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Woman Arrives At Diner, Says “I’ll Sit Here” Gesturing To Table Occupied By Family Of 3
Restaurants of all sorts are great cross sections of humanity. Everyone has to eat – that means that you’re likely to meet some of these charming everyday people. Well, they’re charming most of the time. Until they’re not (what a plot twist, right?).
This is the backdrop for today’s story – a family of 3 was having a good time at a diner, when a woman came in, cut through the queue and literally demanded to have their table.
More info: Reddit
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Although restaurant patrons are usually pretty normal, you do see a lot of bad apples crop up who want to be treated like Michelin Guide critics
Image credits: Syed Ahmad (not the actual photo)
A mom took it to the Entitled People community to share a story of the attempted usurpation of her table at a diner
Image credits: u/babymonsters2
Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto (not the actual photo)
A woman decided not to wait for a table to free up but rather demand to be seated at their table while their toddler was still eating
Image credits: u/babymonsters2
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
She wouldn’t let up, but her waitress managed to convince her to be put on the wait list while the kid finished her meal in 10 minutes
Image credits: u/babymonsters2
Many weren’t happy with the poster, saying they were hogging the table, while they were really there for only under an hour
Waiting to get a table at any place usually sucks. I mean that – you have to stand around awkwardly while you’re really hungry and covertly stare daggers at currently eating patrons, hoping that your psychic barrage will make them abandon their table ASAP.
But barring that, you can’t really do anything about it, right? Even staring shouldn’t be overdone, especially when you’ve got no claim to the table.
Turns out you can do something about it! It just takes being entitled and super annoying to boot.
I’m your regular, normal, down to earth guy – the humblest person I know, really. So imagining walking up to a table and saying “I’ll sit here, thanks” while pointing to the people sitting there just seems like an inter-galactic level of crazy.
If that wasn’t enough, when a waitress tried to politely snap that woman out of her maddened state, she simply refused to return to sanity. I’m being facetious, but waiting tables could probably be compared with being a roughneck on an oil drilling operation in terms of difficulty. The struggle of dealing with awful people on an almost-daily basis takes some very serious mental fortitude.
It’s even more wild that some people in the comments defended the madwoman. They flipped the story on the writer and her family, saying that she is the entitled one for taking one WHOLE hour to finish breakfast and calmly sip on their coffee.
This actually seems to stem from a cultural thing, with the Europeans emphasizing that eating at a restaurant is an experience, not just an opportunity to stuff your face as quickly as you possibly can and leave. It really depends on the establishment, but choosing what you want can take 10 minutes sometimes, then 10-20 to get the food, depending on the amount of clientele, so that’s 30 minutes for a meal, which isn’t a lot at all, if you want to sit down and relax at a nice place at all.
Image credits: Roman Arkhipov (not the actual photo)
Although it wasn’t a restaurant, I’ve had a very similar experience, but the person actually sat down next to me! In my youth (eons ago) I was sitting in the park with a friend, spending some of our limited afterschool time before we had to go our separate ways.
Up comes this senior citizen and plops down right next to us. I mean, it is a public park, but there were several benches to the left and right of us, which weren’t any more inconvenient than the one we had occupied. Us, being polite high schoolers, simply accepted this as a fact of life.
Within minutes, that woman was talking about every single detail of her life up to this point, putting a lot of emphasis on her nose whistling career. You heard that right – she used to musically whistle through her nose and apparently was quite popular for it. Unfortunately, she couldn’t whistle at that point anymore, because of a nose cartilage operation, but did give us a regular lip-whistling performance, which wasn’t bad, really.
When we were sufficiently rattled by this jarring display of overbearing self-confidence, she went “there’s another bench over there, if you’d like” to us. I would have said something smart and snappy to her at that point, but I was a 17 y.o. teen, so I have to comfort myself with imagining comebacks before sleep.
The poster’s story got over 7k likes and many of the hundreds of commenters shared their own stories of similar ilk, servers and patrons alike. There was a splinter group of people who did say that OP was the jerk here, but the overwhelming majority had a more tolerant take.
Share your own stories of annoying diner customers in the comments section below!
The comments shared their own stories of encountering rude clients at restaurants and agreed with the poster’s view
What do you think ?
Karen Philpott 1 year ago
We went out with friends, a couple, and we booked at our favourite restaurant. Turns out it was a busy night that. We were given a table for 6, so we got there first and after a few minutes our friends came in. We were looking at the menu's and talking about how busy it was when an older couple came in hoping for a table. Of course there's no tables available so they walked out the door. We looked at each other and asked each other if we should ask them to join us. D got up quickly asked the waiter if we could add to our table, yes, then shot out the door. Well, it turns out they're old friends of my uncle. So strangely odd things happen, and there's definitely a 2° of separation in NZ, between people here.
