(no subject)
If you were in a casual dining place (such as a cafeteria, food court, or fast food restaurant) and looking for an empty table and saw a table with a free "newspaper" and a nearly empty bottle of water on it, would you think it was garbage and the table was available, or that someone had already claimed it?
Yesterday before class, I went to the McDonalds near campus to grab some breakfast. It was pretty busy and there were very few tables available, but I spotted a free table with what appeared to be some garbage on it--a 24 Hour newspaper, and a bottle of water with a few sips of water in it, at most. Since I don't enjoy garbage at my tables, I placed the bottle on top of the garbage can (I just can't bring myself to put cans and bottles in the garbage), and sat down, intending to read the paper while I ate.
A moment later a woman runs up to me, spazzing, telling me that she had claimed the table by placing the bottle and paper on it. I told her that it had looked like garbage, and if she wants to claim a table, she should leave a personal belonging, such as a jacket, and told her that I am not moving. The reason why I didn't apologize profusely was that I did not do anything wrong; I sat down at an empty table with garbage, not a table with someone's personal belongings. Had it been a case where she had left a scarf or something, and it had fallen to the floor and I hadn't noticed, I would have gotten up. But claiming a table by leaving garbage, especially when the restaurant is busy, is not cool. Also, it was several minutes by the time she was ready to sit down and eat, and I was nearly done my breakfast by that time. Some people need to learn how to function in the real world, and that there are other people.
Yesterday before class, I went to the McDonalds near campus to grab some breakfast. It was pretty busy and there were very few tables available, but I spotted a free table with what appeared to be some garbage on it--a 24 Hour newspaper, and a bottle of water with a few sips of water in it, at most. Since I don't enjoy garbage at my tables, I placed the bottle on top of the garbage can (I just can't bring myself to put cans and bottles in the garbage), and sat down, intending to read the paper while I ate.
A moment later a woman runs up to me, spazzing, telling me that she had claimed the table by placing the bottle and paper on it. I told her that it had looked like garbage, and if she wants to claim a table, she should leave a personal belonging, such as a jacket, and told her that I am not moving. The reason why I didn't apologize profusely was that I did not do anything wrong; I sat down at an empty table with garbage, not a table with someone's personal belongings. Had it been a case where she had left a scarf or something, and it had fallen to the floor and I hadn't noticed, I would have gotten up. But claiming a table by leaving garbage, especially when the restaurant is busy, is not cool. Also, it was several minutes by the time she was ready to sit down and eat, and I was nearly done my breakfast by that time. Some people need to learn how to function in the real world, and that there are other people.