To say no to sharing table at coffee shop

[OrangeChips1]

I bought a coffee and cookie and sat down with by book to eat it at a table outside.

A few minutes later a couple came in, bought their drinks, stared at me as if I'd done something wrong and then asked if they could sit at my table with me (as it was the only one in the sun).
I was confused ....all the other tables were empty.

AIBU to say no? I didn't want to awkwardly sit there reading by book but pretending not to be able to hear their conversation. I could have moved one of the ones in the shade into the sun, but I was confused about why they didn't just do that themselves since I was already sat down and settled in.

YANBU! Too bad! You got there first. Honestly.

Maybe I should go then - I have a mean Paddington bear stare haha 😂

No they were cheeky. There were other tables available.

Not read FT but I would say reasonable for them to ask politely as your table the only one in the sun. But YANBU for saying no as other table available.

They were unreasonable, given that there were free tables.

I personally wouldn't have been so frank; but I think it very much depends on how he said it - and I would also have declined.

If he did it aggressively, that's uncalled-for; but if it was an informal, jovial response to match a very cheeky request, I don't honestly blame him.

That's a real non-justification on their part: basically saying "Can we sit here, because we want to - and we believe that our wants trump yours?" They have a nerve expecting another customer to move from a particular table in a cafe that's open to anybody (and presumably on a first come first served basis), when there are other free tables, just because that's the one they always choose when it happens to be available!

They sound like these people who sit right next to you when the entire bus is empty.

I never understand why people ask to share someone else's table when there are other tables vacant! It's like when you're on the bus and there are numerous empty seats but someone gets on and sits down next to you. My heart sinks when this happens because it inevitably means they're looking for someone to talk to. Yes I know,I'm SO unsociable 😂

They might also have been the kind of people who always want to talk to/at strangers at length, everywhere they go, regardless of whether the strangers are up for it or want to be left alone.

Or they've grown to hate the sight of each other over the years and now have to introduce a stranger into their joint activities to force things to stay civil - like John & Mary from Father Ted!!

I just made exactly the same point about buses! Love your user name btw! 😂

I work at a coffee shop, so many CF.. as if you wanna sit there in their conversation

I know. A few inches too, not across a massive courtyard or something
I think they expected you to say a humble yes, and then were going to sit down and have a loud and annoying conversation so you decided to move.
Good on you for being politely assertive.

I hope you enjoyed eating your book, Orange. :-)

You were not unreasonable at all.

I used to be you OP. I still remember having to assert myself in a queue in a NY deli about 15 years ago where some CF had pushed in front of me (and everyone else) and tell him I was next. Happily the man behind the counter stood up for me when the angry new yorker started yelling at me. I still remember feeling so stressed I could barely eat my pastrami sandwich! But proud of myself.

Well done, keep at it.

People are proper cheeky these days. I was sat in a cafe with my children once and a young woman say down next to my child and pushed his food out the way. She didn’t even say anything and when I said excuse me she just pretended not to hear, if I wasn’t breastfeeding my baby I’d have been a lot more aggressive. Thankfully her friends told her to move which she did whilst smirking.

The most important thing I want to know is - what are you reading, and is it any good?

@IfYouPutASausageInItItsNotAViennetta His response was a prime example of what not to do. Saying no was perfectly reasonable.

They were weird and I would have said no, there's loads of other tables for your to choose from.

Oh God I hate that. These days I just get up and move, I no longer care if they find that rude.

Couples really love making people on their own feel they have no right to public space. The sense of entitlement can be breathtaking, honestly. (And no, the fact that I’m on my own doesn’t mean I want to be your photographer, either).

This ^
And it doesn’t matter that it was the only table on the sun spot.

I wouldn’t risk saying so as ime people start arguing with you and explaining their actions and it’s so annoying, just “no” would suffice.

Which version? There’s quite a few.

I certainly wouldn't try and sit on an already occupied table when many others were free.

That does seem odd. You declined and presumably that was the end of it. I guess you could say you were waiting for a couple of mates?

Cheeky fuckers ! They missed the sunny table - tough !!