Hokuloa 1 year ago
Impatient patrons in restaurants drive me up a wall. Sadly, it is a *very* common trait of US citizens. Unless it’s fast food, chill the f**k out and let people enjoy their experience. If you are in such a bloody hurry, go get takeout!
Kathryn Baylis 1 year ago
I’m American, and have no problem waiting my turn if a restaurant is packed and I didn’t reserve a table ahead of time. No one is going to die of starvation waiting an extra 10-15 minutes to get seated. Just occupy your time until your name is called. If there’s a bar, order a drink while you wait (but don’t go getting all sloppy drunk, ffs). One thing forgotten here is that the bigger your party is the longer you’ll wait for a table large enough, or two tables than can be pushed together, to open up. Two people are one thing, as smaller tables will open up faster. Large parties, on the other hand, should definitely make reservations ahead of time. It’s just common courtesy, something too many people have forgotten, or never learned, anymore.
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Paula Wynn 1 year ago
I'm just a flat out b!tch, because my first thought would be to order even more food, return some emails, call my mom, etc. Of course, that would be rude to those who were actually waiting ahead of her. Sometimes you have to just be blunt & tell the entitled @ss to carry it somewhere else. People who have manners will be walked over by those who don't unless you speak up for yourself and others!!!
Abbelius 1 year ago
If I were the server, I would have brought that other customer a couple of crayons, and one of those interactive menus for children. If that's how she conducts herself over a seating arrangement, imagine how she's going to react when her food doesn't automatically show up in front of her when she snaps her fingers.
Marcellus II 1 year ago
I feel at that point the only polite thing as the customer is to shout "Eff off, AHole, you heard the lady". They're told there's a waiting list, the waitress can't say that but is thinking it, and there's all the current clients she has to deal with so no reason to cause extra delay with unclear communication. If she does bugger off, even better for the waitlist.
Hey! 1 year ago
There's this restaurant Flips where I live and my husband and I wanted to try it. We were seated at a 4-place table and soon after two females were also seated at "our" table. They were extremely loud and we couldn't hear each other. After 20 minutes of this, we packed up to go with doggy bags. Never again.
Janet Howe 1 year ago
The world seems to be filled with entitled AHs. It's not unusual to wait for a table in a small establishment. It may be the only place around to get breakfast, so it's popular. Wait your turn. You'll get the same breakfast experience as the person ahead of you. OMG, unless they run out of bacon.
Anya Beboop 1 year ago
I refuse to believe that people dont know when a popular restaurant usually has a line/list in 2023. Many businesses tell you in real time, you can call, look at reviews, and anyone that told you about the place through word of mouth should know. People love bonding over stories over how long lines are for businesses.
Load More Replies...
Stephanie 1 year ago
Many years ago I was a server in LA. There was this family (middle aged couple, adult children, grandchild) fancied themselves producers and would come in like they owned the place. (Said they were friends of the owner, but he would hide in the office when they came in.) They would call on their way in and tell us to hold their (favorite) table, then hang up. Well, one day it was really busy. The family bounded straight in as usual and the matriarch shouted across the dining room to the manager, right in front of a family trying to enjoy their dinner, "There are people at our table! Why did you seat our table?!" I was horrified for the family, who was already sitting there when the call came in. Manager had to talk down the "owner's friends" and gave them a seat in the back of the restaurant (unfortunately, my section.) The toddler grandchild would run wild - that may also be the day he ran between my legs while I was carrying a large tray of dishes. Good times.
Anya Beboop 1 year ago
Typical LA with that one.Partly why I moved. Sorry you had to deal with that whole batch of crazy though.
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StrangeOne 1 year ago
Some people are just unreal. Narcissists are just on a whole other level of entitlement and delusional grandiose thinking. That's all it is. These types don't even deserve the TA title, because AHs can learn from their mistakes and correct their behaviour. Narcissists are a lost cause. So this lady is NTA because that title is too lenient for her. She's a big, fat NARC. It's also weird how she was pointing to only them, not knowing if they paid yet.
Celtic Pirate Queen 1 year ago
I used to hate it when I'd take my kids (b12, g4) out to eat and the hostess would say, "Two and a half?" I always responded with "No, there are three people here, one just happens to be a lot smaller". My daughter is no less a person just because she's tiny.
