Am I alone in thinking this cafe’s policy is daft.

[PriamFarrl]

I’ve just been into a local cafe. Nice place part of a small chain of four places in local towns.
The policy is that you have to have a table number to order. But how can I do that on my own? I didn’t have anything to leave on a table, like a scarf or coat, and the tables are out of the view of the till so I’m not willing to leave my bag. I’m most places, including the other branches of this cafe, they give you a table number as you order.

Am I being silly or are they?

I’ve never been to a cafe where they give you a table number as you order. I’d say it’s more common to either have table service, or counter service and tables without numbers, but what you describe is not that uncommon.

Not helpful for you this time, but this is why I always have a book with me! Easy to just slip out of a bag and leave on a table.

One of our local cafes does this. The tables are all outside and you go inside to order.

I was there with my 4 year old last week, I checked for a free table, went inside and by the time I'd ordered, someone else had sat there (fair enough), but the staff seemed to think it was my fault and said I should have left my son there to reserve it.

One of our local cafe's does that but they have a table plan at the till so I just order then point to the table I will be sitting at and the person on the till cross references it with the table plan.

Plenty of places have that system, you go up to the counter to order and tell them your table number so they know where to bring the food / drinks.

I suppose you are expected to ask someone who's sat at your table in the meantime to move?

That was one of the perks of Covid. My favourite local cafe has highly sought after outdoor tables. It used to be that you had to go inside to order but over covid they changed to table service.

And that wouldn’t be the fault of he other person. They wouldn’t know someone had earmarked that table.

I have often had to state my table number when ordering and I've never been allocated a table number when I order.

But I have sometimes been given something with an order number on it, a wooden spoon or other such object, to display at the table of my choosing.

It seems to be about 50/50 round here, that system or give you a number flag thing for your table when you order. I use cafes on my own a lot, I usually have something in my bag (eg diary) I can leave on the table while I order.

Being given a wooden spoon etc with a number on it is what I mean by being given a table number.

If you know this is their policy why not take a scarf or something with you to leave on the table

Unless it was the first time of course and you didn't know

Don’t you have anything at all in your bag you can leave? I always have a pen and paper, so at I would write ‘reserved’ on a scrap of paper!

I've never been to a cafe where they don't give you a table number when you order.

I’d been to one of the other locations where they give you a number as you order.

I find it highly unsatisfactory that there are about 73 different systems for ordering/getting/being seated for/paying for food and/or drink, with no real way to know which one any particular establishment is using. I'd hate to have to write a tourist information guide explaining it for visitors — would probably end up writing that most British people have no idea what to do half of the time in any given unfamiliar eating establishment, either.

They may do it to make sure people ordering actually have somewhere to sit.

When I worked in a cafe years and years ago we used to get people who had just ordered standing around blankly with trays full of food and drinks and nowhere to sit.

They'd then want the staff to magic them up tables and would get pissy when we couldn't ask other customers to hurray up and fuck off so they could sit down.

I don't miss it 😄

Hurry not hurray!

sounds like a right palaver

I'd just ask the person sitting nearest to save the table for me.

I think the wooden spoon is a better system. YANBU to not like table numbers.

I avoid cafes like this when on my own, which is probably what they want as two people are likely to spend more than one. Tbh even the coffee chains / anywhere with counter service is a nightmare with a pushchair in tow, I always end up holding up the queue when I have to ask for assistance taking stuff to the table.

This was always the case in most chain pubs serving food pre the invention of ordering apps.

Was in a pub Saturday and went to the bar to order food. Left my coat and shopping bag on the table. While standing at the bar, I watched someone sit at my table.

Sadly no system is foolproof when dining alone.

I wish more places would have ordering apps - makes everything so much easier!

If it wasn’t a Chanel or something I would have left my bag on the table but removed my phone and keys to take to the counter, and maybe ask the neighbouring table to keep an eye for good measure. Sounds like a normal system though, I’ve personally found that the give a table number is more common in pubs than cafes but it isn’t totally unheard of.

Yeah, I try and find something in my bag - notebook, gloves, umbrella or whatever to bag the table. It’s a tricky one but, as PP said, reduces the problem of people ordering without enough tables to seat them