Party of Two Sitting at a Table for Six

[LadyBears]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie


My son and I often sit at large tables so that we'll have room to spread out. It never occured to me that I should leave those tables open for large families.

Why did it matter to you?

I am the same way. When a waitress tries to sit my party of two (even if it is just me & my 4 year old) at a 2 top table, I ALWAYS refuse. I have never been told I couldn't. If the hostess has a problem with that - not only would the manager get a complaint in person, the main office of the restaurant would get a really NASTY letter about their poor customer service! Why should I be squished & eat with my food on my lap? The tables for 2 are just tooooo small! I am just too uncomfortable to sit there. At fast food places - on the rare occasion I go in - I prefer a window seat. If the only window seat is for 6 & it is NOT busy, I would sit there too. However, If there was a table for 4, we would have sat there instead.

Bottom line, I am a paying customer whether I am in a party of 2 or a party of 20. A smaller party deserves the same respect as a larger one.

The ONLY time I have EVER sat (& will EVER sit) at a table for 2 is when I was dining alone!

BTW -from someone who has worked as a hostess/waitress & also in other "people based" industries- as the hostesss - you are usually the first one a customer or a guest will meet. If your first impression is that rude - & first impressions do mean a lot - you are not just hurting yourself - you are hurting your employers business. Should a customer or guest actually stay after running into you, trust me the customer or guest will be LOOKING for other things to complain about!

 

[princesstommi]

Unless it was busy, and there was a party of 5-6 with nowhere to sit - I would never even notice, let alone spend time afterwards concerned about it.

 

[gymnasticsmom68]

If there is 2 in my party, I will absolutely refuse to sit at a 2 top table. Until the start putting 2 chairs at a 4 top table I will ask for a bigger table. I wouldn't have even given it a second thought if I were you.

 

[HappyMommy2]

LOL, I had to reply here. DH and I have two kids and are accustomed to having them with us when we eat out, so when we had a sitter for the kids one day we went into a self-seating restaurant and promptly sat down at a table for 6 because we were so used to needing all that space with our two little ones!

Maybe that couple was just used to needing all that room because usually their kids were along. At any rate, in a non-busy fast food place I think it probably wasn't too big a deal that they were taking more than their share of room.

 

[epcotfan]

How do you know they weren't waiting for someone else?

Just how is 2 people sitting at a large table (at an empty fast food place) affecting ANYONE?

I totally agree! As long as it wasn't busy, who cares?

 

[bumcat]

It really doesn't matter if a family has to split up and sit at another table because they will still be on top of each other even if they are at separate tables the way they cram every one in a small space like a herd of cattle!
When it's just my husband and I we always sit at a table for 4 even if there are table for two open. It just isn't a table for two normal size people its more like a table for two midgets!!

 

[lulugirl]

Originally posted by princesstommi
Unless it was busy, and there was a party of 5-6 with nowhere to sit - I would never even notice, let alone spend time afterwards concerned about it.

My thoughts exactly...I have much more important things to concern myself with!

 

[Chattyaholic]

Well gee, I'm sorry I brought the subject up.

So many of you wondered why it bothered me so, it didn't...I just happened to notice it since the restaurant wasn't busy so it made me curious to know what others would do in a situation like that so that's why I posted. I, myself, just wouldn't consider sitting at a larger table when I didn't need the room.

And as for asking customers not to sit at a large table at the restaurant where I work, it's not a chain restaurant, it's a "Mom & Pop" type place and the owner would do the exact same thing. We only have four large tables, there is no reason 2-4 people should sit at one when we have plenty of tables for 2-4. I've never had any trouble from people when I ask them not to sit at a large table if they don't need the room and I've worked there 8 years. Yes, when the restaurant is busy there is a hostess who seats people, but when it's not busy people seat themselves. But it really wouldn't be fair to have the four large tables being used by only 2-4 people each, then a group of 8-9 comes in and they have to wait to be seated simply because those other people wouldn't sit at a table designed for the number in their group.

WishingStar: I guess you and I are in the minority here!!

 

[disykat]

I'm with you chatty, I think it's rude for people to take an extra large table with only two in their party - assuming there are plenty of regular sized tables to sit at. A table for four should certainly be roomy enough for two people. I also think it's perfectly natural that you should notice, since you are a waitress! I probably would have thought it odd and left it at that.

I really can't understand why people are so offended by your observation or why anyone would be offended to be asked to sit at a regular sized table - it seems like a logical request to me. Heck, I've had waiters ask me to move to help accomodate a larger party after they sat me themselves (before entrees arrived) - as long as they are pleasant about it I don't have a problem at all.

 

[ScarlettO]

At a fast food place most tables are for 4-6 and I wouldn't think anything of it-they probably just wanted to sit by the window. Because the place was almost empty, I surely wouldn't get bothered by it.

 

[MonaCK]

Not only will i sometimes, by myself, sit down at a 4-top when I go to a fast food restaurant to eat, but I'll sometimes have a book, newspaper, or some kind of writing I'mworking on with me and completely spread out at the table.

I guess I'm just rude and inconsiderate.

 

[BibbidyBobbidyBoo]

And as for asking customers not to sit at a large table at the restaurant where I work, it's not a chain restaurant, it's a "Mom & Pop" type place and the owner would do the exact same thing.

And this may be why it will never be a chain restaurant and stay a "Mom & Pop" type place- if he's telling others to move to other tables that are smaller JUST to save space for others that might come in later- as you suggested originally.

