Restaurant or shop?

[SockYarn]

Took DS for a Rishi cheap breakfast a a garden centre today. Face coverings needed in the shop bit until you get to the restaurant. Bit of a queue to approach counter and order. Nobody wearing masks. Get to the till to pay, assistant barks "you still need to wear your mask you know!"

Well actually I didn't know. Because restaurants are non-mask zones, aren't they?

Depends. I was in a coffee shop where people sitting in didn’t need masks but people waiting for to gos did because the shop had put a sign up requesting this.

We were sitting in.

Was there a sign anywhere, some places will have their own rules?

Not that I saw. Markers on the floor reminding you to keep your distance.

No biggie. But i thought if you were eating in, you didn't need to wear a mask. They took names for track and trace too.

I assume you'd have to keep your mask on until food and drink arrives.

It’s probably because you had to go up to the counter, whereas most places make you stay at your table to order.

No it's not that sort of place- you order at the counter and they give you it right away. Like a motorway service station or school canteen. Except breakfast!

In that case I'd expect to leave my mask on until I was back at my table with food.

Can people get takeaway too? If they’re getting takeaway from the counter they should be wearing a mask. It may be shop policy is for all to do the same until they’ve ordered, which seems reasonable.

Some people, as you experienced today, are using the mask mantra as an opportunity to display their inherent rudeness. I cannot wait until things return to normal.

My understanding of it is, you take your mask off when you are about to eat. So waking in, ordering, paying, going to the loo, waiting at table etc you wear your mask.

I think it's a grey area, because that sort or place is kind of a cross between a restaurant and a shop. If I went into Gregg's and bought a hot sausage roll, would that be a restaurant or a shop? Would I have to wear a mask? I don't think the rules are they clear.

However the kiosk operator was wrong to snap at you if the rules arent clear.

I wore my mask until I was at my table and then took it off when I went to the garden centre at the weekend. I also took it off when I was looking at plants outside although I'm not sure if I was supposed to.

@DamitJanet

Can people get takeaway too? If they’re getting takeaway from the counter they should be wearing a mask. It may be shop policy is for all to do the same until they’ve ordered, which seems reasonable.

No, it's eat-in only. You take a tray and they put the food on that, there isn't the option to have it bagged or boxed.

If I was confused then everyone else was too! Maybe it's because they didn't have perspex/screens around the counters.

Who knows. All very random and it does seem there's a lot of grey areas around this. It's very easy to define "shop", not so much in restauranrts or takeaways.

In that case I'd expect to leave my mask on until I was back at my table with food.

I would expect that too. We bought posh ice creams from a cafe through an open window. A poster requested that customers wear a mask when buying their ice creams. Everyone I saw did, out of respect for the person on the counter.

No you don’t need to wear masks in restaurants but I guess some places may have it in their corn rules that you do except when you are seated. That’s just what I’ve been doing anyway.

We also ate out earlier in the week at a local Italian. We didn't wear masks walking through the restaurant to our table, or when leaving. Nobody else was either.

To be clear though, I think buying a bacon roll from someone at a counter, or walking through a restaurant to the loo is very, very, verylow risk.

We were away a couple of weeks ago and all locals chose to wear masks in cafes until they actually eat or drank, so we've started doing that ourselves. Having said that I've been barked at in a cafe despite a mask, sanitizer and distancing. It's not pleasant when you really didn't know what was required. Costa here are asking for masks whether takeaway or eat in, but it's been done politely.

Bananapop have you considered that rather than wanting to be rude, some people working in catering are wanting to minimise their risk of catching Covid? Or developing symptoms and having to self isolate, often only on SSP?

It depends where you are - we went to Caffè Nero the other morning (to sit in) and because it was counter service they request that you wear your mask while ordering and receiving your drinks/food. Whereas everywhere we have went that is not counter-based has not required it for sit-in. I think this is reasonable

You keep your mask on until you are seated. It isn't even difficult. Certainly not worthy of another mask thread.

Sorry @blacktop. I shall ensure any future threads are run past you for approval.

For all the person working there knew, the op could have been exempt from wearing one to begin with.

@Perihelion yes I have considered it, and still come to the same conclusion that when someone “barks” an order at you, it is rude. This is a stressful situation for everyone one way or another, nobody has the monopoly on it and good manners/a polite reminder will engender a more pleasant experience for everyone.