Is saving a table while someone else gets coffee/cake etc an ok thing to do?

[Eeepsh]

Inspired by the M&S cafe thread, I hadn't realised that one person sitting at the table whilst other gets drinks, wasn't the done thing.

We do this as my 86 year old dad needs to sit down, but I always assumed everyone else did it anyway?

Does this work in all Costas? I must try it. I am disabled but capable of going to a cafe but need to sit pretty quickly. This would solve the issue of buying a drink/food and leaving it untouched.

I had a baby of a few days old and fed him standing up in the (very long) queue while people did this, hoarding all the tables. There were signs up saying you had to order first so I refused to give in and save a table 🤦🏼‍♀️ If it’s somewhere that’s empty it’s probably fine but when it’s really busy I think it’s rude to do it unless you have a particular medical issue etc

Me too. I got there first.

Usually only go in M&S cafe with the olds - no way would I make my 94 year old Nan stand in the queue!

I think it's fairly standard for one to order, one to find a table in lots of places, now. I've certainly seen it in eg Costa/Starbucks etc. I'm usually grabbing a mid shop coffee in those instances so are alone.

Not something that bothers me, in honesty.

No one likes the idea of getting food and not having a table, but if you're sitting at a table before you get your food you're making it more likely that someone else is going to be in that position. It upsets people because you're essentially saying that your wants matter more than their needs.

I also don't get the comments about cluttering up the queue. The queue moves at the speed of the servers so it doesn't go any faster if one person orders for a group.

It upsets people because you're essentially saying that your wants matter more than their needs

And? why shouldn't my wants matter to me rather than the needs of total strangers? am I supposed to walk around the cafe saying 'OK if I reserve a table with my coat because I'm by myself? that doesn't make it inconvenient for you, does it?'

I've no idea what people's needs and wants are. I know what mine are, which is to get a table and eat my food.

I do this if I'm somewhere like Costa that I know has a limited range of vegan sandwiches and rolls.

There's no point in me spending 15 minutes in a queue only to get to the front and find that there's nothing that I can eat.

Ypu don’t keep a seat on public transport by putting your bag or coat on it.

You do if you're on a train on your own and need to go to the loo. What else am I supposed to do in that situation? I take my handbag but leave my coat or shopping bag or rucksack depending on what I have with me.

I always do this. What's the point of getting a coffee and slice of cake if there's no table.

Perfectly normal where I live, as is putting bags on the table, jackets over the chairs etc. so everyone can go up to order.

However, as we know, MN world is a parallel universe 😂🤔

@Pinkprescription worked at all the ones I have tried including my very small town one - hope it works for you!

Completely normal. Same in a pub - you don’t all hover around until someone has got a round in and only then bag a table do you? People who are precious about this should stick to cafés with table service.

That’s not what I meant. You don’t get on the train and keep the seat free next to you by putting your bag or coat on it - coats don’t allow you to bagsie a table while you go and join the end of the queue when there are people leaving the front of it with their food as drinks. If you’ve done that then expect to find your coat moved and people with their food sitting at the vacant table.

It’s like sending your car load of people out to stand in an empty car parking space while there are cars ahead of you ready to park.

It is the normal thing to do, and it only seems to be wrong on MN.

If I am on my own, I put my coat on a chair, and my bag on the table (just craft stuff to work on, nothing valuable), then I go and order.
With someone else, one of us orders and the other grabs a table.

In some places, you have no choice but to do this as the tables are numbered and you need a number to order food.

If it’s busy, it’s unhelpful to be table -blocking this way. If everyone just sat at the table for the time they had their food/drinks, instead of clogging seats for the ten mins that the queuing/waiting takes, there would be more chance of everyone getting to sit down.

Would you say anything to the person who (quite rightly)moved your coat and sat at the vacant table to eat their food and drink their coffee?

If I go shopping with my adult dd, she queues up and I sit down with all the shopping bags. I'm old. I need a sit down and a nice cup of tea. That's why we are in the cafe in the first place.

A couple of times I’ve taken my toddler to M&S, there’s been a few tables free but by the time I’ve got my drink those have been taken by groups behind me! It’s really frustrating, although I admit I hadn’t considered just leaving a coat etc 😂 will try that in future to avoid juggling a coffee, a toddler and a pram in a crowded cafe!

I am not confrontational, so I would do nothing.
In my mind, I would be pouring my drink over their head.

However, in all my years of dining alone in cafes etc, someone moving my stuff has never happened.

One person sitting down is normal.

If there's clearly not enough tables for the people already queuing we don't bother, either go somewhere else or come back later.

There ought to be a clear convention for single adults to reserve a table. It's pointless to have anyone queuing of they won't be able to be seated.

I’d be one of those people - I don’t like queue jumpers and wouldn’t really care what you were mentally pouring on my head. The table was vacant, I have my food, I’m ready to eat and drink, you’re still in the queue 🤷‍♀️

Perhaps it would help if all cafes made their conventions clear? It really wouldn’t work if there’s a clash between the people who are used to finding a seat first and the ones who insist on food first.

I could have been in the loo, and not in the queue. You don't know.

Cafes don't have queues for tables. Just the counter.

Lol at all the Bobby Big Bollocks on here saying how they move stuff, or insist on sitting at other people's tables. As if everyone they attempt to bully just rolls over in the face of their righteousness.
Meanwhile, back in the real world, I have never seen or experienced anything like this

With no food or drink