A Reddit user under the name Broccolibigboi commented on a coffee shop situation where being respectful wasn't exactly one of the rules. He has been going to the same small coffee shop near his apartment for a while as part of his routine. The problem was that one regular customer seemed to arrive earlier than him and take up more space than he actually needed. Every single day, he claimed half the seating for friends who may or may not appear sometime before closing time. His way of occupying empty seats for his friends was not the ordinary kind. He used backpacks, jackets, water bottles, an AirPod case, and one time, a banana.
The original poster soon realized his friends were never showing up, and that the seats remained empty. At some point, he began to feel frustrated and confronted the compulsive seat-saver. He started by asking nicely if anyone was sitting there, where the friend was, and when they were arriving. That sounds like an interrogation, but the man had lots of questions at that point. The seat-saver acted annoyed and didn't say much.
The only solution was for the remote worker to show up at the coffee shop the next day with a foldable camping chair. The matter escalated to the manager, and the seat-saver complained that he was making fun of him. It's funny how easily one can teach a lesson without arguing, but by making the other person feel ridiculous.