Was I BU to leave the pub after being told off by the manager?

[EmptyTheFrickingBins]

I had booked a table for a group of seven people to celebrate a Ruby wedding anniversary. On arrival to the pub we found the table with our reservation and sat down to wait for the rest of party - this was at 4:30 which was our booked time.

Three other guests were already seated at the table and there was no indication that any other table had been reserved for us.

My parents - who are both elderly and disabled - arrived and I returned to the table with them where we asked the other guests if they'd be happy to share-- there would have been room and we couldn't move because the only free tables were for four or under. This was at 4:45 and we had been waiting for them to finish.

They reacted in a very angry way and stormed off from the table and must have informed the staff on the way out.

I just want to be clear - at no point where we rude or demanding.

We were viewing the menu when a manager in a pink top came over to the table and told us rudely that we shouldn't have asked the other guests to move (again - at no point did we do this), that another table had been reserved for us and we should have spoken to the staff - again none of this was indicated, and only the one table had our name on it!

I felt extremely embarrassed by the interaction - we sat at the table in good faith as it had the reserved sign on with our name.

The woman's attitude was awful and spoiled the night - we ended up leaving because we no longer felt welcome - everyone was looking at us as she told us off!

Rude staff, and rude customers.. not selling Hungry Horse to me. I think you were all unreasonable.

You can't just join a table of strangers in a restaurant OP, even if your name was on the table. That was incredibly rude! You speak to the staff when you arrive, inform them of your reservation and wait to be seated. Walking around and staring at all the tables to find your name and then pushing your way in despite there already being people there is seriously weird!

Fair enough, but would you norlt speak to staff so they can make this happen?

There's only so many times you can scream into a vat of garlic mayo in a walk in before you finally decide to leave the whole industry.

Ain't that the truth.

I've seen some batshit things go on in restaurants but this is the most batshit.

See I've had plenty of times where my family have been offered a table where we've been told we need to be done by x time and we've always managed to keep an eye on the time and be done by then. I think those customers were very odd to go complaining to the management, you just pack up and leave surely because your meal is done.

It would have been better in theory to ask for staff to intervene and move these odd people on or to arrange another table but given how they conducted themselves it might have been an awkward situation anyway.

AI response

Yes YABU
You don't just sit down at a table with other people.
You speak to staff on arrival who will tell you where your table is, and if there is a problem at that point they will sort it out.
If you go straight to the table and find it occupied, again you go to the staff.

The manager was unprofessional and should not have scolded you but it is a staff member you should have spoken to, not the people seated at the table. You could have said to the other customer oh dear, it looks like there's been a mix up. I'm just going to get my parents to sit here a minute if you don't mind while I find a member of staff to sort us out another table.

But clearly you simply do not want to hear any opinions other than you were right to talk to the customers only and not find a staff member and sort it out with them. 🤷 You're responding in what comes across as an angry manner because you want to be told you handled it in the only way possible to handle it.

Saying you went about it in the wrong way does not mean it was ok for the manager to be rude to you.

Not sure why you’ve asked on Aibu as even with the replies you clearly still think you are in the right. We go to a hungry horse pub sometimes and if we can see our reserved table we’d sit down but if someone was sitting already we’d ask staff not just plonk ourselves down at the table. You are assuming these people have stolen your table but you don’t know what’s happened before, maybe they had a reservation and staff have juggled things around as a table they were due to have were taking longer and another table were quicker, maybe they were out for a special anniversary meal and it’s been spoiled by you.

Why?
Real people can be eloquent.

Indeed.
Maybe they arrived at a busy time and there were no other tables at that point, they saw the sign, asked a staff member and were told no it's ok, you sit there.

As others have said you should have spoken to staff on arrival and they could have sorted it.

You can just tell- reads like a response in a 1990s 'advice' column in one of my mum's 'women's magazines'. I checked the poster and all their posts are the same. Not real.

You booked a table for 7?
This table was for 10
There were 3 already there?
Then you and and your parents....that's a full table
There is no gap

I have never been to a hungry horse pub but even if you normally seat yourself yes I would still speak to staff if I had reserved a table.

The fact that both the other guests and the staff were annoyed suggests you were unreasonable.

You were definitely unreasonable and rude. And saying you had small children who were tired is clutching. It was 4.30pm!

As others have said, you should have spoken to a member of staff along the lines of "Our booking is under X name for 4.30pm. I see there are people sitting at a table with our name on it. Is there another one available?" Not difficult. What you don't do is plonk yourself down at said table while others are finishing their own meal, empty plates or not.

You still speak to staff and wait. I can't believe that isn't obvious. YABU.

Well, if they're a real person, they'll probably read this. So if you're not AI, poster we're on about, tell us a Limerick. 😁

If AI can come back and do that I am going to start REALLY sucking up to my Alexa and my roomba because I'm thinking skynet. 😂

😆I couldn't stop laughing after reading your post. Love mumsnet sometimes, cheered me up this morning.

I'm with you, OP.

You were definitely U. Of course you speak to the staff if people are sat at your reserved table. You don’t just sit down. The fact the staff and the other guests found your behaviour unacceptable should suggest to you very strongly that you were in the wrong, let alone all the people on here also telling you so. I’m assuming you’re not going to change your view that you were perfectly reasonable. You were not!

Op, you were very weird and very rude.

In absolutely no pub or restaurant ever, when I've had a table booked, would I just walk up to what I assume is my table and plonk myself down there. Sure the reserved sign was there but things can change rapidly when you're in hospitality. Surely it's more Normal to wait and be seated 😂 you'd have come off as weird.