Reid© wrote in message . ..
Following up to Tim Vanhoof

One of the saddest sights of the British summer (or the funniest,
depending on your sense of humour) is the group of thirsty tourists
sitting at a table in a pub, patiently waiting for someone to come and
take their order.

I wonder how unaware people are of the service arrangements in
pubs? I suppose if they see people bringing food to tables they
could well be confused.
Do people really not spot people waiting at the bar and the lack
of any waiters? People bringing back their drinks?

It takes a finite amount of time. The confusion comes in that
it is not uncommon for folks in other lands to order from the
bar, especially if they aren't planning on using a table (playing
pool, darts, whatever). So just because I see someone ordering
from the bar, doesn't mean it is what I need to do. Furthermore,
if they are anticipating food orders, many bars "over here"
don't want you to order from the bar so that the table service
can earn their keep. I've been "waived off" so to speak over here
when attempting to order from the bar when there was table service.
The final confusion of course is that pubs on this side of the
pond (those english and irish "themed" pubs) often DO have table
service. So one doesn't necessarily go in expecting it to be much
different. Like I said, it takes a finite amount of time to figure
out the system.