How do you save a table at breakfast? Row with other guest

[PJHarvey]

So you're staying in a hotel with one other person, and breakfast is a buffet where you can choose your own table. How do you save your spot?

• take turns going up to get food, so there's always someone at the table.
• both go up together but leave some belongings there, like a jacket or sunglasses.
• something else to indicate your presence (if so what?)

I had a pretty unpleasant encounter with a horrible man this morning over this, and am wondering who is in the wrong.

Exactly. I actually said "you didn't leave anything here and we're not psychic" to which he went off on one about his folded napkin.

It was busy but there were other tables.

I didn't think it was a great look shouting at (what he thought was) a lone woman, in front of his daughter.

Your baldder must cope better with a couple of pints than mine 🤣

He was rude. Well done for not giving in to his tantrum.

He thought he had made it clear the table was occupied, you didn't get the signal. I would just have apologised and moved

He was wrong to think a folded napkin is a universally recognised sign that a table's taken. The vast majority would even see that let alone wonder what it might mean. He really should've just grumbled to himself and found another table.

Leave your jacket on chair and something valueless like a book on the table. Take bag with you and drink, or ask bar staff to look after your drink.

I hadn't thought of pubs. I've never had multiple drinks on my own so it hasn't come up. I go on arrival if I need to go, then order a drink, or after my drink before I leave. The last time I had a pint alone was because I was early for an event so had a pint in the sun at the local. If I was meeting someone I'd go on arrival or once they arrived.

Why should I? It's not a clear signal and I'm not going to reward him for shouting at me and making a scene in a public place.

I'd do that if he was polite. Not if he came over to her shouting as the OP says (though I do think a lot of people embellish shouting/eye rolls/sneers in their posts).

Yeah, I always carry a stunt paperback when I'm on my own. That IS a recognised table-holder 😁

I'd get a tray of food first, then find a table.

That's always what I do...grab a coffee or orange juice on the way to the table. if it's a hotel that doesn't show you to a table. Or, preferably, just stay somewhere where they take an order for breakfast and avoid a buffet all together :)

Did the owner or server intervene when he was shouting? I wouldn't put up with that.

Come to think of it - the hotels we stay at and we don't do expensive but good, clean VFM places, they take us to the table and we often tell them which one if empty - therefore even if we leftnothing at the table, the hotel staff would move the others but its not worth the risk

The American guy - where was his wife? Americnas on the whole feel entitled - we've been to the USA bout 15/17 times - around the holiday areas they are nice, but other areas so are not as nice a bit rude but not as rude as those we have seen in France, the women especially in France and men in USA

"Stunt paperback" I love it! To be fair if I'm alone in a pub or hotel restaurant I would always have a book anyway.

good point!!!

If there’s a napkin, open it, scrunch a little and leave over one bit of cutlery….no one touches a dirty napkin…failing that a clean but scrunched tissue
never leave handbag at table - saw someone having lost it to thief in good hotel once.

This. DH and I have been to hotels with buffet breakfasts lots of times. We both go up to select food, leaving belongings on our table and chairs. It's never been an issue.

It seems to be just him and the daughter here.

Glad it's not just me, I was starting to wonder if I'd unwittingly made some faux pas!

We always leave sunglasses/book or hat, nothing particularly valuable

Once, I was on my own with my 3 years old daughter, got a table, left 2 glasses of Orange juice and went to the buffet to get our food with her as couldn't leave her on her own and when we came back a couple had taken our table and drank our orange juice, (you have to go to the buffet to get orange juice) I went to the table to retrieve my daughter's Teddy which we left on the table as well and no apologies whatsoever from the couple when I ask for the Teddy, they just look at me weirdly. Some people has no manner and they were plenty of empty tables.

There was one server nearby but she didn't get involved, she looked very young and possibly didn't feel comfortable intervening.

I had this discussion with an international.group previously, and most of the Americans were absolutely adamant that putting your napkin on the seat of the chair was the symbol everyone knows means the table is taken. A subgroup insisted it was about the position of your chair (tipped up to make a trip hazard). They wouldn't have it that the rest of the world has no idea about either of these rules.

Napkin on table didn't come up, so your shouty man must have been following some peculiar personal or hyperlocal quirk.

I would leave stuff on the table/chairs to indicate it is occupied. I have been to European hotels where people 'undo/take down' the napkin and cross the fork and knife on each of the places to indicate it is taken - I think this works too.

If it’s busy, take turns. Otherwise it just looks like someone didn’t bus a table and it is up for grabs.