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This is such a small thing that I almost didn't post it, but I'm just curious as to how others would have handled this.
I went to a restaurant today where you order at the window and then seat yourself. You are given a number to display on the table and the food is brought to you when ready. I received my number and placed it on a table, which was the last/only booth available and then went up to the water/soft drink machine to fill my cup, get napkins and utensils, etc. A woman who had just filled up her cup and was holding her number to put on a table said to me "I was going to get that booth!" It wasn't like she was saying "good for you---you are so fast that you got the coveted space." It was that she had wanted that space and her desire/intent to get it was valid.
I had just gotten back from yoga (and am working hard on choosing my battles) and didn't want to disturb the peaceful vibe so I just removed my number from the table and sat at a regular table with actual (gasp!) chairs instead of the padded booth (and survived to tell the tale!). She didn't even thank me. I restrained myself from saying something like possession being 9/10 of the law.
You never know what someone else is dealing with. She could have back or other orthopedic problems. Maybe she had gotten bad news five minutes before---that she was losing her job or a relative was sick (but a friend joined her and she seemed pretty happy and stable). And it was not exactly a major tragedy in my life to have sat in a regular chair (this is the type of restaurant where you eat quickly and don't linger. In half an hour she was gone). But you could also say that it also wouldn't have been a major tragedy in her life as well. I could see where she would have said something had she placed her number down or utensils and I moved them so I could sit there. But just the fact that the table had been available when she was getting her drink and then it wasn't didn't seem to me to be enough to claim it as her table. This was a 50 year old adult! When kids claim dibs on where they want to sit in a car, it's whoever says it first...not who was thinking they wanted it (since both/all the kids usually want the desirable seat).
But what if someone wasn't as peaceful/a pushover as me? This is how fights start and escalate, like in parking lots where both cars want a space. Fifty years ago or even twenty I don't think someone would have demanded that she be allowed to sit where she had only been thinking about---back then it was okay to sometimes not get what you want (the eminent philosopher Mick Jagger even had a song to this effect!).
You snooze you lose. You have every right to that table
Thanks. I kind of agree---but I did forget to say that she HAD ordered before me. So maybe that played into it---but then again, why was she still at the drink machine holding her number and filling her cup, by the time I had completed ordering and paying? I guess she was just slow and like many people, didn't think that someone else might want the last available booth just like she wanted it---all she knew was that she saw it, wanted it, and expected to get it, but never thought to claim it by walking the few steps over to place it on the table and then walk back to the drink machine.
Thanks. I kind of agree---but I did forget to say that she HAD ordered before me. So maybe that played into it---but then again, why was she still at the drink machine holding her number and filling her cup, by the time I had completed ordering and paying? I guess she was just slow and like many people, didn't think that someone else might want the last available booth just like she wanted it---all she knew was that she saw it, wanted it, and expected to get it, but never thought to claim it by walking the few steps over to place it on the table and then walk back to the drink machine.
Doesn't matter. Ordering and sitting are two separate actions. If one wants to linger before selecting a table then it's their own fault
While I totally agree with IShootNikon, I would have actually given her the table too. But that's how I roll. I can be probably TOO nice at times, and don't stand up for myself like I probably should.
If I had already put my number on the table, I think I would be kinda miffed. I might still let her have it, though. I would do a quick analysis of the other person and determine whether I think this person is a peer or someone who could probably use some help in life. If its the former I might say something snappy. If its the latter I'd probably let her have it without a fight. You are right there is no way I could know her situation with any certainty. My gut is all I have.
If that were truly the last booth and I was alone, I'd have offered to let her sit there with me.
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