To wish that people would not bag a seat first and THEN get their food in a busy cafe...

[paolosgirl]

because those of us who reached the head of the queue before your pal who's way at the back of the queue now have to wander aimlessly about holding a tray with food or drink on it that's now getting cold, because we CAN'T GET A BLARDY TABLE because they're all full of people holding seats for their pals in the queue.

ARGHHHHHH....

Actually, IMNBU at all. I'm being perfectly reasonable (and probably a bit of PMT involved here, granted), but does this wind anyone else up, or shall I just go and have a wee lie down?

Just come back to this - couldn't resist! So agree that it's all about consideration for others, bit it's also abotu basic common sense. There is no point having table bagged by people who aren't eating, because it simply stops the flow of customers through the cafe.

It is about queue jumping, and yes, I do expect you all to stand in the queue, get your food, and then get your table - because there are some of us in the queue standing with young children who we wouldn't leave on a table on their own. You don't go into a supermarket and bag your place in the queue, do you????!!!

If everyone got their food first, and THEN got a table, there would be far fewer problems - HONESTLY!!

We get a sandwich from Gregg's and then go and sit in the square and chase the pigeons. Tis much more fun than arguing with old ladies about tables in cafes.

If it's pissing it down, we sit in the indoor shopping centre on one of those chairs they provide for OAPs. They all glare at us.

For me it is a question of using commonsense - if a cafe is very busy I don't use it on my own (plus childremn) my 2 are too young to be left alone and being heavily pg at the moment I am not going to stand ages in a quque (without needing loo during wait). If the cafe looks less busy and has waitress service then we sit.

If I am with another adult and the cafe looks pretty quiet(I tend to go early in lunch hour before 12 if poss) then yes I will sit down with the kids and bag my spot - absolutely no guilt about this.

Life is too short to waste getting apopletic about a situation you know is going to occur in a busy serve yerself canteen!

But as long as everyone bags a table the moment they go in to the place at least you will know there are some spaces. If there are 4 free tables and a queue you have no way of knowing if there will be a space when you have finished. Much more sensible to bag then queue. Difficult if you are on your own obviously.

Not that I can remember the last time we went to a cafe anyway.

I always do this, especially if I'm alone.
It's nigh on impossible to stand at a til with my 7yr old, 3yr old, buggy with baby and then be able to manoeuvre it all back to a table.
So I leave the buggy and DD(7) at the table and take DS(3) with me.

What annoys me more is if we go into MaccyD's (we don't have one in our town so if we go to the city I normally go there) and the tables are full of people perfectly capable of walking upstairs to the MASSIVE seating section, but instead choose to sit at the tables downstairs that have signs on saying 'please leave these seats available for young families' i.e people with toddlers & pushchairs.

Actually I am becoming increasingly intolerant of queues. If there is a long queue for anything I will drag the DCs away and go somewhere else.

I agree with that VS. Very thoughtless.

YABU Recently I have been sitting down when out for lunch and waiting for whoever I am with to bring back the food. Why? Because I am pregnant and when I need to eat, I get dizzy and weak. Standing in a queue risks me blacking out. Makes more sense to sit and wait for my food to come to me. I am not the only one who sometimes needs a seat: when I take my arthritic, 90 year old grandmother, who is far too stubborn to use her wheelchair, out to lunch do you think that she should have to stand and queue? And managing toddlers in a queue is a PITA, much easier to sit down and give them something to draw.

well i get table then go get food on basis i cant carry food, push a buggy,negotiate around with tray and food

and anyway if the people reserving tables for diners are actually eating then they are customers

dont you notice the restuarnt is busy before you order and start to wander aimlessly with your increasingly cold food?

