I’ve Always Wanted To Tell A Customer: “Stay In Your Lane”

I am a server at a sports bar that doubles as a bowling alley. I am serving a private party that told us they would have fifteen people… but it ends up being more like thirty. Our lanes have an eight-person maximum, so the two lanes they reserved are overcrowded and the food they ordered is not enough for all their guests. A man and his two sons (from the party) are sitting at the table belonging to the neighboring lanes, and they order more food. 

Me: “All right, I’ll put that order in for you! Would you mind scooching back down to your lanes? This table space actually belongs to them.”

I motion to the people who bought that lane.

Customer: “There isn’t any room for us over there.”

Me: “Well, that’s because your party has double the amount of people it was supposed to have.”

Customer: “Well, can we sit over there?”

He points to a table in another server’s section.

Me: “If you would like to get a table, you are more than welcome to go to the host stand.”

Customer: “So we can’t just sit here?!”

Me: *Firmly* “These people paid for this space. You cannot sit here.”

He stormed off and got a table and I transferred his order to that server. He went around complaining about me to his friends, but luckily, the rest of the people in the party were very nice and tipped me very well.