Wibu about this "seat saving" incident in the Michelin starred restaurant that is...

[IHaveNoShameLeft]

McDonalds. (Apologies for the thread title!)

Have name changed incase I was being unreasonable, so here goes:

I went to McDonald's yesterday with dd aged 5. I NEVER go in there on a Saturday, but she's recently started school so decided to treat her with a quick lunch and day in town.

We took our order upstairs and found that it was chockablock. I walked further in and found one small empty stool seat for dd and she sat down. There was a woman waiting at the table without any food and she told me she was saving the seats for friends. I told her I was only putting dd down to eat. She was getting more and more aggravated by dd sitting there.

Suddenly she tapped me on my arm and told me seats were empty behind me. I wanted to leave dd there as I couldn't be arsed to move again, but seeing as this idiot was about to suffer a heart attack for us taking her friends space I picked up Dd and put her down on the empty seat.

I had just put her down and was about to sit down myself when a woman jumped out of nowhere and declared she was saving the seat for someone and that we couldn't sit there. I looked at her. No food in her hands. I replied loudly (so other woman heard me too) that you can't save seats for people when you have no food. There are others who have paid and have food to eat. She got angry and started shouting at me about why I hadn't moved other people. I looked at her and said loudly, "you can't save seats for people that aren't here. Show me any rules about seat saving and I'll move". I sat down and started eating. She stood and stared at me (trying to intimidate me) for about 3 mins, during which time no one had come up with her food. She then huffed loudly and walked off.

Now, normally I would have not even imagined doing something like this. But I feel I've grown up a lot and am becoming less and less caring about what people will think of me. I told DH, and he agrees with what I did. I had food to eat and the seats were empty. I had already been forced to move by another woman, and I wasn't going to start moving around the whole place with a child.

So wibu?

Well done you. The seat saving thing is ridiculous.

...because of the selfish M+S coffee shop goers I presume!

Cheekydevil, I can't disagree with you! I only took her there because dd was desperate for a Madagascar 3 toy.

YANBU! I call it the mumsnet effect. I believe prolonged exposure to mumsnet makes you more assertive/willing to stand up for yourself and less willing to tolerate rude knobheads.

I was mad on behalf of a little girl one day in Ikea. I was sitting happily feeding my son. The table next to me had a 6 year old girl sitting at it on her own.

3 adults came and sat at the other seats at her table. I just assumed that they were her parents/family until a few minutes later her mum turns up. The poor girl had been waiting for her mum and there bullying cunts must have made her feel so intimidated and awkward by just acting like she wasn't there.

I table save, or send ds to sit whilst I queue. Why should all 4 of us stand in a queue to do a job one can manage perfectly well and fucked if I'm going to buy and pay for food then wander about like a plum looking for somewhere to sit.

It's interesting, if you sit and people watch in macdonalds you see that about 90% of couples/families/groups use a seat saving system. Yet on mumsnet 90% of posters claim not to do it. Hmmm....

When I eat there with my family we seat save. I'm not afraid to admit it. I have very good reasons for doing so, none of which I can be arsed to justify here as it would turn into a whole other thread.

But while the table is being saved Keith there are other 'plums' wandering about looking for somewhere to sit with their dinner going cold.

It winds me up in places like Costa as well.

Then they should have thought about where they were going to sit before buying their nosh!

I thought everyone seat saved! It makes much more sense to secure a table before spending money does it not?!

What's the point in buying food and then not being able to eat it?!

I think seat saving is perfectly justifiable for people with young children in a less busy place where there are plenty of empty seats. But grown adults saving seats in a busy place like McDonalds is very annoying, especially for people with children.

Not being able to eat it because everyone is sat at empty tables seat saving walter?

The only problem with seat saving is that those on their own or with very young children that cannot be left at a table are at a very definate disadvantage

I seat save.

I send my three dc to sit at a table whilst I go and get food.

And I really enjoy a McDonald's. Especially when I put tomato sauce and chips on my McChicken sandwich.

What about people on their own MrsKeithRichards who can't seat save? It's very annoying to be somewhere with empty seats when you start to queue. But by the time you have your food people who came in after you have sent their mates to seat save.

Oh, meant to say, I don't think you were being unreasonable.

I've never seen anyone stand in a queue in an empty cafe only to find it full by the time they get their food.

These places move so quickly I think it balances out.

I seat save for two reasons

1. we have six children and queuing up with all of them would be more inconvenient for everyone else

2. I'm severely disabled and need to sit down or get my wheelchair out of the way

I was told to move once just as my DH was arriving with my food, I told them nicely that my food was just arriving and that I needed to sit down because I am disabled and was called an 'ignorant cunt', they apologised pretty quickly when my huge rugby playing DH glared at them though

I don't even see it as seat saving, just being sensible.

Ive been in costa before when there's been aout 5 tables empty, slow queue and the tables gone by the time I'm served.

Someone called you a name like that over such a little issue?

Intolerance is awful. People get so mad.

In a pub you wouldn't queue up at bar with a group of friends
You'd get a table & then one of you would order drinks

But wouldn't the people in front of you got those seats anyway?

I've never seen it and to be honest if somewhere was that busy I'd go elsewhere.

McDonalds say "no car, no burger" at the drive-through, even when the main restruant is closed in the middle of the night. Don't ask me how I know!

So I'm pretty sure there is also a "no food no table" rule.

Now my DCs are older, I leave them to scout the joint, so they are ready to pounce on an available table as I approach with the food.

There is not a lot worse than trying to juggle a tray a push chair and a couple of small children when there is nowhere to sit, yet people are table saving.

Remember people, NO FOOD NO TABLE.

No gumby all ten of you should walk about like a human swarm and queue together, look for seats together whilst clutching ever warning pints. Obviously.