sitting on a table for 4 when I’m eating alone?
Context: Today is one of those days I decided to eat alone. I decided to go to old town Bak Kut teh for lunch at 1230 pm. Largely peak hour lunch traffic. Queued to get a table.
When it was my turn, I gestured to a staff member that I’m a solo. He pointed to a empty table of 4 and I proceeded to sit there.
Behind me were several groups of people who had to wait for a few more minutes before they got their table, all while I was waiting for my food with 3 empty seats.
The restaurant is mainly made up of wooden tables of 2, pushed together to form a square to allow 4 seats. There were some tables that were separated for 2, and some pushed together for 6.
During the course of my meal, I noticed the queue was still present and I felt more and more self conscious of my 3 empty chairs.
AITA for sitting in the table of 4 with 3 empty seats even though the staff member indicated for me to sit there. Should I have pushed the tables apart so there’s an empty table for 2 or given up my queue for the groups behind until a table for 2 freed up? Am I being too self conscious?
Netizens’ comments
- Not your problem, staff directed you accordingly.
- If the staff directed you there then it’s not your fault. You were assigned that seat.
The staff should be the one to do so not you.
You’re overthinking - Here’s a secret tip from an FnB worker. If the staff directs you to a big table without you asking and there’s a possibility of a queue, they’re doing to stifle the flow. Sometimes they just can’t manage a rush of customers, ya know
- No, staff directed.
Pushing the tables might confuse staff when taking orders. There’s a reason why tables are set up like that (eg. 4 pax table is table 9)
To not overthink, just think of it as “First come first serve”. - It’s the staff n sitting arrangements fault. The staff can actually ask you if you mind they separate the table for other ppl or if you don’t mind sitting w others. Not your problem.
- This just triggered my social anxiety.