Would you move tables at a Cafe?

I'm with you on this. I WFH and occasionally need a change of scene. I go to my nearest coffee chain too, choose a comfortable table with socket nearby, and ensure I order 2/3 drinks and snack over the time I'm there, which I consider equates to the table being used by a larger group.

YABVU to hog a table for 4 when on your own.

There's no special rule for chain pubs.

Yes they could have asked nicer. But you behaved like a dick

And when i do this, about once a week (because the library in my town has closed) I buy breakfast, a hot chocolate, a coffee and sometime piece of cake and often also lunch with another soft drink and coffee. At a minimum I spend £25 l, often more over a couple of hours, occupy a table (and spend), during the quiet bit between school drop off and lunchtime and spend way more than the people that come in in that time to chat with a friend or read the paper and buy 1 or 2 coffees. I think people saying you shouldn't work/study in a chain cafe for a few hours should ask the owners of Cafe Nero, Costa, Starbucks what they think about it and whether they'd be happy to lose that custom (and why, with every refit, they add more and more plug sockets to every table).

I'll give you a clue, straight from a friend who is a marketing manager for one of the above, because mobile workers are seen as a vital part of their business strategy.

'Entitled' doesn't mean what you think it means. However, the OP isn't selfish, presumptuous or arrogant, either.

HTH.

A slight YABU for hogging a booth to.wotk.at, even if you did have lunch and coffee. I know people do, but I always find it a bit rude to linger for a long time after finishing my drink/ food. That said, a lot of places encourage this. This is more of a me thing than necessarily off.

YANBU for not moving when you are settled, have bought stuff etc. just because someone has ordered you to move.

Absolutely.

@Southlondoner88 needed a socket. Why is that less important than the later customer's desire for a particular table? And the OP spent a bit of money - lunch at Caffé Nero would be in the region of £8 to £10 - at least as much as a party of 3 having coffee.

I just think wow, it’s a public, chain cafe where seats are first come, first serve.. why on earth would you even bother someone clearly busy and comfortable when you only wanted to sit there for 10 minutes.

I expect the plan was to sit and have a pleasant meal or hot drinks - but she was too angry to stay, and wanted to make a point that you had inconvenienced her.

She was rude, but it is also rude to treat a cafe like your private study, whether or not is is a "chain cafe".

My attitude to this sort of request is always 'How would they feel if I wanted to sit down with the three of them?' My guess is they'd be furious. Exactly. Eating out on your own, which I do a lot, is difficult enough without randoms encroaching on your space. It's a kind of subtle bullying 'There are 2/3/4 of us and one of you so move over.'

If another lone diner/luncher asks to share my table, I'm more than happy. You're not going to have to tune one other person out.

Fuck her. Nasty bitch.

Her behaviour was outrageous and you were doing nothing wrong. I would only expect you to offer to move if there had been no other table available to accomodate a party of their size. Id have put my headphones back on and ignored her after what she said. Id have gone out of my way not to look atvher when she left. Entitled areshole.

Our local coffee shop is used like an office for one or actual business meetings & the owners encourage it when they're buying coffees etc. What a horrible woman OP. She obviously has issues & uses any excuse to spit her venom. If there were plenty of other seats why would you choose an occupied booth. You could have been waiting on people. That's what I usually say when people impinge on my space. Good luck with your exams.

How much did you buy? Would a library not have been more suitable? An independent cafe could be relying on the income a table of 3 generates - not a 'one coffee every 3 hours' pseudo office worker.

She bought LUNCH, not just a coffee. Probably spent more than any other person in the café

You don't 'need' it in the sense that nobody 'needs' to go out to a cafe. It's not like it's a plane or a bus.

What would you have done if there was a group in that booth? Would you also have asked them to move? And what if they had said no, as would be within their rights?

Surely if you 'need' a certain type of seating arrangement, you should only go to places where you can book this in advance, and not expect strangers to inconvenience themselves for your family?

Yes, single women. Make way for the "families" 🙄

You're fine OP - plenty of times when I go in a coffee shop there's a manager in one of the back tables/booths (where it's quiet) doing the books.

That was the best seat available for you when you came in, and that's fine, that's how it is, you are under no obligation to switch around just because something smaller becomes available (or in this case, just because someone wanted your particular seat)

Amazing how you don't extend the courtesy to others. You would have no idea why someone is sitting where you wanted. Maybe it's near the toilet. Maybe they have mental health issues.

Maybe you should apply the kindness and consideration you expect other people to apply for you to others.

I would never sit at large booth on my own if this was a restaurant or a pub but it’s a chain, a lot of people do this and I see it all the time.

I don't understand why it being a chain cafe is relevant here?

This woman sounds obnoxious and I probably wouldn't have moved for her either, especially if there were other free tables.

Tbh, one person in a booth would have annoyed me but I would not have said anything.

Just as it's not up to you either.

But, judging by the replies on this thread...most people agree with me. OP was a CF.

It’s not your office.

How is using one seat and buying a coffee BORDERLINE ok? wtf do you think cafes are for?

Why isn't it ok. Cafes are used for many things. Are they allowed to be used for parent and toddler groups? Business meeting? What are they allowed to be used for in your mind. If you are consuming the cafe doesn't require you to sit staring at the wall and drunk your coffee you know.

Because they feel insecure and feel really really shit about themselves and they feel losing this small thing is the last straw.

If she’d said to me ‘I hope you have a shit rest of the day!’ I’d have smiled massively and said really cheerfully ‘you too!’ What a dick. I would have just laughed when she called me an arrogant bitch and said ‘ I haven’t just asked someone already seated to move, go say your insult to the mirror love’ then I’d have bade a show of sprawling myself all over my nice comfy booth. Always be unconcerned about the noises coming from random aresholes. Life is much better when you do that.

a very close friend of mine does and without the wfh crowd it would be empty in between breakfast and lunch

My cousin does as well. She lives in a university town near both universities, so her coffee shop is always full of students and academics. She has lots of big tables because the students often like to spread out, and all the tables around the walls are near sockets for laptops. She's had some complaints by the likes of some of the people on here who think that people shouldn't be working or studying there, but they aren't the main source of income, so she politely tells them that they may want to go to the Costa down the road.
She also provides free refills of coffee with a student union card, so that gets whinged about as well as her no under 18's policy. Oddly enough she's always busy and has a wall of graduation photos given to her by grateful students.
My cousin is awesome 😎