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       #Post#: 78427--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: jpcher Date: January 18, 2023, 3:59 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Bada link=topic=2453.msg78423#msg78423
       date=1674062346]
       I've always thought ordering drinks is okay but ordering food is
       rude.  I guess it's because most places offer a drink as soon as
       you sit and it's usually something you can do without thinking.
       But ordering appetizers makes it look like you think you're
       going to be waiting forever for the other party to show and it's
       the kind of thing that usually takes some thought and looking
       over the menu, so doubly so on the "I think they'll be late. "
       [/quote]
       I agree with this.
       But what is an acceptable wait time for late comers before
       ordering an appetizer? I'm thinking 1/2 hour, because if it's
       any longer than that the establishment is losing money. I would
       almost feel obligated to order something just to keep the table.
       #Post#: 78432--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: LifeOnPluto Date: January 19, 2023, 5:06 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=jpcher link=topic=2453.msg78427#msg78427
       date=1674079191]
       [quote author=Bada link=topic=2453.msg78423#msg78423
       date=1674062346]
       I've always thought ordering drinks is okay but ordering food is
       rude.  I guess it's because most places offer a drink as soon as
       you sit and it's usually something you can do without thinking.
       But ordering appetizers makes it look like you think you're
       going to be waiting forever for the other party to show and it's
       the kind of thing that usually takes some thought and looking
       over the menu, so doubly so on the "I think they'll be late. "
       [/quote]
       I agree with this.
       But what is an acceptable wait time for late comers before
       ordering an appetizer? I'm thinking 1/2 hour, because if it's
       any longer than that the establishment is losing money. I would
       almost feel obligated to order something just to keep the table.
       [/quote]
       I think half an hour is reasonable. And in that situation, I
       think it's actually polite for the person running late to
       encourage the others to go ahead and order!
       I remember once meeting a group of friends for dinner, and two
       of them (let's call them Jim and June) were running late. About
       15 minutes after we'd arranged to meet, Jim texted one of our
       mutual friends saying he and June would be another half hour (so
       a total of 45 minutes late). He ended the message by saying
       "Maybe you guys can order some drinks or something while you
       wait?" The subtext of course was: "Wait for us before ordering
       food". So we waited until they arrived before ordering our food,
       but I was secretly unhappy about it, because I was hungry!
       #Post#: 78434--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: TootsNYC Date: January 19, 2023, 9:59 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=DaDancingPsych link=topic=2453.msg78414#msg78414
       date=1674047971]
       [quote author=oogyda link=topic=2453.msg78410#msg78410
       date=1673982362]
       [quote author=honeybee42 link=topic=2453.msg78409#msg78409
       date=1673981404]
       A lot of restaurants won't even seat you unless the full party
       is present, so it seems to me that if they *do* seat those who
       arrived on time, there is nothing wrong with those who are
       present ordering beverages or even an appetizer to be shared
       with those who did get there on time.
       [/quote]
       This was my first thought.
       I guess I just don't understand what the problem with ordering a
       drink before the rest of the party arrives would be.
       Would it be an issue if that same person waited in the bar area
       and ordered a drink?
       Or is that somehow rude as well?
       [/quote]
       I'm on the same stream of thought. And if the restaurant is
       willing to seat half the party, then I think I owe it to the
       establishment to order something. I am taking up space, so they
       should be making some money.
       If ordering a drink in the bar area is rude, then I need to
       rethink my behavior. Don't get me wrong, I'm not sitting at the
       bar pounding drinks so fast that when my companion arrives that
       I can't even walk to our table. But I think that having a single
       drink is a perfectly fine way to wait.
       [/quote]
       And sometimes you can't take a drink from the bar area over to
       the restaurant table. I've been at restaurants where it's
       against either the restaurant policy or some law about not being
       able to take drinks away from the bar.
       These Q's are kind of amusing to me because restaurant policies
       so often would eliminate the entire situation.
