AIBU to not get the table grabbing behaviour at a cafe?

[IncognitoPanda]

It’s Black Friday - needless to say it’s heaving. Queue of maybe 10 people at a cafe where you order at the counter and tables generally very busy. I cannot believe the number of people who think it’s reasonable to put one person in the queue whilst the other smugly nabs a table as people leave to sit saving it for their party when people who have queued and paid cannot find a table by the time their drinks are made. AIBU to go and join them at their table and make awkward small talk whilst their buddy still queues so that my coffee doesn’t go cold as a solo shopper?

I would always make sure I had somewhere to sit before ordering.

I wouldn’t want to pay for food/drink if I didn’t have somewhere to sit. Plus it makes no sense to clog up a busy queueing area with multiple people when only one person is needed to do the order.

I think it's perfectly reasonable to grab a table while the other person queues. It's what you do in a pub before ordering food or buying a round, isn't it? I don't think it's unreasonable in the slightest.

I would always make sure I had somewhere to sit before ordering.

How do you do that if you're on your own?

It is annoying to see half the tables each occupied by one person with no food or drink while people are walking round with trays looking for somewhere to sit.

Do you want the whole family to stand in the queue? That’s just silly.

When you say smugly nab a table, I don’t think that’s the case. They go and sit down awaiting the person buying the drinks to join them.

Very emotive language for a simple decision to be seated.

Bit odd, why would whole family stand up and queue? I think it's pretty sensible thing to do.

You can’t, but that’s the way it goes.

Those with another person can, and will before they purchase food or drink.

So you’d rather have a gaggle of 40-odd people in the queue?

you sat down at an occupied table whose party you weren't part of and tried to intrude on their gathering? not only are you unreasonable, its weird and antisocial.

I find it weird that people gaggle together and order pay and then start walking around looking for a table. I only do that if I know there are lots of tables free. Otherwise secure your table and then order. Surely just common sense?

This is far more annoying

YANBU. It gets on my tits when people who have no need (yet) for a table as they do not have their food to be saving tables, if it means people with food are left standing with nowhere to go.

This just makes it impossible for anyone who is on their own to get seated. At busy times cafes should seat people. Or one cafe I know has “reserved” signs that you can put on a table to save it while you go and order, which allows the single people to do the same as everyone else. It seems to work quite well.

If you’re on your own, make sure you always have something you can bag a table with. Leaving your coat on top of it should work.

finding a table first is normal and sensible. In some cases you are expected to do this and get a table number.
however it’s a problem for people on their own. The best solution is where there’s a system for marking your table. A few places have fairly obviously some communal tables that it’s fine to share. Otherwise the only thing you can do is always take something with you to mark your table with which wouldn’t be a disaster if you lost.

Best to avoid black friday.

It's perfectly normal. One that I go to often has a sign directing people to find a table before queueing. If I'm on my own I just leave my coat there or a book or anything else non-valuable.

This used to be stressful when I took babies to cafés and couldn't leave them, so I'd have to cross my fingers there'd still be a table when I'd got the order. Not anyone else's fault though.

I’d love to know how many times this debate has been had on mumsnet. It’s always the same really, you either think it’s normal to grab a table while someone else in your party orders or you don’t, and there’s no middle ground to be had!
Personally I can’t see any issue with leaving one person to queue and order and the rest to sit down.

It's bizarre to queue up and buy stuff without knowing you have a seat. Obviously that puts single people at a disadvantage. But if there's more than one of you of course the sensible thing is grab a table.

That's what I do. I want to know I'm going to be able to sit down once I've got my order.

It is unreasonable to leave people standing awkwardly with a tray and food fast going cold while table grabbers focus intently on their phones taking up a six seater

Yes, of course you would be. What they're doing is perfectly normal.

This is one of these things that frequently pops up on Mumsnet but the fact is that it is, and has always been, the way in cafes.