# So I Relented! I let the restaurant take my wheelchair. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 24, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981 "2012-12-24T04:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/1 "2012-12-24T04:02:41Z")
I had only one thing on my brain. Take the fuckin’ thing. Whatever. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Cats\_pajamas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cdc98d/32.png) [@Cats\_pajamas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cats_pajamas)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/2 "2012-12-24T04:06:50Z")
How dare they. That restaurant should buy its one wheelchair! But, seriously, did a restaurant make you sit in a regular chair in order to dine? That is crazy if it is the case. ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/3 "2012-12-24T04:07:19Z")
Get it back? ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/4 "2012-12-24T04:30:06Z")
> **[It's Part of Me](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=613720)** > > I was dating a girl last summer and we went out to eat at a restaraunt one day. It was afternoon on a weekday and the restaraunt was pretty deserted. We were greeted by the hostess who led us to the table of our choosing, where I proceeded to... Sorry. This might have been helpful in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/5 "2012-12-24T04:35:32Z")
Thinking with your little brain, were we? ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Tonya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/4491bb/32.png) [@Queen\_Tonya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Tonya)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/6 "2012-12-24T04:43:59Z")
Same restaurant? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/7 "2012-12-24T04:44:29Z")
I was guessing maybe alcohol was involved. ---
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/8 "2012-12-24T04:47:40Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > I had only one thing on my brain. Take the fuckin’ thing. Whatever. 😉 Was it worth the price I pondered? Was the jellied eel and vichychoisse for which this famed 5 star dining Valhalla called “Funland” worth the price of my pride and my mobility? I had waited 3 years for my reservation and now … _this_. The over-sized Playskool chairs everyone sat in were part of the dining set piece, and the diaper clad maitre d’ would not seat us unless we conformed with the aesthetic. My humiliation at being forced to crawl to my table over the rattan mats that covered the floor fought with my ardent desire for the signature bamboo worm pie,and hakari torte, and fugu gelato. In the end it was the irresistible smell of the freshly cracked balut that pulled my for my familiar steel perch, and had me pull myself inch by agonizing inch across the floor on my elbows to the huge plastic chair. And then… ---
**Author:** ![midnight-dreary](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@midnight-dreary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/midnight-dreary)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/9 "2012-12-24T04:56:11Z")
I’ve been in some really crowded restaurants. Like, you have to squish past people to walk anywhere, if the restaurant was busy. I could understand why they’d want to move your chair in that sorta situation. because hell, a small bag in that situation can be a real annoyance/tripping hazard, let alone a much bigger chair. But you said the restaurant was empty, and it was a violation of ‘fire code’. But in the case of a fire, wont it be more dangerous for someone to be stuck, unable to remove themselves, because their wheelchair is gone… than someone having to walk around a wheelchair to get out?? makes no sense to me! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/10 "2012-12-24T05:03:42Z")
> [@midnight-dreary](#): > > I’ve been in some really crowded restaurants. Like, you have to squish past people to walk anywhere, if the restaurant was busy. I could understand why they’d want to move your chair in that sorta situation. because hell, a small bag in that situation can be a real annoyance/tripping hazard, let alone a much bigger chair. > > But you said the restaurant was empty, and it was a violation of ‘fire code’. > > But in the case of a fire, wont it be more dangerous for someone to be stuck, unable to remove themselves, because their wheelchair is gone… than someone having to walk around a wheelchair to get out?? makes no sense to me! That was the other restautant-not this one. This one wasn’t empty and my wheelchair sitting right off the side of our booth really would have been in the way for the employees needing to get by. Plus, when they moved it, it was just over about 10 feet by the window (unlike the other restaurant that wanted to take my chair completely “out of sight” and behind some bar). ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/11 "2012-12-24T05:06:13Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > I was guessing maybe alcohol was involved. Yeah a bit. A little bit. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/12 "2012-12-24T05:32:57Z")
Next time stay in the wheelchair and roll up under the table. They can’t take the chair then and I’m pretty sure they can’t force you to transfer into a booth. If you fell it would be a lawsuit. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/13 "2012-12-24T08:17:10Z")
I’m astonished you acquiesed in this. My husband has a SCI and physically cannot transfer unassisted but even if he could, he’d refuse because he won’t sit on anything that’s not his pressure relieving cushion. ---
**Author:** ![manila](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@manila](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manila)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/14 "2012-12-24T10:30:45Z")
Am bit puzzled, ( and apologies if my question is stupid) Why don’t you ask them to remove the dining chair and just remain seated in your wheelchair and eat from there? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/15 "2012-12-24T12:21:00Z")
It seems like you made a reasonable choice because the restaurant was very busy and there was no other path that the employees could easily take that your chair wasn’t blocking. I think this was nice of you and that you weren’t obligated to let them move your chair, but you might have been a bit of a jerk if you hadn’t, in THIS case. In the other case, if I had been the girl you were on a date with, I would have LOVED the way you stood up to the pushy restaurant manager. ---
**Author:** ![orcenio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/orcenio/32/1036_2.png) [@orcenio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/orcenio)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/16 "2012-12-24T12:46:08Z")
What I’d ask is if they’d expect me to abandon my sole means of transportation so that non-present, able-bodied people cannot be momentarily hindered from fleeing in an emergency? ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/17 "2012-12-24T12:53:45Z")
> [@drewtwo99](#): > > In the other case, if I had been the girl you were on a date with, I would have LOVED the way you stood up to the pushy restaurant manager. Do _you_ see what you did there? mmm ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/18 "2012-12-24T13:19:23Z")
> [@manila](#): > > Am bit puzzled, ( and apologies if my question is stupid) Why don’t you ask them to remove the dining chair and just remain seated in your wheelchair and eat from there? > [@jabiru](#): > > I’m astonished you acquiesed in this. My husband has a SCI and physically cannot transfer unassisted but even if he could, he’d refuse because he won’t sit on anything that’s not his pressure relieving cushion. > [@aceplace57](#): > > Next time stay in the wheelchair and roll up under the table. They can’t take the chair then and I’m pretty sure they can’t force you to transfer into a booth. If you fell it would be a lawsuit. I should have been more clear, but like the original restaurant, I _wanted_ to sit out of my wheelchair. In this instance, we we first offered more accesible seating but we chose to sit at the booth. I enjoy getting out of my chair, especially when its a nice comfy booth. In both instances, getting out of my chair and sitting in the regular seats made the date/dining experience more enjoyable (or would have, ideally in both). ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/19 "2012-12-24T13:44:05Z")
So did it pay off, at least? I mean this _is_ a sneakbrag thread, right? Get to the good stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981/20 "2012-12-24T18:28:14Z")
> [@VinylTurnip](#): > > So did it pay off, at least? I mean this _is_ a sneakbrag thread, right? Get to the good stuff! Yes. With interest. 🙂 It was a very pleasant evening, all things considered. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-relented-i-let-the-restaurant-take-my-wheelchair/644981.md?page=2)