Originally Posted by
canadiancow
That leads me to another question.
MLLs tend to have seats in groups of 4 (at least in YYZ). When the lounge is empty, you naturally move to an empty group of 4. When it fills up, more people will come, and take the diagonally opposite seat in the group of 4.
Then I come in as part of a group of 4, there are 50 seats open, but only in diagonally-opposite pairs.
Even if you aren't covering the other seats, should you really be taking a seat in an empty 4-block when there are other seats available?
Those are valid points. However, in my experience being at MLLs, they are often crowded as is (esp YYZ DOM) that sometimes you may have no option but to sit in an empty 4-block. Even when a 4 block is partially occupied, it may not be appropriate to sit there as there may be numerous glasses and dirty service items on the table beside the chair. I don't know about you but I won't sit beside a table full of dirty dishes and cups.
A pet-peeve of mine are those who leave dirty service items (i.e. glasses, plates) sitting when they're done with them. Sure someone from the lounge will come by and pick it up but it could be 10-20 minutes before that happens, particularly if they are busy. It only takes a minute to take your dirty items and deposit them on the dirty service items tray. I have not seen this behaviour in Asia (i.e. NH lounges at TYO) which leads me to believe that this must be a North American/European thing. That being said, over in Asia they make it very clear where you can leave your dirty service items, at the MLLs it is often a bit more tricky to find that spot to deposit your dirty service items. This complaint could be extended for other items left behind that make the lounge seating area untenable for many (i.e. discarded newspapers, magazines and nail clippers I once saw BLECH!)
At some point loungers need to realize this is not club med, but rather a business lounge occupied by frequent travellers who don't have the time to deal with other people's nonsense.
Safe Travels,
James