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?

Obviously I didn’t do that - i simply enquired as to whether that would be reasonable if it was reasonable to do so if they were reasonable to take a table when they had no purchases yet

But if you go to a restaurant it is no different i would just plonk myself down at a random person table in a resturant with waitstaff so why would a cafe be different

Surely completely different circumstances? at a restaurant you would typically order at the table normally so this situation wouldn’t happen ?

Both have people there who are there to have drinks/food so no i see no difference

But most cafes ask for a table number when you order? The only difference is the waiter. A restaurant, the order is at the table, a cafe, at the till. You still need to know where you're sat before ordering.

I'm a coffee shop regular at the moment as I'm on maternity leave but often alone and I find it quite stressful ordering then having to find a seat. I've always managed but I'll be avoiding shopping centre cafes until after Christmas now. If I can, I love (and often get) tables with comfy chairs or sofas as it's more comfortable breastfeeding but that often means I'm taking up quite a large table on my own. Recently, quite a few shoppers have asked to sit with me and I'm absolutely fine with that. Some mind their own business and others I've had lovely conversation with. It tends to be older people that ask to join and I'm not sure I'd do it myself but I've no problem sharing as long as there's space and neither them nor I feel uncomfortable, squashed etc.

But most cafes ask for a table number when you order?

Only if you're ordering cooked food. If you're just having something off the counter, you just take it or are served it there and then, pay for it and sit down.

You leave your coat to show the table is occupied!

What's there not to "get"? It's obvious - they only want to be there if they know they can sit down. I don't get queuing and paying for a drink/food without having a solid plan for where/how I will eat it. I'd only go to a café of that type (unless it wasn't busy and there were loads of tables) if I was with someone so that one could grab a table while the other queued. If I was solo I would either go a few step upmarket and go somewhere with table service so I could just take a seat and let the waiting staff come to me, or I would go a few steps down market and buy from a street stall something that's designed to be enjoyed while I walk or sit on a park bench. That person standing around with a tray and nowhere to sit - no one forced her to make that purchase, there were other options.

I wouldn't go in my own on black Friday.

You’re not supposed to linger in a cafe? This thread gets weirder by the minute! So people who meet up with friends in cafes for lunch and a chat should throw it down their necks and leave asap. 😂

Wherever you are going!
You drink your coffee on the way to your next destination.

So - if you're single, you're not allowed to go out for a coffee (or a meal)?

If I'm shopping in the town centre, I should grab a coffee and drink it on a bench or standing in the town centre if I've taken the bus there?

That poster is mad. Of course you are. If there’s no one with you to sit at a table while you order, leave your coat or a shopping to show the table is taken.

Its 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. They ANBU, neither are you, necessarily. Its frustrating but understandable

I sat with my coffee at the one empty table that a woman, who had come to the coffee shop after me, had “reserved” before joining the queue that I had just got to the front of. She wasn’t happy, but I pointed out that I was at the front of the queue when she arrived, “her” chair (with her coat on) was still available, so she was welcome to sit in it and reminded her that she wasn’t German, the chair wasn’t a sun bed and we weren’t fighting over a view!
She backed down and sat there until a few people left at the same time, vacating a number of other tables, when she managed to secure her own table…

Does anyone remember in the 80s in McDonald’s where they’d have signs asking you to purchase food before occupying a table?
Anyway OP Yabu, this is normal practice and it would be weird to have entire families stood in the queue. If you want to avoid not getting a seat as a solo shopper maybe chuck your coat on a table or choose a less busy time

I'd be one of the assholes sitting down with my chronic pain in my legs whilst someone else ordered the coffee. Nothing smug about it. That interpretation of people's behaviour is your issue not theirs.

Why would you go up and order if you don't even have a table to sit? I've always found a table first and then leave my coat or one of us will sit at the table before ordering. I work at a cafe as well and most people would do this. It would be quite awkward them stand in the middle of the room with a cup of coffee waiting for someone to leave.

Someone who has bought and paid for food and coffee has priority on unoccupied chairs. If people only occupies a table when they had been served there would not be a problem.

Ok, so you're in a cafe on your own. How exactly do you nab a table and then queue for your coffee???

You can’t when you are on your own.

You could easily be 10 or 15 mins in the queue if it's busy. An unattended article is likely to be removed in that time frame if tables are in short supply.

Maybe because they are on their own?

My destination is usually the café itself.