Do you put your chair back in when you go out to eat?

[Gingerbread Demon]

I'm wondering if this is only because I'm a bit of an old fart but when you go out to say a coffee shop or somewhere to snack or get a bite when you leave do you just leave the chairs where they are or put them back under the table or bench like they were before you sat down?

 

[fireproof78]

Push them in, always. Even chairs I didn't use.

 

[Kraig]

I go to the cheap places like In-N-Out where the seating doesn't move, because it is fixed in place.

 

[Victoria]

I put the chair back. I regard it as basic good manners.

(It occurred to me that I should have one-upped Kraig and claimed that I only eat at the kind of places where they move your chair for you...sadly, I can afford to do that only rarely - which is possibly lucky as someone trying to assist you to move a chair in which you are sitting is rather annoying)

 

[at Quark's]

I do.

(If I didn't, I probably wouldn't reply in this thread anyway )

 

[John Clark]

Sure, though it's mostly pubs as I don't go out to food places as much, but where it is possible, always.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

Not much, lately. It gets in the way when I'm clearing the table, and by the time I finish, the idea of pushing it in has usually slipped my mind.

 

[auntiehill]

Yes, of course. Any time you are out in a restaurant, you should push the chairs in when you leave.

 

[Kraig]

I put the chair back. I regard it as basic good manners.

(It occurred to me that I should have one-upped Kraig and claimed that I only eat at the kind of places where they move your chair for you...sadly, I can afford to do that only rarely - which is possibly lucky as someone trying to assist you to move a chair in which you are sitting is rather annoying)

When I'm on the road and get something to eat, I park my car, don't use the drive-thru, go inside and order "to-go". In-N-Out, provides a fixed bench near the registers for take out. I will then eat in my vehicle in the parking lot, where I can listen to music and relax. The only time I eat inside the restaurant, instead of take-out, is when I'm out of town and not using my vehicle to get around. After I go to San Francisco to see my Urologist, I will take mass transit to the In-N-Out at Fisherman's Wharf for a protein style (wrap patties in lettuce and loose the bun) burger, before my trip back to my car in the BART station parking lot in Pleasanton on my way home.

 

[Alexander Corrino]

Yes. Not so much out of politeness but more out of the fact that I can't stand it when chairs and tables look... not-so-orderly (I'm the type of guy who makes sure all the books on his bookshelf line up correctly)

 

[DarrenTR1970]

When we go out to eat, we always get a booth, usually for four or six. If it's an odd number, we stick a chair at the end of the table and return it when we're done.
Even when I go out to eat by myself, I ask for, or grab a booth.

 

[Tosk]

The way I try to treat public spaces is to leave them the way I found them. ...or better.

I put my chair back in. I throw away my trash. I flip items in a store I've been looking through back to where they were.

And I sneer at people who don't.

 

[fireproof78]

Moral of the story: treat spaces better than people.

Got it!

 

[SithHappens]

I can't imagine not doing. Amazing how people are happy to leave a table in an appalling state.

If at KFC etc I'll always throw my rubbish in the bins, but you see loads just leave it with often half the food smeared over the table.

Then again amazing how many people think the appropriate place for drive thru Kfc/mcdonalds rubbish is in a lay by or side of road or left on the floor of a car park.

 

[A'pax]

Yes! Combination of growing up in the U.S. South where threats of spankings would ensue for lack of proper manners and Catholic school discipline.

Teaching methods aside, I have come to appreciate this courtesy for all around, and often think of the serving staff carrying trays full of food with low visibility to chairs sticking out in the way...

 

[Timewalker]

I don't eat in restaurants much anymore. Part of the reason is finances (food budget is tight these days) and part of the reason is because I use a wheeled walker to get around. Restaurant staff have occasionally rolled their eyes at the thought of having to find a place where I won't be in the way, and they insist they want to take my walker away and stash it somewhere.

It doesn't seem to occur to them that taking away a mobility-disabled person's mobility device is the same as trapping them there and preventing them from leaving when they want, or even to just use the washroom. It can also cause problems if the person has an issue with balance.

As a result, I don't go many places anymore, certainly not to places where the prevailing attitude is one of ableism.

Unfortunately, I have to put up with that when I have my annual eye exam. They not only take my walker, but try to take my canes (plan B if the walker isn't within reach or the space I need to get through is too narrow when I want to reach something). I tell them no, absolutely not, you can't take them unless you're prepared to pick me up off the floor if I lose my balance and fall. Since that gets into liability issues, they haven't absolutely insisted on taking my canes; I've told them that I need at least one of my mobility devices within reach at all times.


Anyway, chairs. Sometimes I might drop into the Mcdonald's at the local mall, which is a sit-down place. I use the time for two purposes - first, for a quick snack, and secondly, it's handy to organize my shopping before getting on the bus to come home. I take disabled transit, and everything has to be packed and balanced to take up the least amount of space. There can't be any risk of anything falling over or spilling, so after it's organized, I tie everything down with a bungee cord. The clerks at Walmart have learned to just let me pack stuff my way, as I've got it pretty much down now as to what fits where.

Of course I put the chairs back - I often have to push them out of the way so I can get through the restaurant.