I'm going to write a letter to someone!

I'm going to write a letter and tell people about this!

So a few weeks ago there was this guy that said he was going to write a note to "someone" (unclear who that someone was….), because after he ate with friend, we wouldn't let him save another seat at our bar for a friend that was coming at some point to join the two of them in the Ferry Building. In otherwords, they had paid, and were just sitting there for an undetermined amount of time until the friend appeared. They may or may not stay at our restaurant since they didn't know what the friend was in the mood to do.

I just don’t get why folks get so upset when they can’t save a seat. This gentleman additionally crowded in a chair from the opposite side of the bar and then proceeded to crowd the rest of the patrons enjoying their meal.

We didn’t fully understand where Miss Manners was at that moment, but we sure could have used her guidance. In the last few weeks, I have become quite infuriated with the lack of understanding and respect that people show to others. As you know if you've followed my bloggy thoughts over the last few months, I have been on a tirade that people haven't got a clue how to act appropriately in public anymore.

Here are this week's thoughts:

I am sure that saving a seat on a crowded day at the Ferry Building with many people waiting to eat is not ok.

I am sure that intruding upon the space of others while trying to squish in an additional chair for your friend is not ok.

I am pretty sure that pulling chairs away from another area of the bar while paying no attention to the inconvenience caused on that side of the bar with the lack of that chair is not ok.

I am most certain that generally announcing that he would write a letter of complaint because we told him he couldn't save the seat should someone need it prior to the arrival of his friend is not our problem and is rude to other folks that are present and waiting patiently for a seat.

As a side note, shortly after that incident, we did have to post a sign stating that we wouldn't seat a table outside until the whole party is present and ready to sit.

I think I am going to approach another topic, with utmost caution since many people seem to think that the behavior/activity I am about to describe is totally acceptable.

In a crowded space, (let me be specific: A restaurant where a line of patrons are waiting to eat that is appx. 10 to 15 people deep) it is generally pretty rude to pay your bill and then sit for another 30 minutes or more especially in a small restaurant, and most especially if you have a party of 4 or more. I mean really, can't you continue your conversation at a bench outside or sit next to the water or sit at the open tables next to Peets.

Here's another one that happens constantly to many restaurants in the Ferry Building unless you chairs are bolted down. It's not ok to take a restaurant's chairs and make a camping spot for you and your friends to enjoy your picnic of items purchased from all the vendors in the Ferry Building. We need the chairs for our customers and they aren't communal. Why do you people who do that feel that's ok to do?

Perhaps I can illustrate this in a different way: Let's say you are on Valencia St. where there are may places to eat and drink next to each other.....and let's say that you and a couple of friends are short a chair, but you want to sit at Blondie’s for a beer. Do you really go to Luna Park and get a chair from them and bring it back to Blondie’s? Think about it...... The only difference between that scenario and the Ferry Building is that those two places are on Valencia. Where as in the Ferry Building we just don't have a formal doorway entrance and we are all under one roof. Seemingly, this doesn't even phase people who do this.

You know I even saw a guy hanging out at The Gardener the other day, for at least 30 minutes having lunch in their display Adirondack chair and he couldn't have been happier. He didn't think this was inappropriate at all and he had to have been in his middle 30s. Seriously, hello?, your are eating your lunch on someone's display chair!

I don't know, I have talked a lot about how somehow, the Ferry Building is perceived as some kind of giant food court and I feel as though I really need to remind visitors that it's a building that houses individual restaurants, and stores so just pretend you are walking down a street and act the same way you would on a street as you do in the Ferry Building.

Oh I get it now........

That’s why bars have the seats bolted to the floor. Note to self: bolt chairs to floor should we ever get different bar stools.