[General] Are the seats only for customers who buy here?

[Silverobama]

I walked by a tea shop with Long (a friend of mine) and we saw that there are some seats. We stopped and sat there for a while. Later, a waitress came out of the shop and asked us to leave. She did explain the reason after I asked her "Are the seats only for customers who buy here?". Is the italic sentence natural?

 

[tedmc]

No, I'd say "paying customers".

 

[jutfrank]

You don't even need to say paying. It's my impression that businesses only say for paying customers only to make it extra clear what they mean, and also perhaps so you can't make some smartass argument about how you actually are a customer even though you haven't bought anything.

Are the seats only for customers?

 

[emsr2d2]

I walked by a tea shop with my friend Long [STRIKE](a friend of mine)[/STRIKE] and we saw that there [STRIKE]are[/STRIKE] were some seats outside. We stopped and sat there for a while. Later, a waitress came out of the shop and asked us to leave. She [STRIKE]did explain the reason[/STRIKE] explained why only after I asked her "Are the seats only for customers?" [STRIKE]who buy here?"[/STRIKE] no full stop here

Is the italic sentence natural?

Note my changes above.

 

[tedmc]

You don't even need to say paying. It's my impression that businesses only say for paying customers only to make it extra clear what they mean, and also perhaps so you can't make some smartass argument about how you actually are a customer even though you haven't bought anything.

Are the seats only for customers?

Anybody who walks into a shop is a customer (if not, what do you call them?), regardless of whether they make a purchase or not. In the context of the OP, someone who had not (yet) made a purchase asked the waitress about using vacant seats, so it is appropriate she made the distinction for telling the non-paying customers to leave.

 

[jutfrank]

We're not talking about a shop here. We're talking about some kind of cafeteria, apparently.

 

[Yankee]

We're not talking about a shop here. We're talking about some kind of cafeteria, apparently.

Well, in the U.S.,Silver's post would describe a "shop" and would not be considered a "cafeteria". In the U.S. cafeterias and that term are usually found in schools. "Buffets" are businesses where food is displayed and customers/diners serve themselves from what is offered. In fact, again referring to Silver's post, there was an incident last year or the year before that gained national headlines in which two customers in a nationally prominent coffee shop were asked to leave for not making a purchase.

 

[emsr2d2]

I realise that things might be different in other countries but, in the UK, the seating both inside and outside (as long as it's on their property) any restaurant, cafe, pub, coffee shop, bar or other eating/drinking establishment is for the use of customers of that business only, and I entirely agree with that!

 

[Yankee]

And I agree also. The incident to which I referred had racial implications.

 

[jutfrank]

Perhaps cafeteria was a poor choice of word. My only point was to say that with a 'normal' shop, where goods are on display, people might go in just to have a look around, with no intention of buying anything. These people can reasonably be called 'customers' even if they don't make a purchase. However, food and drink establishments are very different because you don't just wander into them to have a look around. It's generally accepted pretty much everywhere in the world that if there are tables outside, you can only sit there if you're going to buy something.