Manners - do you do any/all of these things?

I do all but stacking plates only if at a big table where servers struggle to get around or similar situation where it’s clearly easier for them.

How is it rude not to stack your plates, that's a weird way to look at it.

Its a pet hate of mine when people start faffing with the plates like that. Of course you don't allow the wait person to contort themselves to reach your plate when you could pass it over but making like you're at home getting stuff ready for the dishwasher, definitely no from me

I’ve never heard of plate stacking (sounds rather lowbrow) but I do the rest of course.

Definitely not to stacking plates - used to drive me nuts when I waitressed as a student. Apart from the obvious point that it made much harder to pick them up, it was also messy / disgusting as it frequently made it impossible to collect plates without getting food or sauce on one's hands.

And yes, it looks terrible: the table should as though you've enjoyed a good meal, not as if it's a dumping ground for tableware next to the washing machine. If you work hard to ensure the restaurant looks smart, you certainly don't want your efforts undermined in this way. It looks really common.

The only time it's appropriate is when a server is actively collecting your plates and you pass the hard-to-reach ones over.

Also, when I visit restaurant it's not my job - it's theirs.

I do all apart from stacking of the plates which my husband does, despite me telling him not to. Although saying that I would stack them in a tapas situation when we're running out of space.

I tell him not to because I used to work in a Spoons and as a waitress I would really rather you didn't, although if I'm honest I'm not sure why?

Nobody? Well that's not true is it...

I do all of them.
Common courtesy to tuck your chair in and stack your plates up, I don't get why people wouldn't

I always stacked plates (no napkins, no lumps of food being squashed, in the same size, not towers), cutlery neat and everything to the side. It was exactly the way that I'd done when waiting on tables when DD1 was little.

My ex had a go at me about it because doing that was scummy - somebody might think his woman was only a waitress and why the fuck would I be considerate of somebody as worthless as a waitress in any case?

I still stack the plates.

Agreed. I'm surprised at how many waiting staff on here don't seem to like that. When I was a waitress I though yhe customer's who didn't stack plates were quite rude and selfish actually!

This is about neatness not manners, surely? I don't always remember to close drawers or tuck in my chair in my own home, and I don't think of that behaviour as ill-mannered. I put my basket away in the supermarket but wouldn't think it was 'rude' not to. Waiting staff prefer customers not to stack plates so I don't.

No, we don't stack any plates but we do lick them clean to save the kitchen having to wash them.

(I have to say it would be a darn sight easier if we had a dog to do the licking for us, but hey-ho that's just a cross we have to bear.)

I used to be a waitress amd that definitely wasn't true of me... I was SO grateful if anyone cared to gibe me a hand bu stacking things for me!

Don’t plate stack

It doesn’t help the wait staff. They have own systems to manage how they carry things. You mess it up and make it harder, messier, heavier …

And it’s bad manners

I had assumed that meant in a restaurant. Yes of course if it's a cafeteria where you're supposed to do it yourself that's exactly what I'd do. If there's a trolley I'll return it, if not I'll leave it neatly on the tray or at the end of the table. I really dislike leaving a mess - it's about respect for others as well as self-respect.

Shopping basket - my local one has a space for baskets under the unit.

Unless I was in a Roadside caf I wouldn’t stack the rubbish and plates. It’s really uncouth. Waiting staff know what they are doing and I don’t want to sit with a pile of manky dishes in front of me as though my custom is so unwelcome that the polite thing to do is clear yourself away for the more deserving patrons.

Yes, I do all those things except stacking plates. Or at least not at like a nice restaurant. It’s easier for the server just to grab them as they need them. I do however put everything back on the tray at, say, Costa, and will clear my table, wipe it down if it’s somewhere that provides a place to return trays/cup/etc.

I tuck my chair in normally. Wouldn't say 100% of the time but I do try to.

I used to always put the basket back. But just last month my supermarket changed the layout of the self service tills and you now need to walk back towards the queue past all the tills to get to the pile. So I don't now. I tried once and caused more chaos because it was busy and people were trying to get past and i was carrying 2 bags and the basket. The pile used to be at the exit of the tills so you just dropped it off as you left. No idea why they moved it.

99% of the time yes I shut drawers etc. Very occasionally I might forget if I'm distracted or in a rush.

I don't stack plates no. But I will often make sure any loose cutlery or tissues or food is all off the actual table. The servers often pile it in a certain way to carry it. So it's easier for them to arrange in the way that works best.

I'd push my chair in if it was sticking out a lot. I close doors and drawers if I opened them (surely that's fairly normal?). At the supermarket I add my basket to the others stacked under the checkout but don't return it to the entrance, if that's what you mean? I don't stack plates in a restaurant but I do gather up napkins, sauce/butter wrappers if we've used them and put them on one of our dirty plates.

Doesn't it differ? Restaurant, table service, don't stack, because they like to have plates separated by cutlery so the mess from the bottom plate doesn't smear all over the bottom of the plate above. Tea shop, esp self service, stack and put back on tray. ( and check that there isn't a trolley for returning your tray to).

Restaurant, big group - stacking appreciated because it's hard to get round the table - especially if it's so tight that plates had to be passed down the table when meals are served.

People who leave cupboards and drawers open should be shot by firing squad Same goes for people who move stuff to get something at the back, and leave all the stuff on the floor afterwords. DH and DS2, I'm looking at you!

As a former server, please don't stack your plates.
Staff have their own methods for carrying as much as they can and balance things on the arms/trays in a way that works for them. If you stack them then often the bottom of the plates are dirty so we can't even unstack them. It just makes things more difficult. Push them to a clear part of the table.

I don't usually stack plates in a restaurant but I do everything else.

I don't understand the stacking baskets after the self checkout one. Where do you stack them? I've never seen a place where you would put your basket, and aren't you carrying your shopping by then? Have never seen anyone else do it either. Usually they stack up a bit then a staff member clears them and has a wheely thing they collect them up in but it's not nearby in between times.

Clearing the table I don't do either, just annoying to the staff

I do all of those except for the last one. Stacking tableware isn't good manners and often makes it harder for the waiting staff.

@WandaFishy99 I thought you were supposed to take the tray over to those wheeled racks and slide the tray full of stuff into it yourself? I’ve never been in one that doesn’t have that that and where customers don’t clear their own tables.

All of the above. Sometimes stack plates.