Customer insists on sitting at cafe table with stranger who doesn't want him there because "it's a public space": 'Some people have no sense of boundaries'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Oct 14, 2025 5:00 PM EDT

There's a main character at this cafe, and it's the dude who's decided he can sit literally wherever he wants, no matter what the other customers think. 

Some people only think about themselves. It's a fact of life: a lot of folks are just pretty selfish, and they only do things that benefit themselves. Everyone having iPhones seems to have only magnified this tendency even more: people are either looking at their phones, recording themselves, or developing "main character syndrome" and becoming obsessed with themselves due to overindulging in social media messaging. I find it very funny when I'm out for a walk and someone running almost runs me over — because they're recording video of themselves running! It's even funnier when the same thing happens multiple times per walk, which makes you wonder just how many people are vlogging their runs or doing lifestyle vlogs. There's zero concern for all the other people and pets along that walking trail — just total self-absorption. Do their followers see that? No. But everyone in real life gets a taste of their lack of manners, and it's disrupted our peaceful afternoon. 

Sometimes people's lack of manners toward others can really get in the way. Just ask this person, who was trying to sit at a cafe alone at a 2-seater table. For some strange reason, instead of choosing one of the other tables, this guy not only sat down at someone else's table, but he then kept scooting it closer and closer to himself. Yes, he moved the actual table, not his own chair. Ok man, whatever you gotta do, I guess! He's just the epitome of selfishness, and you can read all about it down below. 

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01

    'Dude sat down at my table in a cafe without asking first'

    Woman puts hand to temple and looks annoyed, in background man in sunglasses sips drink and sits on bench outside of a restaurant with a sign reading "LUNCH"
    via Blake Cheek For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    I was chilling in a cafe at a table for 2. It was a hot day and there were plenty of seats outside, but it was a little crowded inside.
    via u/ninman5
  • 03
    This dude just walked over and sat down at my table without saying anything. I didn't say anything, but then he pulled the table closer to him, again without asking.
    via u/ninman5
  • 04
    I moved it back, and he started complaining to me about it. I pointed out that he sat down at my table without asking first. I said I could have been waiting for someone
    via u/ninman5
  • 05
    or wanted space for myself. Then you moved the table without asking first. He said "But it's a public space." I told him that I was using the table before him,
    via u/ninman5
  • 06
    and that he should ask permission before sitting down. If he'd asked I would've said yes, but his rudeness really bothered me.
    via u/ninman5
  • 07
    wes... There's a lot of Main Character Syndrome going on these days.
    via u/ninman5
  • 08
    Getb... Ngl, the image of him sitting down at a random table AND pulling it closer to him is hella funny.
    via u/ninman5
  • 09
    That's something you would see in a sitcom
    via u/ninman5
  • 10
    whe... The audacity of people never fails to surprise me
    via u/ninman5
  • 11
    Rela... Really glad you didn't give in and leave. These type of people need others to call them out.
    via u/ninman5
  • 12
    Loos... Some people just have no sense of boundaries.
    via u/ninman5
  • 13
    Public space or not, there's still such a thing as respecting personal space and social norms.
    via u/ninman5
  • 14
    Man in sunglasses dressed in all black drinking coffee on bench outside of restaurant with "LUNCH" sign
    via Good Faces For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

coffee shop customers seating chairs seats tables mildly infuriating cafe
Scroll Down For The Next Article