Server cleverly evens score with customer who tipped fake $100 bill to impress date

Editor's note: This article was originally published on August 24, 2023. It has since been updated.

We all want to make a great first impression on our dates. From wearing the perfect outfit to choosing the right restaurant, we put in the effort. But some people take it too far and end up being fake. One such story, shared by Reddit user u/masterofjay, has garnered over 14K upvotes. The story involves a guy who crossed the line and had to face the consequences. The server, who had to endure his behavior, decided to teach him a lesson. The story, shared by the user's friend, describes how a regular customer, known for not tipping well, tried to impress his date.

The individual wrote, "Most of the time he comes with a couple of friends or by himself and sits at the bar and watches a sports game. I've never had a problem with him until he came in one time with a date. I’d never seen the woman before so I assume they were new to dating. Anyways, they sat at a table this time in a quiet part of the restaurant and they sat at one of my tables.  As I was coming back to the table the guy said to the woman, 'Watch this' as he put down a hundred dollar bill on the table. He saw me see and he was joking like, 'Oh! you weren’t supposed to see that!' I was ecstatic either way even though it was so obvious he was trying to impress the woman."

Although the man's behavior was not very tasteful, the server did not pay much heed to it and was quick to grab the hundred-dollar bill. What happened next really tested his patience. "Well, when I unfolded it was one of the fake $100 bills I guess for pranks, that means this freaking guy planned this out to impress this woman. It was so frustrating because I needed the money but at the same time, I thought it was because I did a great job. I decided to hold on to it because I knew the day would come when I could get back at this guy." 

The server decided to get back at him at the right time, and their wait was just two weeks. When the man returned, the server seized the opportunity for revenge. "I ran out to my car to grab the fake $100 bill that was in my cup holder for this exact moment. At the table, the woman seemed fine, but the guy looked nervous. I pretended nothing happened until I brought their check," the server recounted. "When I brought the check back, I placed it down on the table as well as the fake 100 but left it unfolded so the fake part was showing. I looked at the guy and said, 'Hey, not sure if you remember me from last time but I believe you forgot this, just returning it because I believed it was too much'."

The man was left in shock. "The woman looked very confused so I instantly knew she was not a part of it but the guy got all nervous and said, 'I don’t know what that is!' I said, 'Oh my mistake' and laughed and said to the woman have a good night, and walked away," shared the server. After the man was caught red-handed, he wrote "obnoxiously big zeros on the tip" but the woman appeared to have left $50 bill as it was found by the waiter where she was sitting. 

People on Reddit lauded the server for teaching the fraud a lesson on the post. u/tricularia commented, "My dad always told me that if you want to know how someone will act in a long-term relationship, pay attention to how they treat servers in restaurants." u/Sassaphras680 shared, "The only thing that would make this story better is if the woman came back to tell the server to thank you for helping her realize her date was a shi**y person who doesn't tip let alone tip well."