What are the 'rules' for seating at a restaurant

[teagal]

Ok, went to a nice restaurant for breakfast yesterday. One party at a table outside, inside nobody. We elected to eat inside when asked so waitress shows us to a 2 seater-smaller table against the wall. Tons of 4 seater tables available, but I had no idea if they had more reservations or not (reservations are recommended here). I noticed two winged insects hovering on the wall right by the chair I'm supposed to sit in and pointed it out. Waitress swats at them and they go nowhere and she still tries to seat us there. All of a sudden a few more appear and she ASKS us if we want to move. Hello, I think the answer is yes, why do you have to ask?

Now she moves us to a 4 seater in a corner, with a wall right in front of us, another poor table location. Not another person showed up the entire time-we had the restaurant to ourselves. So, why aren't paying customers given the best seat in the house whenever possible? Could it be lack of training on the wait help part or just an oversight? I'm thinking of writing a note to the owner-is that warranted or am I just making a mountain out of a molehill? Thoughts please.

Thank goodness the food was good:)

[Jaymes]

Who knows why.

But a better question, I think, is as soon as you were pointed toward the first unsatisfactory table, why did you not point at one that better suited you and say, "Would it be all right if we sat here?"

[godito]

Hard to tell. I mean, it's easy to understand why they wouldn't sit two at a four seater, but it's obvious they had no reservations. Maybe they were optimistic and expected a higher turnover. Maybe it's just a hard-to-die habit, and when she realized she had to seat two at a four seater, she went for the table least likely to be filled anyways.

Or, more likely, the slow business at a nice restaurant with good food is due to poor service by their wait staff (they should offer a better option if you look unconfortable and they have no reservatios... more so if there are bugs near the first choice)

[djyee100]

I think it's hard for waitstaff to figure out what the customer preference may be sometimes. That secluded 4-seater in the corner was unattractive for you, but maybe the waitstaff thought you wouldn't like being in the middle of a large empty dining room. Some people don't like that. Really, just ask for a table that you want. The waitstaff will accommodate you if they can.

[Holly Moore]

If the restaurant was that slow, it is likely the server was making sure you sat at a table in her section.

I agree with the others here. Request a table, or an area such as closer to the window. Be willing to leave if the server doesn't work with you to seat you in the location you refer. More than once, as I headed to the door ("We'll be back when better seating is available), a decent table suddenly became available.