Who is unreasonable here - the staff or the potential customers?

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A reasonably busy tourist city today at lunchtime: we enter one of those vintage style tea and cake/ lunch tea rooms about midway through the lunch peak time. We meet the staff just after entering and its established that we do want lunch - not just drinks and begin to make their way to a table. It's in the next 'room' of the cafe and we are tersely are told its a table for four. Bit of confusion here over us thinking that means its reserved and we then make their back into main part of cafe there is a raised section with four out of five tables free so we begin to head there - it is quieter and there are window seats. We are stopped again - no, those are tables for four/ five (maybe ... if two people squashed on benches!). There is a table for two but it is currently dirty and full of plates, she will clear it for us. This table is squashed right by the serving hatch in the busier area. I've experienced this before and would prefer not to... but no, same blunt tone - this is the only table we can have.

Anyway, long and the short of it is, we leave a cafe about a third full and find a great one a few streets over. Happy ending all round - they kept their table rules and we were eventually fed.

I was just a bit amazed! They have great reviews on tripadvisor, but I spoke to a friend who went in there as a single person and was asked to move tables. Does this happen anywhere else?!

But Trifle, the whole point is that there was no immediately available table for 2 but there were several tables for 4. So your argument that a group of 4 might need the table is pointless as there was more than one anyway.

All that ended up happening is the restaurant lost 2 paying customers with no guarantee that more were coming. Add in to that that the place was only a third full and I think this place probably can't suck up the loss.

They might get several groups of 3 or 4 people enter during the hour or so that the OP intended to be there. It was lunch time - the busiest time of the day. I don't think the OP was unreasonable to go elsewhere rather than wait for them to clear the appropriately sized table but a) it sounds like that would not have been satisfactory to her and b) the staff are within their rights to offer that choice and then allow her to make the call.

It just doesn't make sense to turn away customers when there is no guarantee of those tables being used. They weren't reserved.

I think you're playing out a scenario in your head that hasn't happened. You didn't read various key points in the OP's post and now you're just arguing for the sake of it.

I honestly don't think it matters whether it makes sense in your head or not. It's not your business. The staff in this cafe - and presumably the owners - don't want to offer tables for four or five to a pair or couple. As stupid as you might think that is, it is totally up to them how they run their business.

"Trifle, you're just nitpicking for no apparent reason."

I suspect Trifle just likes the last word, YouTheCat.

(... waiting ...)

Am I expected to just refrain from giving my opinion in case you think I might like the last word? Gasp. The horror.

I don't give a monkeys what you think, tbh.

I've noticed this a lot in the last few weeks.

You might want to find a hobby, YoutheCat. Failing that, this is an open forum and I will say what I think if I like, thanks.

"Am I expected to just refrain from giving my opinion in case you think I might like the last word?"

Absolutely not! Not be me. In no way did I expect you to refrain from giving your opinion.

On the contrary, in fact, I expected you to want the last word!

Well, in that case how about you accept that someone has a differing opinion and just move on with your day. It's unnecessary for you to waste your time with PA comments just because someone doesn't think what you think. Who cares?

I have plenty of hobbies, thanks. I'm currently teaching myself to play the violin.

😂

YouTheCat.You dont turn away paying customers on the off chance you get a bigger group in.That doesnt make sense.

...or my favourite meme

Are you one of those people who likes to weaponise TripAdvisor if you don't get every bit of your own way?

You're funny.

No. I give very good reviews most times. I've not had to give bad reviews, except in one case, and I was fair too.

But such places should be aware that people they don't treat right will quite possibly tell about it. It's no longer the case of one dissatisfied customer leaving, but many people becoming aware of issues with that place.

Again, triffle, you keep saying "might". There was no queue of customers at that time. It was almost certainly a loss to this cafe, rather than a gain.
I bet the owner would have been more accommodating, whereas the staff probably don't give a toss.

Three goes to table for four. Two goes to table for two. These are simple conventions.

For the simple minded, perhaps.

If you have two customers, and only tables for four, you seat them at a four seat table, or whatever you have available.
Even one person (and I've eaten alone in restaurants, at dinner).

Could have pretended you where waiting for your other 2 friends.Who then cancel at the last minute.

But...

What if a group of four people came in but then only two of them wanted to order and they only wanted a cup of tea? You've then turned away two people wanting lunch for four people only spending a few pounds!

In the game of what ifs, the last time DS and I sat in the middle of the afternoon for a cool drink, we ended up having two orders of fairly high mark up clams.

It was certainly a good thing for them that they were not twats towards us.

If you have two customers, and only tables for four, you seat them at a four seat table, or whatever you have available.

This sounds like an 11+ question

Lweji: Same here, if I had no tables for two. But again, they did have a table for two, and it's clear the OP would not have wanted it even if they had been able to clear it immediately. As it was, her choice was to wait and take it, or leave. Perhaps not the most friendly of options to give her, but it's their call as the restaurant owners. They choose to wait for bigger groups. That being the case, just go somewhere else.

Yet again, you're reading facts into this that we don't know. No one has said it was the owner that refused to seat the OP at a table for 4.

And Trifle, you'll be pleased to hear I'm off to yet another hobby in a short while.

I have forest yoga at 6.

Staff were rude and unreasonable. If there's a seat, you take it. If its at a four, they should have had more, attractive, two seat places available to entice you. Otherwise they can fuck the fuck off. You're paying, they get to be polite. A restaurant without customers closes down.

I'm not saying the owner directly; the owner employs the staff, so it is more likely than not that they are acting on the instructions of their boss.