wants to watch."
Equivalent_Meal2688
"Agreed. Whether Alex Hirsch does something new in the future or just sods off with his residual checks, I couldn't be more proud."
smugfruitplate
"why we fight"
"'Cherish the memory of a question my grandson asked me the other day when he said, ‘Grandpa were you a hero in the war?’ Grandpa said ‘No... But I served in a company of heroes.'"
Thirty_Helens_Agree
"Band of brothers is GOAT. Even reading that line gave me goosebumps I stumbled across 'why we fight' the other day, must have seen it 20 odd times, watched it again, still amazing. In fact, my missus is out tmrw, you've inspired me to start episode one again."
Curahee!
Realities...
"M*A*S*H, still the greatest final episode in TV history. It made it clear that nobody would be the same after the war. Winchester couldn't love music like he had before without being reminded of the war. Father Mulcahy lost his hearing as a result of the war. Hawkeye lost some of his sanity."
"Margaret had to lose her self-reliance and realize that it is okay to accept help. Potter had to lose his beloved horse, which was his #1 way to stay sane. BJ had to learn to say goodbye. And, of course, Klinger had to give up his dream of leaving Korea at least for the foreseeable future."
"There are times (most times for me) when being in the military totally sucks. Living in deplorable conditions, spending 24 hours a day with the same people; working, playing, and sleeping together with people you like and people you hate. Missing your family and loved ones. Yet, when you have to separate, the feeling of loss is like nothing else that I have experienced in civilian life."
NoFunHere
Beyond
"Star Trek TNG. The episode itself was great, but that ending scene was phenomenal."
"'Nothing is wild and the sky is the limit.'"
HaCo111
Those are definitely some incredible endings. And endings are hard to pull off.
Friendship is not something that can be forced.
As with any kind of relationship, it all depends on compatibility and chemistry, and thus must happen organically.
On the flip side though, it can be pretty clear when people will not end up being your friends, owing to a fundamental difference in personality or beliefs.
Redditor Chola_Bhatora was curious to hear the type of people the Reddit community would never become chummy with, leading them to ask:
"What kind of person would you never be friends with?"
Basically, people who aren't nice
"People who don't apologize for their mistakes, blame others for their problems, and generally complain without doing anything about their situation."
"Oh, and generally a**holes."- NerdyDadGuy1981
"People who are overly rude and constantly laugh it off and call themselves 'a**holes' as if it is an uncontrollable character trait."- Business_Grand7665
Don't you twist my words around!
"People that distort what you said."- Mystery_I
Just take some responsibility!
"People who can never admit they're wrong about anything."
"No matter how blatantly wrong."- Rachfo44
Say it to my face!
"The kind that talks behind your back."- 0breanna0
Are you sure about that?
"Someone who thinks they already know everything."- Fragrant-Crow-4513
Then why aren't I laughing?
"Someone that puts you down in front of your other friends.. 'as a joke'."- motherfugher
How well do you actually know them?
"People who abuse your trust and honesty to manipulate you, especially when they disguise it so well."
"Had it one too many times, thankfully gets easier to spot but some people are freakishly good at it."- nothingjustk
Yeah, well mine's better!
"One uppers."- BasedChickenTendie
Someone needs a lesson in self respect...
"I'm a woman."
"Had a classmate strike a conversation with me for the first time."
"2 minutes in said she doesn't have female friends because all women are b*tches."
"Why are you talking to me then?"
"What do you think you are?"- Minimum_Greedy
As Jane Austen famously explored in Pride and Prejudice, first impressions can often be misleading.
But every now and then, they can give a crystal clear depiction of who someone really is.
Which could easily be someone you do not want to be friends with.
Age is just a number.
We all hope to stay sexy until the end.
And even when we don't feel sexy, maybe there will be people who still think we are.
Redditor Debonair-Redditor21wanted to hear about famous crushes that enter into the "Harold & Maude" territory. They asked:
"Who is the oldest celebrity that you still find attractive?"
All Hail Dame Helen Mirren. Is there anything else to say?
