While the saying “there’s always a way” is suggested as a motivating and positive phrase, meant to encourage people to never give up in face of adversity, some folks seem to take it to a whole, socially abnormal level.
By that, we mean there are folks who, after ordering their food and realizing the restaurant is so busy that there’s no space, decide that the next logical step is to just ask a random patron to get lost. And then they have the audacity to call them a jerk (the other jerk word you won’t hear on television) after being told no.
Who knew asking a random restaurant regular to get lost is a solution to mitigating seat availability? It’s not, but some dare to do it regardless
Image credits: guyswhoshoot (not the actual image)
This couple decided to ask a restaurant patron to give up their seat, having just sat down 5 minutes ago—of course it doesn’t go their way
Image credits: Timur Weber (not the actual image)
Image credits: Mcdubstep21
The manager did end up hearing about this, but disregarded it as a “Karen” moment and exchanged snickering glances of companionship with the restaurant regular
Redditor Mcdubstep21 recently shared a bizarre encounter with an entitled couple at a restaurant. Long story short, it was busy, he sat down to enjoy his treat to himself, and not 5 minutes into it, a wildly entitled couple appeared.
Essentially, they ask OP to give up his seat as they couldn’t find any other and they arbitrarily decided that OP seems to be the most done with his food. A quick rejection led to them ramping up the rudeness by calling him a jerk and leaving. Not without giving the manager a piece of their mind, but the manager managed it right.
And folks online were all in support of OP. Not only would they have one-upped the conversation with a rude remark, they also pointed out how “you ruined our night” is no different from OP’s night was ruined. The general consensus was definitely that the couple was not only entitled, but rude (to say the least).
While there is no clear answer as there are too many variables, most agree that patrons asking other patrons to move is more inappropriate than is the opposite
There’s multiple ways of approaching the situation which naturally leads to multiple outcomes, all of varying degrees of appropriateness.
There is proper etiquette for situations asking to be reseated yourself to avoid a troublesome next table neighbor. There are situations where you might be asked to leave by the restaurant staff, say, because it’s getting late. Heck, it’s also cool to ask single patrons to move in order to close a gap in seating at a bar. However, that is best done [1] by restaurant staff and [2] with reason and politeness.
However, when it’s another restaurant patron, being obnoxious, insistent and rude about it, that is a big no-no. Reddit essentially explains why. So, while one solution was suggested—getting a doggie bag and bolting—there was also the option to wait, dine outside or in the car. If you’re hungry, you’re hungry, and meeting that physical need should take priority no matter the circumstance. Or, patience is a virtue and eat it when comfort is provided with the solutions mentioned previously.
Whatever the case, we’d love to hear your thoughts on any of this. How would you have approached it? Share your takes and stories in the comment section below!
Folks online were all in support of the author of the post, sharing their solutions and stories
