A Series of Interesting Events

[Aragarthiel]

1) -not really a sighting, just made me upset at Hubs-
Hubs and I stopped at Golden Arches for breakfast yesterday (hooray coupons!), and as we sat down I noticed a table nearby that had keys and a pack of cigarettes sitting on top, but nobody was sitting there. I thought it was strange, but decided it was someone who went to the bathroom. A few minutes later, a scraggly looking man came in from outside in a bathrobe and pajama pants and sat down at the table, where he proceeded to quietly mumble to himself. Hubs wouldn't take his eyes off the guy, he just kept glaring, even after I told him to stop it. I just felt bad for the guy, he obviously needed help and wasn't getting it. He seemed harmless enough, and the employees acted as though he was a regular, so I just went back to my meal, telling Hubs to quit glaring when I caught him.

2) After Golden Arches, we went over to the DMV to get my learner's permit. I got all the way up to the point where they had to scan in some of my papers, at which point the lady walked over to the scanner, put the papers in, and stood there talking to her three coworkers. I watched as the scanner finished and she just kept talking. This wasn't a busy day at the DMV (I didn't have to wait at all, in fact), but she really didn't need to stand there talking with her friends. She could have waited the two minutes I needed to get my paper copy and go.

3) After the DMV, Hubs and I went to the mall to walk around like we sometimes do. Hubs had to use the bathroom, which is near the food court, so I sat down at a table and pulled out my DS while I waited. An employee from one of the food court places walked over to me and told me I couldn't sit there unless I had food. It wouldn't have bothered me if it had been mall security. Maybe it could have been a policy I didn't know about. But it was a restaurant employee that left his place at the register just to tell me I couldn't sit unless I had food. I could have argued with this guy, but Hubs was on his way back out so I got up and left anyway.

[mathnerd]

That last one I'd confirm with mall management and file a formal complaint against the restaurant/employee if he was incorrect. Harassing customers isn't a good way for the mall to gain business, and I'm sure they don't want to drive people away.

[Monterey Jack]

The food court guy sounded totally out of line...in an actual restaurant, I could see the problem with random people just walking in and taking a seat away from actual paying customers, but inside a mall? What if there were no other places to sit besides the food court?

[Aragarthiel]

What if there were no other places to sit besides the food court?

There almost aren't. It's a small mall, with the food court in the center and three benches at either end of the mall. Hubs and I were going to talk with the mall people next time we go (it's nearly impossible to find a number for a store in the mall, let alone the mall office!), and we probably can't go until sometime next week.

[wolfie]

A couple questions:

1) Was seating in the food court in short supply (IOW, a non-eating person sitting down would be keeping someone who bought food from getting a table)? If it was, I can see a restaurant employee wanting a non-eater to vacate the table. On the other hand, if half the tables are empty, you're not causing any harm.

2) Did the guy have any way of knowing that you weren't waiting for another member of your party to bring food from a different vendor? If nobody was at the counter of any of the food vendors, then clearly you weren't waiting for this (but see #1 above - with nobody buying food, the seating area would likely be pretty empty). If people were buying food at various vendors, you could quite easily have been someone with an "invisible" disability waiting for someone else in your party to bring food - so the guy's actions would have been treading on ADA territory.

[Aragarthiel]

A couple questions:

1) Was seating in the food court in short supply (IOW, a non-eating person sitting down would be keeping someone who bought food from getting a table)? /snip

2) Did the guy have any way of knowing that you weren't waiting for another member of your party to bring food from a different vendor?

1) Seating is NEVER in short supply, in fact, I've never seen more than maybe 1/4 of the tables taken up at once.

2) Not really, there's almost always a line (even if it was just a couple people) at one particular place, unless it's Sunday when they're closed.

[wolfie]

In other words, your situation was indistinguishable (from the viewpoint of the guy who told you to leave) from someone with an invisible disability waiting for another member of their party to bring food from the place that always has a line - which would be a legitimate (ADA) reason to be sitting there without food even if the tables were for food customers only.

[notalwaysright]

The second one is an annoyance to me. At my work, we might chat, but if a customer comes into my view I just stop mid-sentence and acknowledge them. If they don't need help, we can pick up the conversation, no biggie. But often my coworker will keep talking. It's like they are completely unaware of their surroundings! I generally just interrupt and speak to the customer, but it can sometimes be awkward because some coworkers will just keep talking and the customer is like ???

And the last one seems like a power trip. I'm the lord of the food court, wahaha! Either that, or I suppose there's the slight possibility that he misunderstood something. Like maybe his boss told him to watch out for people loitering because... Something? I only mention it because I've seem some brand new people at my work mistake policies in strange ways. Like the girl who told her customer that we could ONLY cut home dec fabric on the roller (big machine which rolls and measures long bolts of fabric) and she was NOT allowed to use the regular cutting counter. Completely untrue. But that was how she understood it, and by golly she was not backing down.