The restaurant might not be busy when I first go in - but then a bunch of people might come in after me and go and bag tables - then I am FORCED to 'wander aimlessly' with my food

I am more OK with people who obviously need to sit down - pregnant women, very old people, etc - but 9 times out of time it's not the case, is it? Most of the time it's just people holding tables for their pals, with the queue banking up behind them.

so bag a table?you are a paying customer after all.no medals for hanging back if everyone else reserves tables

The queue is for food, not a seat at a table. No conflict. Family of two adults, two children. One adult queues, and places order on behalf of family. Other adult takes children, buggy, etc and finds a seat.

Nothing worse than a queue with hundreds of people just accompanying the main orderer. At least my way you have an idea of how long you have to wait until you get to order.

It is just silly to wait until you have your food to find a table - it would go cold. The children would not tolerate standing in the queue and the whole queue would suffer.

when out i select table first, queue for food.no table, i go elsewhere

but yes if with DP and LO they get table i queue for food

sensible really

otherwise potentially sit apart at seperate tables or no table

no thanks

i shall continue to reserve table then queue

I can understand OP's frustration, but we do this.

If we're out in a cafe, I will go to a table, put down bags, get out DS's booster and fix it to a chair, get DS out of his pushchair, put him in his chair and unpack his beaker and emergency rice cakes to keep him happy.

By the time I've done all that, DH is usually well on in queue, so we are all set to start eating. Which also means we are finished sooner.

No way would it be sensible to make DS sit in his pushchair in a queue for ages then wait to find a table, then wait while we probably have to clear said table and unpack everything. He'd be unimpressed to say the least.

I always get a table first as i cannot push a pushchair, direct 3 dd's and carry a tray of food! Also what if when you have purchased the food there is no table free? If you are buying from the cafe i cannot see the problem.

YABU, its common sense to get a table first, what happens if you stand inline, get your food only to find there are no tables, then you have to stand eating your food

I always get the table first-it is sheer commonsense! What is the point of getting food and drink if you have nowhere to sit?
If I am on my own I can't, but then if necessary I could squeeze into a space on an occupied table. I can't squeeze 4 people together with no free tables. If there is a notice telling me to get food first I ignore it and will continue to do so!

How nonsensical. We are a family of five and it's hard enough to get tables sometimes. Are we all supposed to queue up, get our food, pay and THEN see if we can sit down? All the time hovering with our trays of possibly hot food or drink. Ridiculous.

And it's all very well saying by the time you have paid, a table will somehow have become free, but we all know that doesn't always or even often happen.

That's why I like 'proper' teashops with waiter/waitress service!

Paolosgirl - how can you tell if someone needs a seat by looking at them? I still don't look that pregnant. My BIL does not look like he is terminally ill, but he is. Plenty of people have disabilities which are not obvious but make standing in a long queue difficult.

If you were alone with two dc who were too young to be left, surely there would have been space to squeeze you in at another table?

YABU There is no way i'm standing in a queue with three dcs, dp millions of bags, when i could be sat at a table getting coats off etc ready to eat and leave in a faster time.

I don't think YABU...

but I think it's different if you have young kids or are disabled. When I worked in a cafe I never had a problem with people with people with young kids or disabled people doing this, many of whom would very politely ask the staff if this was okay first.

But it's totally different if it's just, oh I'm going to bag something now so I don't have to look afterwards. That is rude and inconsiderate of others.

I always get DS2 to sit down while i order. He has profound SN and would have a total meltdown if we did not have a seat once we had our stuff.
But I expect to the casual observer I look like I have no good reason to do so.
We had one woman try to get him to move once. She even put her hands on him. He screamed the place down - full Hollywood horror movie stuff. I bet she never did that again

We ended up with the choice of quite a few tables that day

YABU - If I can't get a table I don't go to the cafe, so in order to be sure of having somewhere to sit I have to bag one before buying my food. If one isn't available then I take my custom elsewhere. This is no different to going to a waitress service cafe where you sit down then order. I think all cafes should work like this. What is the point of buying hot food & hoping that you will find somewhere to eat it before it gets cold? Not my idea of a relaxing meal out.