I had a coffee here one Friday morning in October and thought, "How nice, I'll be back". I turned up mid-morning today and sat down at a table for four and started to get out my laptop. Before I got very far the waiter had galloped over to brusquely announce that if I wanted to use my computer I'd have to sit at the big shared table.
Now I totally understand that the purpose of a bar is to make money and that you can't have individuals blocking a table for four for hours and buying just a coffee. But dudes, there are ways of going about it, you could have said good morning, you could have asked me if I was going to stay long, whether I was going to be alone (I wasn't, I was waiting for someone), whether I was going to order something substantial. We could have had a brief chat and sorted it out.
And no, it's not my job as a client to try to open negotiations, there are plenty of other bars for me to choose from., 3,
Or you could have a sign up at the door, or on the tables, with your rules for who can occupy what tables and when. Two things for sure, I won't be coming back and if you treat customers like they are trying to cheat you then that probably isn't a great business model.
PS: Outraged reply from owner/waiter accusing me of telling lies, being the Grassy Knoll shooter etc etc in 4, 3, 2, 1.. read more