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TIFU stands for "Today I F*cked Up."
It's one of the most popular subReddits around.
It's a place for people to share the ridiculous ways they manage to screw up.
This guy really managed to screw up. He accidentally skipped out on paying the bartender because he was too distracted by how hard he was trying to flirt with her.
Oops.
The story starts at a not-very-busy hotel bar. Our Casanova happened to show up at a time when the bar was practically empty and tended by a "super cute" bartender.
The two talked for over an hour before a group showed up and the bartender needed to tend to them - but not before she left the check. Our Casanova didn't want to interrupt her to ask for her number, but he was sure he felt a spark.
So he decided to shoot his shot and wrote his phone number down, added his tip, signed the check and left.
Nailed it!
Except no. He didn't nail it.
He left his number and a generous tip, but he forgot to actually pay the bill. Ya know, the whole reason a bartender would hand you the check in the first place?
He was so distracted by trying to flirt that he stiffed the person he was trying to flirt with. Thing is, he didn't realize it until his phone beeped with a text.
We almost have to laugh imagining him getting all excited to see a text from a number he didn't know. It had to be the "super cute" bartender. Had his plan actually worked? Should he get ready to high-five the homies?
Was this about to be a shot success story?
But let's back up and check out his post on Reddit before we get into the nitty gritty details of how stiffing the bartender worked out:
"This happened over the summer. After work one day I went to a hotel bar. The bartender was super cute and the bar was practically empty so we chatted for over an hour. As I was getting ready to leave a bunch of people sat down at the bar and she got busy, I didn't want to ask for her number in front of a bunch of people who were trying to order, or wait around, so I wrote my number on the check and left. I was half way home when I got a text from her. I excitedly opened my phone to "hey it's "Sara" the bartender at (hotel name), you didn't pay your bill" and my heart sank into my stomach. I texted her my card number and apologized. She never texted me back." - Reckie
The post glosses over a few details that we learn later in the comments, but there's no question—the screenshots are gloriously awkward.
He didn't reply to her and she never texted him back. Turns our stiffing your bartender probably isn't the best way to secure a date with them.
It is a pretty solid way to get Reddit to laugh with you, though and to share just a little bit of commiseration.
"Way back in the before time when checkbooks were common I went to pay my bar tab with a check. I was less than sober. Wrote it out, tore the check off, proceeded to leave. Bartender caught me outside saying I gave her a blank check. I was like whaaaa and pulled out my checkbook...I had written the check out on the clear plastic partition on top of the checks. We both had a good laugh." - DrunkenOlympian
"This is the thing I would think about before falling asleep. Big oof." - legiterally_lulu
"Even worse is that she probably thought he intentionally didn't pay so that she would have to call/text him. It's the kind of awful thing a "pickup artist" would think to do." - MadTouretter
"Hahaha... oh man... you are dead to her. People who skip on their tabs are the worst humans alive to a Bartender. Odd choice to text your card number though... somewhat dangerous." - MedicManDan
"Just gonna say, she was conversative and she sent the last message. Maybe she was waiting for you to actually ask her out. Sounds like you f*cked up THREE times that day." - NaturalRoller
Unlike pretty much every other one of these stories, we DO have an update on this one. The bartender actually remembered him months later and commented on the thread! The original poster did verify that it was really her and the two planned to "hang out" some time soon.
So maybe this is a shoot your shot success story after all!