20+ Waiters Became Witnesses to Such Awkward Dates That You’d Wish to Disappear Through the Ground

A date can always go unplanned, especially the first one. After an awkward encounter, the desire to forget it quickly is strong, but sometimes there are witnesses who remember everything. Often, it’s the waiters who, unintentionally, become witnesses to all the dramas unfolding at the tables.

• Guy makes a reservation at the table by the window, all romantic etc. Comes in, all dressed up and with a suitcase. Strange, but okay. His date arrives. They laugh, flirt, we actually thought he’s going to propose. NOPE. Middle of the evening, she starts screaming at him. He broke up with her and actually packed her suitcase. Then paid and left her there sobbing at the table alone. We got her a brownie on the house. © water_your_dam_plant / Reddit
• We had this couple sitting here. Anyway, the man asked me not to clear the table for the time being, and he started licking all the plates! They ordered several different dishes, and he did not rest until he licked everything on the table clean. And all this was happening in the common room, so the other customers could see everything. © tehvillageidiot / Reddit
• I saw a date of an attractive woman and an ordinary man. Both were in their early 30s. He ordered himself a tonne of ribs, but he wouldn’t let her have the steak and chose salad and water for her. Then he chatted non-stop about his adventures at some crazy party, while his companion sat in silence. After he had finished the ribs, he said: “See you Friday, sweetie,” and left, leaving her with the bill. © SovietSocialistRobot / Reddit

• One day this (very cute) 20-something girl comes in, orders, and cheerfully asks me if we have any board games that are great for 2 people. 30 minutes later, she comes and sadly asks me if we have any games you can play alone. The guy ended up showing almost 2 hours late, ordered a bit rudely, she paid for him, and they spent less than an hour talking. He wasn’t interested in playing a game and didn’t really seem interested in his date either. I imagine she was excited about her date and thought the board games idea for a first date was cool, but the guy was so rude being late and not showing any interest... just sad. She came back a few times with friends though and was really a nice girl. © Grog_Bear / Reddit
• Not a first date but we did have a guy come into our steakhouse on a Saturday night at 7 PM with NO RESERVATION. He then told us on the spot that he was going to propose to his girlfriend. We had to seat them somewhere awful, it was right next to the bathroom, and when he got down on one knee, looking around nervously, absolutely no one noticed. He and his girlfriend kept waiting for the rest of the restaurant to see them and go quiet, or even clap for them, but not a single person noticed. She said yes, looked disappointed, and they went back to dinner as if nothing happened. They must not have minded too much because they came back for their one-year anniversary, this time he made a reservation lol! © sophiegitt / Reddit

• I used to work at a sushi restaurant, and there was a girl who would come about once every few weeks with a different guy. Every single time, she’d order a portion of the same dish, which is like a rice-salad-sashimi bowl, and it was GIANT. I’ve only ever seen a handful of people ever finish the entire thing in one sitting. She would finish the whole thing (with CHOPSTICKS) and always ask for a spoon toward the end. It was always fun watching the guys look stunned when she finished. One day she came with this dude that ordered what she did, and when they both finished the bowl, they ordered another and split it. Wish they had ended up together, but she came back with a different guy a couple of weeks later. © themerrypaek / Reddit
• I worked as a barista at a coffee shop with a dishwashing sink that brought you face to face with whoever was sitting at the coffee bar across from you. For some reason, so many people chose this spot for their first dates, so I would have to wash dishes and pretend I wasn’t literally on the date with them. One time, a person I knew was on their first date with someone and chose that cursed seat across from the dishwashing sink. Because we knew each other, we chatted a little bit and then, as if a partition raised between us, they began their date... but I still had dishes to do... So uncomfortable! © maybemaggot / Reddit
• I waited on a couple who were clearly on a first date, and the lady was clearly not impressed by the guy she was on the date with. The date was over quick enough and the guy paid, leaving me a 5% tip. The next day, the lady came into the restaurant, walked up to me, said, “that was the worst first date I’ve ever been on, and I was mortified when he stiffed you on the tip” and then handed me $20. © Vomiting_Winter / Reddit