However, if I walk in that restaurant and I'm not seated (so I get a larger table than my party is) by someone and I sit at a larger table and THEN a large group comes in- I wouldn't mind moving to make space for them. It's when I'm asked to sit at a smaller table "just in case" a larger party comes in later is where I draw the line.... that would upset me and if the space was so limited that the waitress and owner would ask me to do that- I'd not eat there. Simple as that.

 

[jin diesel]

You have stated more than once that this fast-food establishment was practically empty. That's why they sat where they sat.

You know sometimes there doesn't really HAVE to be a reason for EVERYTHING. I would hate to live my life second guessing every minor insignificant detail such as "Is it ok for me to sit here? What if a hypothetical family of 6 shows up? What will the hypothetical family do with themselves!?"

I'm not trying to be rude, but there is a lot stuff going on the world today. You can't assume that 2 people sitting at a table for 6 are rude or inconsiderate. You don't know anything about them or what was on their minds when they sat down to eat fast food!!!

 

[WishingStar]

Originally posted by BibbidyBobbidyBoo
I beg your pardon- I consider that an insult since you said it after quoting me!

Insult was not my intent. I can agree to disagree. If I ever come into a restaurant with my family that is also a family of five and you're at the only table alone that is large enough I would just leave since my children are too small to be split up. But if you come in after me with yours, enjoy your meal.

 

[FroggyinArk]

the fast fod place dw and i go to for breakfast is a small chain spot, local fv, and ussually gets packed by 830 am,, there are 4 tables in the smoking section set up to seat 9 each,, they expect us to share DW and i take the first 2 seats , at table #1,,, a family we know takes table 2, the "Good ol boys"(coffee crowd ofd old men and professionals ) take table three. there are ussualyl at least three or four others that sit at tables one and 2 with us,, and no one ever thiunks strangely about it. its not at all strange to find us at the table with our local mayor, staterepresentative, several other business men will sit and visit a few min,, we get other construction crews,, hAve seen it when dw and i, along wioth 4 of our competitors were sittingeating breakfast together and talking shop, yeah there are several othersingle tables for 2 or 4m tops available, but we enjoy the larger tables "meet and greet" atmoshperera nd yeah if a larger group waws to come in anbd need the whole table dw and i w ould move to a smaller one if we were rhtere alone, but ussually groups of 4 or 5 are taking tables in another section, so weall stay put,

 

[Nancy]

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[poochie]

Nothing irritates me more than when I go to a restrurant with my DH and we are seated at a table/booth for two. It is not the table size that is the problem. It is usually all the junk on the table. Not just salt and pepper. Special menu for drinks, special menu for desserts. Some sort of display for the special of the week. Special sauces, candle, a small vase with some sort of flower (fake or real) Once they add your silverware, water glasses. Your drink. Bread basket. There is no room to eat!! I preferr to be seated at a table at least for 4.

Also the fast food places the boothes for two are so small I think they cater to the kids, Im no longer a size 5, but I am not huge either . I just wish they would concentrate more on customer service instead a packing us in like sardines.

 

[Tinkbell]

At fast food places, I don't put any thought into where I sit, espcially if it is not crowded. I reallly don't pay attention to where anyone else is seated either.

A few times, when some full service restaurants were busy and had up to 60 minute waits, my party of 2 was seated at a table of six. This was done at The Outback, Cracker Barrel, Bob Evans and TGI Fridays. They said it was the first available table. We sat at the table the first time (Outback), but felt pretty stange with all that room and empty chairs. The next times we said we'd wait for a 4 seat table. We also do not like the 2 seat tables because of all the clutter they already have on the table (salt, pepper, sugar, dessert menu, drink menu. etc.).

 

[Philharmagik]

I don't think anybody blinks an eye if a party of 2 sits at a table for 4. I would feel uncomfortable being a party of 2 sitting at a table for 6.

Being considerate of others is not something done part time by some people from what i read in this post. I guess maybe some people shouldn't expct that same consideration from others.

It does make me wonder if there is any difference in some peoples thinking if they saw me with a guest sitting at a table for 6 compared to me sitting on a bus and not giving up my seat for an elderly person or a woman expecting a child. I guess i never thought being considerate of others was discriminate. Either you are or you aren't. I would give up my seat on the bus.

 

[Chattyaholic]

BibbidyBobbidyBoo: The restaurant where I work doesn't NEED to be a "chain" restaurant, we have a HUGE following of "regulars" plus many, many "newbies" who BECOME regulars because it ISN'T a "chain" restaurant. The restaurant seats about 100 people and we have folks driving 50-100 miles JUST to eat there, I'm not kidding. People drive from Lansing, the state capitol, (and points further than that) and I'm always amazed with all of the zillion restaurants in the city that they would choose to drive all that way to eat at my restaurant. The food is ALL "homemade", good "country cookin" and you don't get THAT at "chain" restaurants.

Oh and by the way, the owner is a SHE, not a HE

And customers sitting at a larger table and LATER being asked to move just makes more work for everyone.

And I'm glad to see that there ARE others here who think it's wrong for smaller parties to sit at large tables. But, really, it wasn't that people here disagreed with me, that I can accept for we ARE all different and have different thoughts and ideas, but it was also what was said about "why should I care", etc. A person can disagree with another and they don't HAVE to be hurtful or nasty about it. THAT'S more what bothered me after I started this thread. I thought this board was "just for fun" and people can start threads about anything and everything. I didn't think my topic for discussion was different than any other posted here but I was very surprised at the nastiness of some posters.
Enough said.