Originally Posted by Analise
What is to insure him that the man who will be seated at the next table five minutes later won't be speaking loudly on his Nextel phone which beeps incessantly? Nothing spoils a delighful evening more than a lout on his precious cell phone.
They're not mutually exclusive. I couldn't agree more with you about louts on cell phones. If I had a reservation at a nice restaurant and saw that they were going to seat me next to a table where there was any evidence of that possibility - someone currently on the phone, or their phone on the table (indicating an interest in picking it up if it were to ring) I would similarly ask to be seated elsewhere. Of course it should go without saying (but I'll say it for the record anyway) that neither this case nor that of an infant justifies anything other than a polite, discreet request to the host or manager.