Claiming chairs/tables in pubs cafes, acceptable?

What a strange way to do it.

Either claim a seat by asking those you came in with to sit there or place something on the table area.

Unless it’s quiet then take a gamble.

Depends - most cafes have two and four seat tables, if they’re not too busy I’ll queue, get my order then find a table somewhere, sometimes if I’ve got bags of shopping I’ll dump them, along with my own bag and jacket wherever’s convenient, then queue, because I’ve only got two hands, and I’ll try to grab a table for two, just because there’s often small groups of people, so it’s churlish to take a table for four when there’s only me.

Same with a pub, especially if I’m going to eat, because the person serving me will want to know where the food is going to.

Really depends on the venue. If it's a Starbucks or similar style coffee shop then queue up, order and grab food then find a table.

If it's a pub and I'm going for a pint then go to the bar, grab a pint and a packet of nuts then get a table. Unless I'm stopping mid-ride on the bike in which case I'll be in the beer garden and will lean the bike up against a free table then go and get a beer/snack.

If it's an eating pub then I'll usually get a table first, as they want to know the table number when ordering at the bar. Sometimes have to eat on my own like billy no mates when away for work.

We had a scenario at a country house place a few years ago, Castle Howard in fact. There's a big outdoor play area and a hut selling pizzas. Big queue for the pizza place so we queue up order pizza then grab it. All outdoor seating and no spare seats apart from a set of 4 that had a load of jackets on them. As they were unoccupied and we had food we sat there. The people who came back weren't very happy with us. They had no food with them, so I assume they just wante to have a sit down. I asked if they'd like us and my disabled father in-law to move, and they skulked off.

People who decide to use a bag as a buffer to avoid people sitting next to them on a busy train can do one. Sorry but it's just selfish. I make a point of asking them to move it so I can sit there. Act like a dick and so will I.

Even on an empty train I'll pop my bag in overhead storage.

Quite a few cafes have a bar with high stools that work well for solo visitors. I quite often go on my own, for various reasons, but more often than not to pass some time whilst one of my children is doing an activity, or grabbing a bite to eat after a mid-week ride. It can be a nice way of getting a change of scene to clear the head. Sometimes I'll even read this forum whilst having a coffee...

At work last Wednesday in the office someone took my chair! I'd gone upstairs for breakfast, laptop on desk open and connected to monitor, mouse and glass of water, bike helmet and gloves on desk and bag under desk. Was fuming as the rest of the floor was pretty empty so loads of spare chairs exactly the same as mine. Some people!

When I get on a busy train, I always choose the seat where someone has tried to claim it for their bag. **** ’em.

+1

Any "risk" that it's protecting the space around someone with anxiety is offset by not forcing someone else with anxiety to have to engage in conversation with a different selfish traveler about whether anyone is sat there.

In fact if we assume the distribution of people with anxiety is even between those sat down and those boarding, then :

x in y people sat down MIGHT be impacted by my decision.
Whereas x in y people boarding are definitely impacted otherwise.

So you sit there on the bus or the train hugging your bag at all times to make sure there’s no encroachment on an empty seat. Each to their own I guess.

No I put it in the rack at the front / overhead shelf like a sane person.

When I get on a busy train, I always choose the seat where someone has tried to claim it for their bag. **** ’em.

In other words, if you see someone you think is acting like a dick you act like a dick purely to make a point and somehow think this makes the world a better place?
Just take an empty seat 🙄

Edit:

I'll sometimes put the bag on the seat next to me, unless the train is busy.

The reason for this is I prefer a window seat and wan to have my bag with me for easy access to the stuff I'll use while travelling. Having it in the overhead rack is a pain, likewise stuffing it under my seat so I can't move my legs comfortably. As stated if it's busy I won't do this, but if there were empty seats and someone made a point of moving my bag to sit down I might suspect they were the entitled one.

Just take an empty seat 🙄

It is empty, there's no one sat in it.

It is empty, there’s no one sat in it.

Yep. Good for you.

So instead of two happy people sitting near each other, you have two mildly annoyed people sitting right up against each other subtly fighting over the armrest and trying not to peer at each other's screens/books/whatever.

So instead of two happy people sitting near each other, you have two mildly annoyed people sitting right up against each other subtly fighting over the armrest and trying not to peer at each other’s screens/books/whatever.

