4 ms·
In some cases, going to the bathroom with your stuff is almost like leaving your place vacant for any one else to take. In crowded cafés, this may not be optima
by stokedmartin 13y ago
In some cases, going to the bathroom with your stuff is almost like leaving your place vacant for any one else to take. In crowded cafés, this may not be optimal. I wonder if cafés provide customers with pamphlets to put on the table saying `Occupied` while they are gone to the bathroom with their stuff would be helpful.
- bronson 13y agoIt's like leaving your place vacant because you ARE leaving your place vacant. That's a good thing. If a coffee shop is so busy that you won't have a place when you get back then take a break and come back when things are quieter. Or pay for a coworking space. (I remember trying to get a table with friends at Blue Bottle years ago... each one was occupied by a loner staring at a laptop, nursing a coffee, and ignoring everything else. It was sad.)
- sk5t 13y agoAt least in US bars, you can leave your glass on the bar with a napkin over the top to indicate that the seat is taken and the drink should not be tossed. I don't know if cafe patrons might honor this convention?
- dredmorbius 13y agoDepending on your gender and/or the bar's orientation, or other factors, this may not be entirely safe either. Drugged drinks are not unheard of.
- ars 13y agoPresumably the cup is empty? And it's just a marker?
- dredmorbius 13y agoI've seen this done with non-empty drinks, so no, not always.
- Crito 13y agoThese warnings should be given with some care, because they can create a false sense of security. Most studies have found that most of the time that people believe a drug was added to their drink, the only drug they actually consumed was alcohol. Alcohol is by a long run the most common date rape drug; it is far more likely that your attacker will trick you into drinking more than you realize. So if somebody is buying you unfamiliar cocktails, merely guarding your drink against adulterants can leave you vulnerable to the cocktails containing far more alcohol than you are aware. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_rape_drug#Alcohol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_rape_drug#Alcohol http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_rape_drug#Media_coverage_and_moral_panic_aspects http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Date_rape_drug#Media_coverage_a...
- akerl_ 13y agoI wasn't aware that date rape drugs could tell the gender of the drinker.
- dredmorbius 13y agoDate-rape drugs are likely more often delivered to women than men. It's not the drugs, but the drugger, who is doing the discrimination.
- dredmorbius 13y agoDate-rape drugs are likely more often delivered to women than men. It's not the drugs, but the drugger, who is doing the discrimination. It's also not unheard of for same-sex drug- or alcohol-based assaults to occur.
- Crito 13y agoI do this with coasters. However I have been told that in some areas, a coaster on top of your glass means the opposite, signalling to the bartender that you are done with your drink.
- tzs 13y agoIf the café is that crowded, is it actually a problem if people working on laptops lose their spot if they take a bathroom break?
- exue 13y agoIn a way, it also helps turnover of tables - it's a soft way of ensuring new customers can get seats and the people who got there first don't stay all day (short of an explicit X hour limit)