Sharing tables with strangers during meal time

last SG · 2008-10-25T18:23:32+00:00

but hor, i dont know what do you mean by private session.... how private is private? Just intimate chats? If it's like that, i dont really care if a 3rd part...

bizzkit0102 SG

Personally I'm ok with sharing tables so long as they ask politely, just like many of you here.

But what about the point of chatting with your meal partner(s) and having a loss of privacy when eating coz share table with a stranger? Honestly, if there is a need for a stranger to share table with you, chances are the foodcourt/hawker centre is already very crowded. Chatting should be left till after meal when can walk to a more convenient, less crowded place. Chatting at the table without finishing your food asap is also quite inconsiderate during rush hours.

bizzkit0102 SG

if the table is 'built' for 4, then I think in a very crowded, not very high class place its okay and polite to share

but if it is a restaurant (and this had happened to me before) I was meeting up with 2 friends whom I have not met for some time, so we were chatting, taking our time, catching up - there was a queue outside but we will still considering to have dessert - when an auntie walked in and said that we were inconsiderate for taking so long and if we finished we should just LEAVE.

I was quite... appalled ba.

Would you tell someone off for not leaving the restaurant fast enough after their dinner?

Actually the polite thing for you all to do would be to settle the bill and find somewhere less crowded to continue your conversation/ catching up. After all, it is just as impolite on your end to make others wait just to satisfy your own desires that can be satisfied at another, less crowded area. I have queued up before outside restaurants where some patrons, even after finishing their food long ago, continue to sit there and tcss for ages. It really gets frustrating.

What I might do is to ask the staff to talk to certain tables, perhaps even pin-pointing them to tables with patrons who are blatantly hogging their seats if possible. I will remind them repeatedly if nothing much is done on their part to ensure table hoggers are not "taken care of".

Casin SG

I don't know why I always not the first man take up the table.So I always ask people share tables with me, most people can share table with me.Usually I finish lunch in 5 minutes.

ghast. SG

sometimes if i wanna talk to my friend then perhaps i get irritated but just walk away then go somewhere else lo. if its peak hour where there's a lot of people, it would be more considerate and makes more sense to eat and just go instead of sitting and chatting when you see people waiting.

Stage SG

Hai hao lah.. I always ask ppl one.. Not many times is ppl ask me..

limpper SG

if at coffee shops, i don mind. but if high class dining places, i don really like the idea of it. but i seldom dine at high class places lah, so this doesnt affect me much.

ShrodingersCat SG

agreed. actually we hadn't even noticed the queue cos there was a screen blocking the entrance. We just hadn't noticed it cos we were too busy chatting. In fact, if the service staff had pointed it out politely, I think I would feel quite bad about it.

However, actually if I am not prepared to wait, I will never queue up at a restaurant that has a queue. Or I will make reservations.

Scania N113CRB l0v3r SG

I usually sit alone or with my fren if that strangers is Old people i will let her sit down if they are Young People can accept to let them sit if gangster u know wad will i do.

corebooster SG

for me, i go to a restaurant to eat, is for the food and the ambience. I shall dine at my own pleasure and make sure that me and my guest are in comfort. So, even we finish dining, if we like the place, we will still stay on with a cup of coffee or etc to chill and have a chat.

If customers are fed up with me(also a fellow customer) hogging the seat. Sorry, its not my issue, its the management issue, they should have anticipated the crowd and make neccessary arrangements.

I pay for the food, the service and the ambience, i shall dine in the restaurant til a period i deem fit.

and yes, its not inconsiderate.

ShrodingersCat SG

If customers are fed up with me(also a fellow customer) hogging the seat. Sorry, its not my issue, its the management issue, they should have anticipated the crowd and make neccessary arrangements.

I pay for the food, the service and the ambience, i shall dine in the restaurant til a period i deem fit.

and yes, its not inconsiderate.

I think it depends on the type of restaurant or eating place.

For example, if it is a coffee house and planning to meet and chat with friends over coffee. Then it gets crowded - and people wander in standing around waiting for seats. And if you are obliged to give up your seats, where else is there to go catch up in nice air conditioned comfort?

Anyway this is one reason why I avoid city areas.

corebooster SG

I think it depends on the type of restaurant or eating place.

