Rude, entitled mother in Pret

[IloveJudgeJudy]

DD's story; not mine.

She was in Pret A Manger this afternoon, minding her own business, eating lunch (bought from Pret) with her headphones on. A woman with a pushchair tapped her on her arm to get her attention. DD looked up and smiled at the woman, and the woman said "give me your table". DD said "no" and woman persisted with a few more "give me your table". When DD said "no" again the woman asked why she wouldn't and DD said "you didn't say please". The woman then told her she needs the table because she had a pushchair and DD said "I don't care, go upstairs". Woman gets angry saying "how dare you speak to me like this, move now". DD Stands her ground and tells her to go upstairs again. A Pret employee approaches the table and asks what the problem is. DD tells her this woman poked her arm and told her to move; not ask. Employee tells woman there are other seats upstairs but woman says she wants to sit at DD's table. DD says she's not moving and the woman says "I'm never coming here again" etc etc. Employee apologised to DD and older couple remarked on how rude she was.

I've never had an experience like this. I've read on here about situations like this before and I couldn't really believe people act like this, but now it's happened to someone I know. How rude!

Ops dd was listening to headphones. I can well believe the cf poked her to get her attention.

Oh, there most certainly are plenty of people like this about.

My mother used to plough into groups of people on her mobility scooter, loudly shouting "Beep beep!" with a big smug grin on her face. She had a big pair of glittery fairy wings glued on the back of the bloody thing as well. Stark, staring bonkers.

Glad your DD stood her ground OP.

I mean it’s very clearly been “adjusted”. No-one walks up to someone and pokes them saying “give me your table” come on now!

Most people don't act like this. But most people also don't make up incidents at Pret that didn't happen.

I believe this completely.

Something similar happened to me a few years ago. Was in a local cafe where you order and pay at the counter and give them the table number where you'll be sitting and they bring your food over. Couple of women walked over to the table I was sitting at with my DM and DD and said 'we're sitting here'. 'No sorry, we're already set up here' said I. Bolshy one continued 'this is our table and we are sitting here. Move please' (suppose I should be grateful for the please!). Continued on and on and she wouldn't give in. We continued eating.

She then tried to sit down at the table by grabbing a chair from elsewhere! Friend stood by looking embarrassed, didn't intervene though! Continued on until a member of staff had words while trying to deliver their food to our table and told her the table was occupied and she would need to sit at one of the several unoccupied tables nearby. She huffed away and continued eyeballing us through the whole lunch. We deliberately had a pudding to out stay her.

Not at all nice to accuse someone of lying, @ILoveMaxiBondi - so I am glad to see you have apologised.

I think it is fair to assume that the OP knows her dd well enough to be sure she was telling the truth about this encounter.

Love the idea of passive-aggressive pudding-ing, @TidyDancer - not that I ever need a reason for pudding!

@I love Maxi Bond

And then the table clapped.

@SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius It was all the more delicious for the fact it was pissing her off!

I’ve come back as someone @ed me in a post. Otherwise I would leave it alone as I previously said but I will defend myself.

But most people also don't make up incidents at Pret that didn't happen.

I didn’t say she made up and incident that didn’t happen.

Not at all nice to accuse someone of lying

That happens on a daily basis on MN!! Either in the form of “something not ringing true about this/your story doesnt add up OP etc” or “your DH is lying” (case in point- DVLA thread)

Was the woman foreign?

Only in the world of mumsnet

Was the woman foreign?

Palominoo this is the second time you've asked that question. What the fuck does it have to do with anything?

Yes, there are people this rude and unreasonable. They pick on someone who either sets off their bully streak or who looks like they won't fight back. The woman may have chosen your DD to go for as she was wearing headphones/young/by herself: some thing about DD made the woman decide that DD owed her the table, DD was in some way getting above herself to be sitting at that table when REM wanted it, hence the aggression. (NOt blaming your DD in the least, just speculating how the REM's mind worked).

@MortyVicar Complete guess here but Palominoo might be thinking it could explain the blunt language used to ask for the table? It could be someone with English as a second language not realising how rudely they were coming across. Given the rest of the reported conversation though, that doesn't sound likely.

I suppose if English wasn't her first language, she might have meant to ask more politely but got it wrong, but I think the DD would have noticed an accent and clear unfamiliarity with English...

I had similar when I was a teenager/young adult. It immensely annoyed me that I would be asked to move if on a table for two on my own, but men or older people were not. I felt though some may well have needed the table, they should have picked on someone their own size a bit.

Was the woman foreign?

Either explain yourself why you keep asking such an irrelevant question or try to think of something that could actually contribute to the discussion🙄

I'm asking if she was foreign because recently in a Post Office there was a lot of us in the queue and only one window was open to serve customers.

The only voice that called out was a foreign woman who could have been misconstrued as speaking in a rude manner but it was her poor English coupled with her impatience that made her sound ignorant.

When she was told the other window couldn't be opened she "OK" and then kept saying "SORRY" repeatedly which made a few of us smile and laugh and the woman herself then laughed.

Also, I used to have a Portuguese neighbour, a young man and he didn't have very good English when I first met him and he always used to sound very aggressive but was actually a very nice guy!

And then the table clapped.

This. Except it was all the other customers and the staff.

This does happen! I was about 7 months pregnant and on the subway in Glasgow. It was busy so I had my giant bag on my knee, so blocking the view to my bump (wasn't a huge bump but was obvious when visible). I was in the middle of the carriage so not in priority seating.

A rather large man got on with his son, and there was space next to me for a child and a person... But he was far too big so he opulent have fit. He just said "get up" and I said "excuse me, what?" And he said "get up so I can sit with my son". I said "I'm not getting up as I need the seat but your son can sit next to me whilst you stand". He then said "oh fuck you, you don't look disabled, you don't need a fucking seat and I want to sit next to my boy. I hope you enjoy that disability when you get it". I moved my bag off my lap and everyone saw my bump and some guy shouted "I bet you feel like a c**t now".
He looked embarrassed but didn't apologise and his son just sat there.

I love how she's 20 and quipped 'you didn't say please'

Women on their own, especially young ones, are fairly common targets for this.

I was sitting at a very full food court, with my babe in her stroller, while DH went to get our meals.

A young couple tried to intimidate me out of the seat, nothing overt, just hovering over it, talking loudly, looking at me, rolling their eyes etc. I sat there with DD, and cheerfully discussed the contents of her last nappy with her. They eventually turned an interesting shade of green, and moved off just as DH came back with our food.

•Bess66 are you related to ILoveMaxiBondi*?

Have you bothered to read the thread?