DINING ETIQUETTE TAKES A DIVE

Re: “Don’t talk business over coffee” ( BP Online, July 10).

Bon Cafe had a misunderstanding with four customers that held informal business talks without its consent, thus disrupting the use the eatery for other customers.

This is just a hint of how the drinking and dining etiquette in fast food eateries has become, in Bangkok and elsewhere. We finish our meals and make way for the next customers. We just come, eat and go.

This story tells us something about social etiquette, particularly, the flagging quality of being “considerate” ( kreng jai) in Thai society since the boom of the smartphone. People care only about those they are communicating with on their phones, turning a blind eye to those actually surrounding us, including customers who are looking for a seat to sit down and eat.

Rangsan Srirat