Is it OK to stake out one’s seat(s) in a fast-food restaurant BEFORE going through the line and buying food?
0 voters
Where do you, er, stand, on this sensitive issue?
I don’t eat in fast food restaurants. Simple.
If Macdonlds is busy I will sit in any seat I can find, and move the school bag out of the way.
You’ve got to be thick-skinned. Push, shove and be rude. You will be not loved and will probably give your country of origin a bad name but at least you will get a seat.
Stragbasher, why respond when the question does not even apply to you? Weird!
Have I been here too long? I feel like you have to stake your seat first. It is matter of survival. This is place is too crowded for the manners we were accostomed to back home. Plus they will not be reciprocated. It is every man or woman or geriatric old lady to themselves. Knock them down if you have to in the race for the table.
I have to say I’m pretty surprised by the results. Go to any crowded food court in Sydney and you will see people staking their tables first with bags, coats etc. I don’t know, I always thought it was common sense to figure out where you were going to sit before attempting to wade through a crowd precariously balancing a plate of food - isn’t it? 
I think it’s okay, but I can’t enjoy my meal while people are walking around looking for a place to sit. Other people are not bothered. I’ve seen ladies knitting.
Hey Dassgirl. I think you are right. I did this back home too when on the rare occasion I ate in a shopping mall food court, but I agree with Dr. Spock.
Ouch! The penguin has discovered my secret. Yes, I admit it. I am weird.
But the question does apply to me. I choose the option not given - to go somewhere that sells actual food.
Well, yes. The ‘correct’ etiquette in my opinion is that once you get your food you eat and then leave as quickly as possible if people are standing around waiting. I hate it when people hover around waiting for my table too (although I accept and understand it) - I call it the ‘seagull effect’ 
I used to eat way too much fast food, but now I find I’m eating way too many revolting lunch boxes (bian4 dang1) instead.
Since you brought it up, Stragbasher, what constitutes ‘actual food’ in Taiwan? Surely not bian dangs, right?
I don’t know about fast-food joints, which I seldom frequent because they don’t have much or anything in the way of veggie fare (aren’t you a vegetarian, too, Ironlady?), but it’s the same situation in the food courts of places like Core Pacific, Breeze and so on, where I do sometimes stop for a bite. If I’m with someone else, we’ll hunt around for a table before we buy food, and then one of us will sit down and keep the places while the other or others go to buy the food and drinks. If I’m alone (as is seldom the case now, but used to be quite often), I’ll never “reserve” a table but will always buy the nosh first and then walk around looking for somewhere to sit – which is a good excuse to ask if I can take a seat at a table occupied by one or more pretty girls, if there aren’t any empty tables available.
It’s not the school bag that bothers me (or the advance table-stakers); it’s the little shits with their heads on the tables trying to impress us with oh how weary they are that they have to pretend to sleep in McDonalds. :raspberry: If they think they’re tired now they should start having babies and learn the true meaning of tired.
But I, too, rarely frequent McDonalds so it’s not often an issue.
I think you should let your internal comfort be your guide.
Whenever I am in the mood for some fast food, which can be quite the misnomer depending on how packed the place is, I first glance inside to see how many folks are there. If many, I usually skip it and move to another, less crowded, place.
However, I usually don’t look for a place to sit until after I have ordered.
If I am on my own, I’ll leave something not worth much value such as an unopened bottle of juice to mark my territory. I do not hesitate, however, to scout out a table when I am in a group of people. But if it’s crowded and the seating is on the way to the counter, I do place a marker and I leave as soon as I finish eating for the next customers rather than wander the restaurant with a tray of “food” trying to keep it from falling while I look for a place to sit.
I get depressed just thinking about it. Alone, in a fast-food restaurant. I thought fast-food was for take-out?
yesh well you gotta follow local practice on this innit? but i think you are in your rights to take a vacant seat even if other seats are “bagged” at the same table esp. in food courts…
If I see an empty seat when I walk in and it’s crowded I take it, but if it’s at a McD’s with seats upstairs I won’t bother going up and down again to find a place. I just take my chances.
But what really bugs me is the people who sit there long after their meal or coffee is done (if they had one) and read or SLEEP at the table when its crowded.
What bugs me is the management that allow this. I remember getting a bit pissy at a bar/restaurant once where I had to wait for a table. When we finally were crammed into a corner of the smoking section - which I hate, but we had no choice - I peeked into the are where I wanted to sit. What did I see but a big group of people drinking water and playing Jenga. They didn’t spend any money, but the manager let them remain there at the expense of paying customers.
Funny way to run a business. When I complained he explained that it would be rude to ask them to buy something.
I guess I should have gone to McD’s!