Anyway this is one reason why I avoid city areas.

yeah

if its a common eating area, llike kopitiam and hawkercenters n sama type of place, ill eat there, den finish le den move on to a place to chill

but if its a restaurant. ill do as my previous post lor. restaurants means, frm swenson, long beach, waraku, sushi tei and stuff. means there are service staff attending to you.

n ya, back to TS. ill share my table with strangers if there is seats.(only applies to common eating area) if there is smth impt to discuss over the table, ill choose a restaurant.

browniebaobao SG

i dun mind if they ask.

i dun own the table and chairs mah.

but i will be bothered if i haven finish eating then someone come sit down beside me without asking or crowd ard the table and pressurising me with their eye power.

killtheink SG

i dun mind if they ask.

i dun own the table and chairs mah.

but i will be bothered if i haven finish eating then someone come sit down beside me without asking or crowd ard the table and pressurising me with their eye power.

same here. feel like gorging their eyes out with the fork. hahah

oldbreadstinks SG

i don't mind moving off if i'm at the coffee shop or hawker center but if its a resturtant you're talking about then i strongly feel its the lady's who's at fault.

like what someone else mentioned here, ambience counts if i'm eating at a resturant and since i specifically choose to eat there for the ambience and end up paying a higher price, i don't see why i should move off. it usually takes 15-30mins for a meal at hawker center but if i'm eating at a resturant i actually expect to go in and sit for at least up til an hour or even more since i'm there to enjoy myself with my friends.

rainee SG

I do not think it is impolite...she had already stated she wanted to order dessert. I mean she is paying for her food so it is only right she gets to enjoy it at her own leisure.

And everywhere you go during weekends, it is also crowded...so unless you bring your friends to your house to chit-chat...

bizzkit0102 SG

I agree nobody is obliged to move off when dining at a restaurant but its more of a courtesy issue. Of course, if dining at a posh place like in a good hotel or something then I feel it is fine to take your time as after all, chances are patrons there are not just there for the food but the ambience as well. Moreover, one has to probably pay a King's ransom to dine at those places.

But in places like Mahattan or Dian Xiao Er etc where there always queues outside, does anyone really need to hog the table? I mean, what ambience is there in those places? Whats more, when fully crowded these places are really noisy and it would be difficult to sit back and chat as well.

bizzkit0102 SG

i don't mind moving off if i'm at the coffee shop or hawker center but if its a resturtant you're talking about then i strongly feel its the lady's who's at fault.

I agree with you that the lady is at fault if it was a restaurant. But I guess that you did not read my original post clearly. I wouldn't personally walk to any particular table and tell them to move off in a restaurant like the lady. It would be quite class-less on my part as well. But I stated I might let the staff know that I feel some patrons are hogging the tables, in a polite manner of course.

Ultimately, it is up to them whether the staff want to politely ask the current patrons whether if they are willing to move off or not. And if the patrons refuse, then there's nothing I can do about it. But I would appreciate it if the staff explain it to me politely that after all, it is the right of the customers to sit there as long as they want.

bizzkit0102 SG

yeah

if its a common eating area, llike kopitiam and hawkercenters n sama type of place, ill eat there, den finish le den move on to a place to chill

but if its a restaurant. ill do as my previous post lor. restaurants means, frm swenson, long beach, waraku, sushi tei and stuff. means there are service staff attending to you.

n ya, back to TS. ill share my table with strangers if there is seats.(only applies to common eating area) if there is smth impt to discuss over the table, ill choose a restaurant.

Swensens? Maybe 15 years ago I would consider that as a restaurant haha :D

Agree with your classification of the other restaurants though.

NG QIBO AARON AUBREY SG

Let me ask you all...do you all feel bothered when you have to share your table when you are eating with a bunch of strangers? Let's say you are in a very crowded restaurant or food court and you are eating and having conversations with your boyfriend or husband, then some strangers came up to ask, can I sit with you all..do you feel a bit irritated and don't like it? Especially when you are in a very cramped place like Toastbox where the table is so freaking small and your tray practically occupied 3/4 o the table already but still got ppl want to share, how do you truly feel?

go back to malaysia

no such problem there

jesslyn1992 SG

i hate it.. but i have no choice :( so i'll just pretend there's nobody there and quickly finish my meal :)

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