Leave your food at home!!

posted May 16th, 2017 at 2:42 PM

What's up with people bringing their own food to cafes and restaurants?! I can understand if one person has a food allergy and needs to bring their own food, but I'm seeing more and more people bringing full meals into places that already serve food. For example, today I watched as a large group of people walked into a cafe and took over an entire table. Only one of them bought a token drink from the cafe; the rest of them brought their drinks and lunches from nearby fast food restaurants or from home (in jars, of course). I watched in bafflement as one of them, complete with her own cutlery, made herself a sandwich right in the cafe - slicing open her bun, buttering it, and filling it with her homemade filling. It was the same kind of sandwich the cafe had for sale. Unreal. I get really frustrated seeing this kind of entitled behaviour. These are the same kind of people who complain about how many local businesses are shutting down, not realising that by refusing to purchase drinks and food from the establishments they're in, they're contributing to the downfall of the very businesses they're taking advantage of. Think, people: each seat you fill needs to make a certain amount of money each day to be profitable. If you're sitting in a seat without purchasing anything, you're taking away money from that business that they otherwise would've made from someone sitting in that seat who purchased something. Have some dignity and respect for our local businesses, and stop bringing your own lunch! If you can't afford to buy something, eat at home or find a free venue, such as a park, to meet at. Otherwise, you're as much as a thief as someone who actively steals goods from a store.

11 Comments

Agree

May 16, 2017 at 3:28pm

I can barely get a seat for lunch in Olympic Village fast food restaurants (that i pay for) because of construction workers doing the exact same thing. I don't think that the employees are really inclined to say anything.

Wow

May 16, 2017 at 3:59pm

I have literally never seen this. But I mostly go for lunch at VCC or the Super Chef Grill where we are already saving tons of money. This sounds like a really sketchy behavior!

So not...

May 16, 2017 at 4:57pm

.... Classy. Holy fuck, how you gonna enjoy a location and small business without supporting it. I'm usually angry at hippies but these folks are just cheap bastards

OP

May 16, 2017 at 5:51pm

It gets worse: when I left, I realised these people are charity canvassers. Two of them were hustling people outside of the cafe. They clearly just used this cafe as their own (free) lunchroom before going back outside to raise money for charity - while getting paid to do so. Absolutely disgusting behaviour.

Angry barista

May 16, 2017 at 6:06pm

Seriously. The best is when they buy one coffe, stay for six hours, and then use your cutlery and plates for their salads. Thanks guys.

Actually

May 16, 2017 at 6:11pm

You're not allowed to bring outside food into restaurants. It's a food safe rule, and if they get sick off their own food they can blame the establishment. Employees have every legal right to kick these assholes out.

$$$

May 16, 2017 at 7:29pm

but does it have to be an 8$ sandwich, if it was 4$ sandwich no problem, but double that plus the coffee, and I'm paying 1-$ for a half hour sit down. If people want to sell food, they should lower the prices. who actually wants to make their own ham sandwich when sitting down in a cafe? there's only one reason for that

Anonymous

May 16, 2017 at 7:47pm

wtf. I've never seen that, but I guess I'm just not going to the right/wrong places. Wow.

Weirded out @ this behaviour

May 17, 2017 at 12:07am

Saw this @ McD's. Family of 4 sitting down & eating their Chinese takeout.They had a token drink or two,unless they were just drinking water in McD's cups.Such a weird scene.Could not believe what I was seeing & smelling. Bloody Chinese food in McD's.Come on people !!! At least have some courtesy & eat it outside @ their patio tables. If I was the manager there, I would not put up with this crap.In retrospect, I should have complained, but seriously, would they have done anything about it ?

Anonymous

May 18, 2017 at 8:10pm

restaurants and Cafes should record a minimum purchase for use of a table and limit seating time (particularly at meal times). Notices on tables. If I were running a Cafe and folk came in and did this, I would put a bill on the table for services and material - minimum $4 per person. Might not get paid that time, but WOULD ensure they never came back. Some customers you don't want!