No, the trains 'busy', i.e. there are no empty double seats.

And as for people trying to use the armrest as an arm rest rather than treating at some sort of social DMZ ..........

thisisnotaspoon . Just wanted to say you have my full support here.

This thread is a masterclass in "I'm correct and everyone else is wrong."

In a quiet train I'll leave my bag on an adjacent seat. I see no issue with this, the space is there to be used and anyone boarding and choosing to sit next to me rather than the many other empty seats would be just odd. A bit like urinal etiquette. As it fills up I'll shift my crap out of the way, under the seat or overhead.

I am, of course, correct and everyone else is wrong.

When I commuted by train the layout was blocks of 2 seats on one side of the aisle and 3 on the other. I noticed that the last seat to be taken was almost always the middle of the 3, so if I got on while it was empty (leaving London) I'd sit in the middle of the 3 straight away and see how long it took for the seats either side to fill up.

No, the trains ‘busy’, i.e. there are no empty double seats.

If we're only talking about busy trains, then I suspect a lot of us are saying the same thing in different ways.

... The only difference being that some of us pick a seat at random or for convenience and some of us pick a seat specifically to annoy people who annoy us.... It just strikes me as a bit petty, is all.

And as for people trying to use the armrest as an arm rest rather than treating at some sort of social DMZ ……….

I just find it kind of amusing when you're sitting there using the armrest and the person next to you is slowly inching their elbow further onto it bit by bit... I just let them have the thing and leave them to it. "Fighting" was not literal.

This thread is a masterclass in “I’m correct and everyone else is wrong.”

What, just this one? 😂

If I want to have food that needs the cafe to cook it then I am getting a table before I order.

The cafe will ask where I am sitting, and frankly if my food is going to come on a plate then I'm claiming a table before I commit to ordering it.

Plus half the time they put the menu on the table as well as the boards. I need time to peruse the menu and putting one on a table is inviting customers to take a seat before ordering.

The inside armrests on a 3 in a row economy aircraft seat is a masterclass in social engineering. Alpha/beta/entitled/pleasers/gender/age/size - it's all in there.

As someone of broader shoulder my arm literally dangles over the armrest - it's a contortion not to use it.

In a quiet train I’ll leave my bag on an adjacent seat.

Do what you want on a quiet train - I would do the same myself if the train was genuinely quiet. But I get a commuter train which is always busy so I always use the overhead racks (after, that's what they are there for).

This thread  forum is a masterclass in “I’m correct and everyone else is wrong.”

You were wrong - I have corrected it for you x

This thread helps to explain why I always stand in the corridors on trains and get coffee to go.

If it's a cafe/pub which requires a table number to order then yes I'll find a table and then go and order while someone sits at the table. However, if it doesn't work that way then under no circumstances will I grab a table before ordering nor will I allow anyone else who is with me to sit first, once I've ordered and am probably then carrying my food and drink I will quite loudly point out when there is then nowhere to sit and will happily stare at people who have sat down and don't have any food nor drinks in front of them. Whether I'm right or wrong, it infuriates the beeeeeeejesus out of me that other people feel more entitled to bagsie tables like we're people with towels and flippin' deck chairs!

Carry a bag and wear a coat, just plonk these down on your chosen table/chair before joining the queue.

My pet hate is the solo person in the queue that then let's their large number of friends join them. It's mostly them pointy elbowed silver tops, bloody boomers. Isn't it enough for you to buy your house for threepence and retire on a final salary pension at 55, without pushing into a queue when I'm trying to buy my lunch in my 30 minutes lunch break.

Are we Brits the most passive aggressive of all nationalities?

And just how load can one tut?

How about sitting in a pub and a a group of 4 sit at the adjacent table then ask you to move so their group of 8 can all sit together.  I was happy to move. Then had to suffer tutting from the next 4 as they arrived as the seat I had moved to narrowed the aisle somewhat and they thought I should have stood up and moved out the way to let them past rather than them turning sideways to get past. Actually is wasn't just tutting it was a couple of comments like "how rude".

Claiming chairs/tables in pubs cafes, acceptable?

Yes

Are we Brits the most passive aggressive of all nationalities?

I thought that, until I lived in the Czech Rep for a while...