• Just saw one on Valentine’s Day. The date seemed to be going very well, actually, not awkward at all. They talked non-stop, no lulls in conversation, they were laughing, carrying on, and just generally having a good time. In fact, another server and I were laughing about how obnoxiously loud they were. Then I heard the gentleman say “...and obviously, you’re not still married... right? Please tell me you’re not still married,” she said “well, actually...” and then things got VERY uncomfortable. It must not have been a deal-breaker because they stayed at the restaurant another hour until we closed, but they were very quiet for the rest of the night. Hardly spoke to each other at all. © WhatOnceWas396 / Reddit
• There was a lady in my section who was by herself. She was just waiting. This lady was absolutely gorgeous and dressed to kill. I ended up talking to her a bit since she was obviously bored. She was smart and seemed like she had a good sense of humor. It turned out she was there to meet some guy on a blind date. I was like, “OMG, what kind of man would leave a woman like this waiting?!” The guy eventually rolled in looking like a crunchy bro and acting as if he was just too cute. Apparently, the woman confronted him about his being late because he actually got on top of the table and asked everyone in the restaurant if they thought she should forgive him or not. Everyone ignored the guy. Then they talked for a bit and then the guy went to the bathroom. I went up to the table and said, “You don’t need to pay for your drinks or anything. If you want to leave, you can just leave.” She said thanks, but she ended up going ahead with the date. They left my section and went somewhere else. Honestly, I wanted her to ditch the guy so bad. © imk / Reddit

• Didn’t happen to me, but I was working while the bartender got to experience it. Guy and girl came in, super weird chemistry all night. The guy is obviously trying to impress her by being a huge douche, and she looks like she’s just pretending to not hate it, so the date will end faster. At the end of the night, she says she’ll take an Uber home, and he awkwardly leaves without her. She then waits for the bartender to come back over, orders another cocktail, and asks for his phone number. © BigFuturology / Reddit
• I was working at a high-end steakhouse when a couple comes in on a first date. As I’m taking the order, the woman’s phone rings and she answers. Apparently, her close friend just broke up with her boyfriend and is distraught. The woman asks if her friend can join them for dinner. The man says, “of course” and is really gracious about the whole thing. The friend shows up within a few minutes and is a crying, hot mess, and orders more drinks. Afterward, the man excuses himself to the restroom. While he is away, I overhear the friend expressing concern about the menu prices. The first woman then says, “Get whatever you want, I’m not going to ever see this loser again.” So then I catch the man coming out of the bathroom and tell him what I just heard. He says, “What do I do?” I tell him he is welcome to leave through the delivery door in the back and I will play dumb for his date. The guy expresses his gratitude and slips me $100 on his way out. The woman becomes increasingly irate as the night goes on, and she realizes the man isn’t coming back to buy them food. So she waits until closing time and leaves hungry in a taxi. © kelpat14 / Reddit

• A couple was shown to their table, and the guy was on the phone the entire time. While I was putting together the salad, the woman comes out to the lobby and asks to get her meal packed up. She ended up paying her half of the bill and ducking out. She told me this was their first date and she was set up by a soon-to-be-former friend. Said she was going to be calling her friend as she walked out. When I brought the guy’s meal to him, he asked where her dinner was and I told him what happened. He really thought she was in the bathroom... © newguy1787 / Reddit
• A middle-aged couple:
  Man: [30 min monologue about the cars he likes, how fast they are, what the challenges are in maintenance. He was literally going on non-stop every time I passed them]
  Woman: [taking the sudden silence as her chance to get a word in]
  Woman: Well, I really like butterflies.
  awkward silence
  Guy: [continues his car talk until dessert]
  Curiously enough they came back 2 more times over the summer... © Sweetholymary / Reddit

• I was bartending this New Year’s Eve. A couple sits down, the guy goes to the bathroom and comes out with his ex’s Instagram up, asking his date if she thought he was better than the ex’s new boyfriend. The girl tried to give him an out, but he kept doubling down, saying things like, “Well I think you’re better than her so why can’t you say it to me.” She was outside at 2 AM in tears waiting for her mom to come to pick her up. Really hard to watch. © 5oclocksunshine/ / Reddit
• We had a couple: the guy was always talking about something and the girl was obviously bored. At the end, I asked if they should have one bill or separate bills, and the girl immediately blurted out: “Separate!” As soon as I handed her the payment terminal, the guy started scrolling through the tinder on his phone. © oversized_canoe / Reddit
• The guy says, “What do I do to get a kiss? She says, “Eat a spoon of their spiciest sauce.” I warn him this is an awful idea. Guy shrugs me off. His tears spattered, I got him some milk, I think we are over the worst of it. I was wrong. Dude kicks off his shoes, stands up, and runs to the back of the bar. He didn’t make it to the loo in time. And he had an accident on the way there. I couldn’t believe it. He refused to come out until his date left. He never got the kiss! I just cannot believe this guy had the forethought to take off his shoes. © S***FhatThit / Reddit

If you’ve never had an awkward or unsuccessful date, you’re truly fortunate. But for these individuals, they had truly nightmarish dates.