Young Woman Called ‘Rude & Inconsiderate’ For Refusing To Give Up Her Table At A Coffee Shop For An Older Woman

For remote workers and students, it can be helpful to get out of your house and work in a different environment — one of the most common being a coffee shop.

One woman studies at a specific cafe every Saturday morning, finding that the coffee shop noise helps her to concentrate and focus on studying. A recent interaction, however, has her considering whether she’d rather just stay home.

The young woman was called ‘rude and inconsiderate’ for refusing to give up her table to an older woman with back problems.

"[The coffee shop] is always crowded, so I show up at opening time (8 a.m.), order some food and a drink, and stay for 2-3 hours," the Redditor explained. "Even though I go on my own, I always sit at a two-person table, as the counters are uncomfortable for me and they do not have much space."

Recently, while sitting at one such table, a "random woman" sat down across from her.

"This really ticked me off, because I don’t like my personal space being invaded," she admitted. "I would’ve appreciated it if she'd asked me before sitting down, but I ignored it.”

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She assumed that the woman was waiting for her food to be ready or for her friend to order; however, she quickly realized that wasn't the case.

"We’ll call the first woman Beatrice and the second woman Suzy," the woman wrote. "Suzy was saying how they might have to take their food to go because no tables were available. Beatrice didn’t address me directly, but she gestured to me as if planning to take over my table." 

"This ticked me off more because it was like I was an object that could be moved, but I knew when the time came I would ask them not to sit at my table," she added.

Unsurprisingly to the Redditor, the two women soon came over with their food and asked her to move to the counters so that they could take over her table, adding that one of them recently had back surgery and the counters were too uncomfortable for her.

"I told her no," the woman recounted, "the counters are uncomfortable for me too, and there would not be enough space for all of my books and notebooks."

The women immediately labeled her “rude and inconsiderate,” and eventually, one of the workers had to step in, asking the older woman to leave. 

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While the older women's behavior was certainly entitled, some believe the Redditor wasn't entirely in the right either. 

​​"When I got home, I recounted the story to my roommate," the woman added. "She said their behavior was rude and entitled, but at the same time I was taking up a table at a notoriously busy cafe for a long time and I could have moved."

Her sister agreed with her roommate that the situation wasn't quite as cut and dry as she believed. 

When it comes to etiquette, the Redditor was likely in the wrong. According to the experts, coffee shops need turnover to make money, especially during their busiest hours. Choosing a Saturday morning to take up a two-top for more than an hour is inconsiderate to the establishment and the customers trying to indulge in chit-chat over coffee. The fact is, the entitlement in this case went both ways and had nothing to do with the ages of the women wanting to take the young woman's table.

Still, the woman argued that, regardless of the woman's back problems, "these people didn’t need to sit down at this café" and she had every right to stay at the table she got up early to secure.

Dasha Petrenko | Shutterstock

Commenters on Reddit were divided with some condemning the woman for taking up space in a busy coffee shop at all, and others insisting she didn't do anything wrong. 

"It’s literally impossible where I live to get a spot at a cafe to socialize because of people like you who order something and then stay for 2+ hours past when they finish said item," one user wrote. "You should be going to a library or less busy cafe to do this."

"I agree that she didn't need to sit down. If she did recently have back surgery, she shouldn't be dining at places with limited seating," another commenter pointed out. "Plus, the way they went about trying to appropriate your table was pretty bold. I would have stayed at the table just because of that."

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Zayda Slabbekoorn is a News & Entertainment Writer at YourTango who focuses on health & wellness, social policy, and human interest stories