Page 7 - IAV Digital Magazine #468

iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine
Man at Outback Pretends To Get Stood Up On Valentine's Day, Gets Free Meal
By Michelle Gant, Fox News
A dateless man pulled off the ulti- mate Valentine’s Day ruse by pre- tending to get stood up at din- ner so he could get a free meal.
Known only as Stephen, the prankster shared his idea on Twitter Thursday, wondering “if I went to Outback Steakhouse by myself tonight and asked for a table for 2, then got progressively sadder as the night went on alone, do you think they’d give my steak for free?”
He decided to put his theory to the test, detailing the entire evening on social media in a hilari- ous thread.
Stephen explains tweet by tweet how he dressed up in a suit jacket and then waited around 45 min-
utes for a table.
Once he was seated, he ordered a drink for himself and a glass of white wine for his “date,” whom he names Katherine.
“Well I remember she said she loves chardonnay so why don’t we start with a glass of that,” he wrote.
To make the situ- ation more believable, Stephen left a fake voicemail for his date asking her to let him know when she’s on her way, ensuring the waiter heard him.
He even brought a fake gift to din- ner made out of the bag his jumper cables came in stuffed with shoebox paper.
As the evening went on, Stephen wrote that “there can’t be a sadder image than a guy in a suit at Outback
Steakhouse alone on Valentine’s Day sitting across from an untouched decanter of white wine.”
He pro-
ceeded to
eat two
loaves of
bread as
the evening dragged on. Then short-
ly before
the kitchen closed and the waiter came by, he drank the “date’s” wine “in one swig from the decanter – no glass necessary.”
He wrote that the waiter seemed sensitive to his situation when he finally placed his order.
“I ordered my steak. This dude is walking on EGGSHELLS around me. I’ve never seen someone scoop glassware as smoothly as he took the untouched glass
and empty decanter from the table.”
Stephen contin- ued on with his prank until after the restaurant closed, writing that he “Started crying” and didn’t touch his steak.
Finally, a couple at the bar paid for his meal. “This mission? SUCCESSFUL.” He wrote.
For good meas- ure, he donated $50 to the ACLU in honor of the couple.
Before he left, the waiter shared
some uplifting words with the “forlorn” Stephen.
“The waiter came to clean my table as I left. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked me dead in the eye like a father about to tell his son that grandma died, and said ‘Take care of yourself. Don’t let them get you down.’ Put this man in the waiter hall of fame.”
Stephen then got all his food to go, including a Dr. Pepper the waiter threw in, earning him a $20 tip.
“Katherine may have just missed out on her future husband. Thanks for following along y’all - glad I could entertain. Happy Valentine’s Day!” he wrote.
He also noted that he hoped Outback didn’t get mad at him because he “loves [their] steak so much.”
Luckily for Stephen, Outback seemed to find his prank quite amusing, tweeting him a special offer.
iAV - Antelope Valley Digital Magazine