Doodles1983 1 year ago
In all honesty, I would have pointedly asked for 2 more coffees, and a slice of (humble) pie.
Royal Stray 1 year ago
It's like some people at Hard Rock Cafe in London, they're always busy and will usually give you a little alarm to take with you while you either wait in the shop or take a short stroll outside, and there are always people demanding to be let in because they see a that someone left or that there's a free table or that there has to be one more spot by the bar. Despite it being so crowded by the bar that it's hard to move through it
millac 6 months ago
They took up a table for a full hour during a busy morning rush? Yeah, they were inconsiderate. The impatient lady, I understand. If there was no visible line in front of her, and it's a tiny place, being told there are people in front of her out wandering around rather than waiting in line like she was, that wouldn't compute unless they had a paging system.
Jocelyn 2 weeks ago (edited)
What a pathetically sad little life you must lead that something so entirely mundane “never happened” because you’ve never seen it in your hometown of 300 in Podunk, Arkansas. You probably can’t imagine that lots of people have parents that aren’t siblings, too. Thank god I got an education and have accomplishments and am not a laughably nothing little piece of DHOTYA trash like you.
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Amelia Jade 1 year ago
Their child was still eating. They paid their bill so they could get out of the way as soon as the kid was done. You're the problem.
Load More Replies... 
Cara G 1 year ago
That's what you got from this story? Do you normally enjoy having a random stranger thrust upon you while you're having a nice meal out? With your child? That's absurd. Even the other way around, why on earth would a single diner be comfortable being seated with a table of strangers? I've worked in many restaurants as both a server and a bartender and this just isn't a thing that happens because it would be ludicrous to even suggest.
Load More Replies...
summersalts 1 year ago (edited)
Woahhhhhhh what a bad take! These parents value their child having a good time at breakfast, chill out. Also, this is me speaking as a former server- if the place was that slammed, no they weren't taking money, no they didn't need to leave an extra tip for staying what, 10 min? I would've appreciated knowing I could've just let that table chill while giving attention tomy other tables, who might've already been grumpy by the wait.
Load More Replies... Karen Philpott 1 year ago
We went out with friends, a couple, and we booked at our favourite restaurant. Turns out it was a busy night that. We were given a table for 6, so we got there first and after a few minutes our friends came in. We were looking at the menu's and talking about how busy it was when an older couple came in hoping for a table. Of course there's no tables available so they walked out the door. We looked at each other and asked each other if we should ask them to join us. D got up quickly asked the waiter if we could add to our table, yes, then shot out the door. Well, it turns out they're old friends of my uncle. So strangely odd things happen, and there's definitely a 2° of separation in NZ, between people here.
Hokuloa 1 year ago
Impatient patrons in restaurants drive me up a wall. Sadly, it is a *very* common trait of US citizens. Unless it’s fast food, chill the f**k out and let people enjoy their experience. If you are in such a bloody hurry, go get takeout!
Kathryn Baylis 1 year ago
I’m American, and have no problem waiting my turn if a restaurant is packed and I didn’t reserve a table ahead of time. No one is going to die of starvation waiting an extra 10-15 minutes to get seated. Just occupy your time until your name is called. If there’s a bar, order a drink while you wait (but don’t go getting all sloppy drunk, ffs). One thing forgotten here is that the bigger your party is the longer you’ll wait for a table large enough, or two tables than can be pushed together, to open up. Two people are one thing, as smaller tables will open up faster. Large parties, on the other hand, should definitely make reservations ahead of time. It’s just common courtesy, something too many people have forgotten, or never learned, anymore.
Load More Replies... Paula Wynn 1 year ago
I'm just a flat out b!tch, because my first thought would be to order even more food, return some emails, call my mom, etc. Of course, that would be rude to those who were actually waiting ahead of her. Sometimes you have to just be blunt & tell the entitled @ss to carry it somewhere else. People who have manners will be walked over by those who don't unless you speak up for yourself and others!!!
Abbelius 1 year ago
If I were the server, I would have brought that other customer a couple of crayons, and one of those interactive menus for children. If that's how she conducts herself over a seating arrangement, imagine how she's going to react when her food doesn't automatically show up in front of her when she snaps her fingers.
Marcellus II 1 year ago
I feel at that point the only polite thing as the customer is to shout "Eff off, AHole, you heard the lady". They're told there's a waiting list, the waitress can't say that but is thinking it, and there's all the current clients she has to deal with so no reason to cause extra delay with unclear communication. If she does bugger off, even better for the waitlist.
