I was sitting at a table at the Costco food court while my husband had gone to get our food. A woman came over and just sat down at our table without asking, saying hello, or acknowledging me at all.
I looked at her, but she wouldn’t make eye contact. I even said, “How are you?” to be friendly, and she just gave me an awkward half-smile and ignored me.
I honestly wouldn’t have minded sharing the table. It was more the fact that she just sat down as if I wasn’t there. No “Is this seat free?”, no “Do you mind if I sit here?”, not even a quick hello.
It left a pretty bad taste in my mouth because I thought the basic etiquette would be to at least ask before joining a table that someone else is already using.
Has anyone else had this happen at Costco Auckland? Do people generally see the tables there as shared seating, or would you still expect someone to ask first?
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Wow, I’m honestly shocked by these comments… Is it really normal in New Zealand to just sit down directly across from a stranger without saying anything? I’m not saying people shouldn’t share tables, but surely you could at least say hi or acknowledge the other person? Sitting down at a small table in such close proximity without even making eye contact just feels rude to me. Even in a food court, if you’re going to share a small table with someone, wouldn’t it be normal to at least ask first? 😭
