How long should you stay in a cafe or restaurant after having paid the bill?
by 
keithold thanks all baggers
ANSWERS: 9
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About half the restaurants where I live require you to pay when you order, so I guess you have a choice. Usually when we pay our bill here (In Australia) we have to walk up to the counter, leaving the table to do so anyway.
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Till you are ready to leave.
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As long as you damn well want, you're a paying customer. One time my family went to this Japanese Hibachi place, there was about 12 of us in a BOOKED room for my dads birthday. After we paid, the adults had some additional drinks, about 20 minutes or so. And then the manager ASKED us to leave because he booked the next party too close and didnt have any rooms. Quite rude considering the huge tab we had, and paid in full with no problems.
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Its completely up to you, a restaurant won't kick you out. Even if you are the last person in there, its midnight and you have sat there for two hours - they won't ask you to go! From a waitress' perspective, I would like you gone within half an hour (at most) to free up the table so we can make a bit more money/go home to bed! You pay for the food and service, not for a table to sit at for the evening!
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as long as you want you have paid to sit there!
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I only pay the bill when I'm ready to leave.
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In Europe restaurateurs assume that it's your table until you leave. In America not so much. Below concerns America: On the one hand you've paid and there's no reason you shouldn't linger if you're having a good time. On the other hand, the profit margin shrinks the longer you stay as your party will order less as the night wears on. Your server wants a nice tip. If it's a percentage of your purchases then the longer you stay the less they get since another party will arrive hungry and full of orders. If, on the other hand, your tip is more related to being taken care of - they're going to be happy (if they know you). The manager of course is more interested in moving people through since he has overhead to worry about. Bottom line: restaurants are a combination of goods and services. As long as you're paying for both you should be accommodated.
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In most of the modern cafe's you may have to leave sooner but in Mumbai there used to be(some are still there) very quaint "Irani" restaurants where you could sit for hours and no one came and said anything to you. Recently I visited one and sat for many hours and still the waiter didn't come to ask me for anything! Love those ol' places!
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If you are comfortable as long as you like or out of courtesy if some people are still waiting to be seated I would get up and go to the bar.
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