Hey! 1 year ago
There's this restaurant Flips where I live and my husband and I wanted to try it. We were seated at a 4-place table and soon after two females were also seated at "our" table. They were extremely loud and we couldn't hear each other. After 20 minutes of this, we packed up to go with doggy bags. Never again.
Janet Howe 1 year ago
The world seems to be filled with entitled AHs. It's not unusual to wait for a table in a small establishment. It may be the only place around to get breakfast, so it's popular. Wait your turn. You'll get the same breakfast experience as the person ahead of you. OMG, unless they run out of bacon.
Anya Beboop 1 year ago
I refuse to believe that people dont know when a popular restaurant usually has a line/list in 2023. Many businesses tell you in real time, you can call, look at reviews, and anyone that told you about the place through word of mouth should know. People love bonding over stories over how long lines are for businesses.
Load More Replies... Stephanie 1 year ago
Many years ago I was a server in LA. There was this family (middle aged couple, adult children, grandchild) fancied themselves producers and would come in like they owned the place. (Said they were friends of the owner, but he would hide in the office when they came in.) They would call on their way in and tell us to hold their (favorite) table, then hang up. Well, one day it was really busy. The family bounded straight in as usual and the matriarch shouted across the dining room to the manager, right in front of a family trying to enjoy their dinner, "There are people at our table! Why did you seat our table?!" I was horrified for the family, who was already sitting there when the call came in. Manager had to talk down the "owner's friends" and gave them a seat in the back of the restaurant (unfortunately, my section.) The toddler grandchild would run wild - that may also be the day he ran between my legs while I was carrying a large tray of dishes. Good times.
Anya Beboop 1 year ago
Typical LA with that one.Partly why I moved. Sorry you had to deal with that whole batch of crazy though.
Load More Replies... StrangeOne 1 year ago
Some people are just unreal. Narcissists are just on a whole other level of entitlement and delusional grandiose thinking. That's all it is. These types don't even deserve the TA title, because AHs can learn from their mistakes and correct their behaviour. Narcissists are a lost cause. So this lady is NTA because that title is too lenient for her. She's a big, fat NARC. It's also weird how she was pointing to only them, not knowing if they paid yet.
Celtic Pirate Queen 1 year ago
I used to hate it when I'd take my kids (b12, g4) out to eat and the hostess would say, "Two and a half?" I always responded with "No, there are three people here, one just happens to be a lot smaller". My daughter is no less a person just because she's tiny.
Doodles1983 1 year ago
In all honesty, I would have pointedly asked for 2 more coffees, and a slice of (humble) pie.
Royal Stray 1 year ago
It's like some people at Hard Rock Cafe in London, they're always busy and will usually give you a little alarm to take with you while you either wait in the shop or take a short stroll outside, and there are always people demanding to be let in because they see a that someone left or that there's a free table or that there has to be one more spot by the bar. Despite it being so crowded by the bar that it's hard to move through it
millac 6 months ago
They took up a table for a full hour during a busy morning rush? Yeah, they were inconsiderate. The impatient lady, I understand. If there was no visible line in front of her, and it's a tiny place, being told there are people in front of her out wandering around rather than waiting in line like she was, that wouldn't compute unless they had a paging system.
Jocelyn 2 weeks ago (edited)
What a pathetically sad little life you must lead that something so entirely mundane “never happened” because you’ve never seen it in your hometown of 300 in Podunk, Arkansas. You probably can’t imagine that lots of people have parents that aren’t siblings, too. Thank god I got an education and have accomplishments and am not a laughably nothing little piece of DHOTYA trash like you.
Load More Replies... Amelia Jade 1 year ago
Their child was still eating. They paid their bill so they could get out of the way as soon as the kid was done. You're the problem.
Load More Replies... Cara G 1 year ago
That's what you got from this story? Do you normally enjoy having a random stranger thrust upon you while you're having a nice meal out? With your child? That's absurd. Even the other way around, why on earth would a single diner be comfortable being seated with a table of strangers? I've worked in many restaurants as both a server and a bartender and this just isn't a thing that happens because it would be ludicrous to even suggest.
Load More Replies... summersalts 1 year ago (edited)
Woahhhhhhh what a bad take! These parents value their child having a good time at breakfast, chill out. Also, this is me speaking as a former server- if the place was that slammed, no they weren't taking money, no they didn't need to leave an extra tip for staying what, 10 min? I would've appreciated knowing I could've just let that table chill while giving attention tomy other tables, who might've already been grumpy by the wait.
Load More Replies...
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