I don't know about you, but I like working in a cafe. You know, with big windows all over the place, a beautiful street view outside, the pleasant smell of coffee and the hubbub of customers. All that noise on the periphery of your hearing, which can help you concentrate on your work.
So from that point of view, I can totally understand the user u/Double_Table_8835, the author of our story today. But as for their behavior in the situation described, there are actually different points of view. However, let's first figure out this story ourselves.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post likes to work and study remotely in a small cozy cafe and even has their favorite table
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
They usually show up at 8am, make their order and stay for 2 or 3 hours
Image credits: u/Double_Table_8835
Image credits: Zen Chung (not the actual photo)
The cafe has some big tables, two small tables for 2 persons, and also some space at the counter
Image credits: u/Double_Table_8835
Image credits: No Revisions (not the actual photo)
That day two women came to the cafe. They made their order and asked the author if they could move to the counter so they could occupy their table
Image credits: u/Double_Table_8835
The author, however, said 'No' - even in spite of the women telling that one of them had recently had back surgery and needed a comfortable seat
So, the Original Poster (OP) also likes studying in cafes, and they even have their own favorite place. A small cafe with several big tables, two small ones for two persons, and some more space at the counter.
The cafe is usually crowded, so the author shows up at 8am, gets their coffee and breakfast, and stays for 2-3 hours. And so, one fine day, when the clock was nine in the morning, two women walked into the cafe. The OP calls them ‘Beatrice’ and ‘Suzy,’ so we'll stick with that concept, too.
The women were discussing where they should sit and have breakfast, and one of them pointed to a small table occupied by the author - as if to suggest that they try to take their place. Suzy made her order, took the number, and sat down next to the original poster. And almost immediately asked if they could switch places with her friend and sit near the counter.
The OP immediately replied that they couldn't, because working at the counter is actually not very comfortable. In response, Suzy said that her friend had recently had back surgery, and needed to sit with some comfort. The author, however, was still adamant.
Words led to words - and a real drama broke out, during which the women accused the OP of just sitting in a cafe without ordering anything (the author had already drunk their coffee and eaten breakfast). The original poster didn’t remain in debt with words - and when the cafe staff came to ask if these two women were bothering them, the author confidently said "Yes."
Well, Beatrice and Suzy were asked to leave the premises, but the original poster, having returned home and told their own sister and roommate about this situation, faced their unexpected reaction. Instead of being outraged by the behavior of these women, both said that the author was also rude and inappropriate here. So the OP decided to ask netizens for their opinion too.
Image credits: Trung Thanh (not the actual photo)
"Technically, the cafe can't do anything to a customer who has already ordered and taken their seat - even if they have long since eaten and drunk everything. If the rules of the establishment do not provide for a limit on staying at the table, and the customer wasn’t warned about it, then they are free to sit there even until closing time," says Vlad Ostrometsky, the administrator of UNIT Cafe in Odessa, Ukraine, whom Bored Panda asked for a comment here.
"That is, on the one hand, this person, since they have already arrived early, has every right to sit at the chosen table, even if the cafe is actually overcrowded. Another thing is that this is not that good for business - but such are the rules of the game..."
"From a moral point of view, however, if this woman is really recovering from the back surgery, then, of course, it would be worth giving her a seat. However, as it seemed to me, both parties to the conflict were quite agitated and didn’t behave very appropriately towards each other," Vlad summarizes.
As for the commenters on the original post, their opinions are very divided. Some defend the author, claiming that the women had behaved inappropriately beforehand, discussing how they would sit at an already occupied table. "The way they went about trying to appropriate your table was pretty bold. I would have stayed at the table just because of that," one of the responders wrote.
However, most readers still believe that either the author was 100% wrong, or all parties behaved rather crudely here. “I personally think it’s rude to occupy a table at a busy cafe for hours,” someone replied in the comments. “The entitlement on all sides is mesmerizing,” another person added. And what do you, our dear readers, think about this tale and the behavior of its characters as well?
The commenters were very divided, but most of them decided that both parties actually behaved not that nicely here