How Old?
"Viggo Mortensen. Very handsome at 63."
Sidewalk_Tomato
"Damn, he is 63? Time flies."
2020UsernamesBeLike
Personas
"Elvira. Cassandra Peterson. Just turned 70 and still breaks out that amazing personality at every appearance."'
darkoath
"Omg. I saw the BEST suggestion for a movie ever. Elvira & Dolly Parton playing their stage personas as estranged sisters who must team up to fight evil."
ClothDiaperAddicts
Fatale
"Jane Seymour. 71 and still stunning."
MrWiggy89
"Live and Let Die. Incredible, and she'll always be in my mind as Elise McKenna, the woman so beautiful that Christopher Reeve's character went back to be with her in Somewhere in Time. I totally get the desire."
pcserenity
Hey Su...
"Susanna Hoffs (63)."
analogtapes
"Plot twist: She sang 'Walk Like an Egyptian' because she's immortal and actually lived in Ancient Egypt."
RealisticDelusions77
"She was my first crush. As a child, I used to watch MTV for hours just for that moment when she cut her eyes in the 'Walk Like an Egyptian' video."
3lon_Mu5k
I am loving this list. I didn't think I would.
Maddy
"Mads Mikkelsen."
Valuable-Mango368
"You mean my daddy issues? Damn I love that guy. Death Stranding really nailed how he can come through a medium without much hassle."
This_User_Said
My Biological Clock
"Marisa Tomei."
LiveShowOneNightOnly
"Jesus, I was so confused watching the new Spider-Man movies with Marisa as Aunt May. Marisa Tomei is perpetually the hot 80s chick in my head, also Jennifer Connelly. I was watching Morbius and seeing Requiem for a Dream and Career Opportunities. I AM OLD, I GUESS."
Forge64
Oh Captain
"Christopher Plummer, right up until the day he died at 92."
amodernjunecleaver
"I first saw ‘The Sound of Music’ as a child, watched in many times, know if off by heart etc. I didn’t watch for many years."
"Then as an adult I wanted to introduce a friend’s kid to it, put it on, and spent the next couple of hours absolutely dumbstruck by how hot Christopher Plummer was. It had never struck me before that time but go**amn have I never forgotten. No wonder Maria chose the Captain, if I had to choose between him and God I know who my pick would be."
niconiconeko
Hey Tim!
"Timothy Olyphant. Idk what it is about him. He's so funny, charming, and handsome that I don't care how much older than me he is."
throwaway-getaway122
"I do NOT get tired of watching him; he is so expressive. In Catch and Release there's a scene where he and Jennifer Garner are having a conversation that consists entirely of gestures and facial expressions. Hilarious!"
BugsRatty
"He is amazing in Justified and Deadwood... hell, pretty much everything. I think I just found out I may have a man-crush on the dude lol."
Captain-Hornblower
Yeoh
"Michelle Yeoh."
ThinkIGotHacked
"Ugh she was a vision in Everything Everywhere All at Once. And if she doesn't win all the awards then there is something really wrong with the voting system."
HoaryPuffleg
YUM YUM
"Oof that's kind of a hard one. Without looking up a bunch of older actors I think I'd have to go with Ken Watanabe. I think he's in his early 60s now and the last time I saw a recent pic of him he was still looking fine AF. And an honorable mention is Steve Carell... I don't know what it is but he keeps getting hotter with age. I was never attracted to him until he did that silver fox photo shoot with the paint brush 'n shi*t."
total class act...
"Stanley Tucci. As my mom says about handsome men, he just looks like he smells good."
vonye25
"He visited our hotel a few weeks ago. As the Restaurant Manager I was specifically told that my team and I were not to treat him any different to other guests, which we don't."
"The guy was a total class act polite, courteous, and always keen for a chat. Never mentioned his movies, his career, but was there to enjoy time with his family, and they themselves were also a joy to be around. Can confirm he always had a slight aroma of warm cinnamon."
valdezverdun
Well that is a long list of sexy. Cheers to growing sexy with age.