       Meanwhile, I think it sort of depends on how late they are. I'd
       personally not want to "start without them" at only 5 or 10
       minutes late. They get later than that, and I think you are
       always clear to get started, and they would need to shorten
       their own experience to match the activity's timeframe; they
       just will have to miss out on appetizers or dessert, or
       something.
       Think of it as if you're having a poker night; they miss the
       first few hands, but people don't stay to play extra ones to
       make up for it on their behalf.
       Arriving early and getting a drink at the bar while you wait
       seems OK to me, because that's not part of the "main activity."
       #Post#: 78435--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: Hmmm Date: January 19, 2023, 10:51 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=jpcher link=topic=2453.msg78427#msg78427
       date=1674079191]
       [quote author=Bada link=topic=2453.msg78423#msg78423
       date=1674062346]
       I've always thought ordering drinks is okay but ordering food is
       rude.  I guess it's because most places offer a drink as soon as
       you sit and it's usually something you can do without thinking.
       But ordering appetizers makes it look like you think you're
       going to be waiting forever for the other party to show and it's
       the kind of thing that usually takes some thought and looking
       over the menu, so doubly so on the "I think they'll be late. "
       [/quote]
       I agree with this.
       But what is an acceptable wait time for late comers before
       ordering an appetizer? I'm thinking 1/2 hour, because if it's
       any longer than that the establishment is losing money. I would
       almost feel obligated to order something just to keep the table.
       [/quote]
       I think a half hour is very generous. But for me it is
       situational. If I'm hungry, after 15 minutes I might order an
       app that is easy to share when they arrive. I wouldn't order an
       app that is just for me unless they are over 30 minutes late.
       But I'm also wondering if my perspective is off from growing up
       with TexMex being the most common meal we ate out growing up.
       Free Chips and Salsa was provided as soon as you sat with
       refills being brought as needed. The early or on time arrivers
       might go ahead and order queso for the table while waiting for
       others to join. Other places we'd frequent in the 80's and 90's
       would always bring some type of bread and butter basket to snack
       on while ordering or waiting to order. I'm not sure if fried
       wonton strips with duck sauce was common in other areas but it
       seemed like a bunch of them would bring them out in our area.
       #Post#: 78453--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: LifeOnPluto Date: January 20, 2023, 10:11 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Bada link=topic=2453.msg78423#msg78423
       date=1674062346]
       I've always thought ordering drinks is okay but ordering food is
       rude.  I guess it's because most places offer a drink as soon as
       you sit and it's usually something you can do without thinking.
       But ordering appetizers makes it look like you think you're
       going to be waiting forever for the other party to show and it's
       the kind of thing that usually takes some thought and looking
       over the menu, so doubly so on the "I think they'll be late. "
       Here's a different spin on this situation from Reddit today.  Am
       I the AH for eating the whole plate of nachos?  Hostess texted
       to say she was running VERY late (though OP later adds she was
       15 min early and knew everyone would be late) (edit: actually
       that lady wasnt even the hostess so I'm not sure why she took
       over ordering like that) so Hostess called to order and pay for
       $35 nachos for the table. Then the rest of the group says
       they're running late too (not able to leave work early after
       all).  So OP sits for an hour, alone, munching nachos and eats
       the whole plate.  When hostess arrives and finds OP ate them all
       she's livid.  OP says she'd pay for the nachos (since now she's
       not going to eat an entree). When she finds out they're prepaid
       she offers to buy the hostess drinks instead.  Hostess shouts
       that she's pregnant and was planning to announce it at her party
       next week and storms out.
       [/quote]
       AITA can be such a wild ride, can't it? My favourite story from
       this week was the 22 year old bride who didn't invite her 20
       year old friend to the wedding because it was "childfree". The
       bride went on to state that she didn't want her friend to
       indulge in any underage drinking at the wedding, even though the
       bride herself used to go drinking with her friend before they
       were both underage!
       As for this AITA post, my sympathies are with the OP. And yes,
       why on earth organise a dinner for 4pm when nearly everyone has
       to work until 5pm?!
       #Post#: 78456--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: oogyda Date: January 21, 2023, 7:13 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=LifeOnPluto link=topic=2453.msg78453#msg78453
       date=1674274264]
       [quote author=Bada link=topic=2453.msg78423#msg78423
       date=1674062346]
       I've always thought ordering drinks is okay but ordering food is
       rude.  I guess it's because most places offer a drink as soon as
       you sit and it's usually something you can do without thinking.
       But ordering appetizers makes it look like you think you're
       going to be waiting forever for the other party to show and it's
       the kind of thing that usually takes some thought and looking
       over the menu, so doubly so on the "I think they'll be late. "
       Here's a different spin on this situation from Reddit today.  Am
       I the AH for eating the whole plate of nachos?  Hostess texted
       to say she was running VERY late (though OP later adds she was
       15 min early and knew everyone would be late) (edit: actually
       that lady wasnt even the hostess so I'm not sure why she took
       over ordering like that) so Hostess called to order and pay for
       $35 nachos for the table. Then the rest of the group says
       they're running late too (not able to leave work early after
       all).  So OP sits for an hour, alone, munching nachos and eats
       the whole plate.  When hostess arrives and finds OP ate them all
       she's livid.  OP says she'd pay for the nachos (since now she's
       not going to eat an entree). When she finds out they're prepaid
       she offers to buy the hostess drinks instead.  Hostess shouts
       that she's pregnant and was planning to announce it at her party
       next week and storms out.
       [/quote]
       AITA can be such a wild ride, can't it? My favourite story from
       this week was the 22 year old bride who didn't invite her 20
       year old friend to the wedding because it was "childfree". The
       bride went on to state that she didn't want her friend to
       indulge in any underage drinking at the wedding, even though the
       bride herself used to go drinking with her friend before they
       were both underage!
       As for this AITA post, my sympathies are with the OP. And yes,
       why on earth organise a dinner for 4pm when nearly everyone has
       to work until 5pm?!
       [/quote]
       And why would everyone agree to it?
       As I typed that, I realized that the ones who work until 5
       *planned* on being ridiculously late, thinking this was a casual
       "let's meet up after work" situation.
       #Post#: 78458--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: Lula Date: January 21, 2023, 12:39 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       Anyone happen to have a copy of the AITA OP?  It has been
       deleted from Reddit...
       #Post#: 78459--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: oogyda Date: January 21, 2023, 2:21 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Lula link=topic=2453.msg78458#msg78458
       date=1674326364]
       Anyone happen to have a copy of the AITA OP?  It has been
       deleted from Reddit...
       [/quote]
       The "whole plate of nachos" was from reddit.  The OP in this
       thread was from Miss Manners
  HTML https://www.uexpress.com/life/miss-manners/2023/01/17
       #Post#: 78465--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: Bada Date: January 22, 2023, 1:21 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       [quote author=Lula link=topic=2453.msg78458#msg78458
       date=1674326364]
       Anyone happen to have a copy of the AITA OP?  It has been
       deleted from Reddit...
       [/quote]
       I can't do it on the phone browser version,  but if you're on a
       computer you should be able to sort by new and scroll to the
       bottom. One of the oldest posts will be the "judgement bot" that
       saved the OP when it's first made (some platforms just let you
       sort by old, I've heard).
  HTML https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/comments/10f6nfs/aita_for_eating_an_entire_plate_of_nachos_that_a/?sort=new
       #Post#: 78475--------------------------------------------------
       Re: Ordering drinks before full party arrives at the restuarant
       By: Winterlight Date: January 23, 2023, 7:23 pm
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       I think ordering drinks is fine. Ordering food, I'd probably
       hold off for a bit until I knew what was going on with the rest
       of the party- is it just traffic making them late, was there an
       unavoidable delay, or are they habitually tardy to the point
       where I could probably eat a full meal and take a nap before
       they arrived? (In the latter case, though, I'd refuse to ever
       meet them at a restaurant.)
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