Is it rude to place your feet on a coffee table in an airline lounge? How about if you take your shoes off? What is “lounge feet” etiquette?
Before my Emirates flight to Dubai, I spent some time in Emirates’ LAX lounge. As I sat in the dining area eating my lunch, I noticed a man a few feet away had taken his shoes off and placed his feet on a coffee table.
Because his behavior is debatable, not necessarily deplorable, I’ve blurred his face to protect his privacy.
Watching the man’s white socks wiggle right in front of me was a lovely site during lunch, though I could have moved tables and did not bother…
My sense, based upon observation, is that people have very strong opinions on this issue–one way or the other. Some are militant that feet never belong on furniture, particularly in public places. Others view the problem as shoes, not feet. Some, on the other side of the spectrum, defend the placement of feet on furniture and argue that is what furniture is intended for.
I’m writing this post because I find myself wavering on how to evaluate this incident. The etiquette I abide by strictly prohibits feet on furniture in airport lounges or other public places. I know it is culturally insensitive in much of the world and therefore I just don’t ever put my feet on the furniture when I’m outside the home.
That said, this was a lounge in the USA, where it is not nearly as culturally offensive (if at all). And the guy took his shoes off, at least. Is that an acceptable tradeoff? Because I may certainly refrain from putting my feet up on furniture, but deep down it really doesn’t bother me. And when I am in the comfort of my own living room, my feet routinely go up on the coffee table or a nearby chair.
CONLCUSION
I’m of the opinion that there is no right-wrong answer on placing feet on furniture, but respect for others is an important consideration and the primary reason why I do not put my feet on the furniture. To be clear, even if the man had his shoes on in the picture above it would not have been my place to correct him…it’s not my lounge or my coffee table.
What do you think? Was the man pictured above rude or I was rude for even noticing him?
Interesting conversation. I’d go with not appropriate. However, if it was an ottoman or soft table, would that be appropriate? Maybe more so.. That’s similar to using the ottoman/stool in business class with no shoes on (or even shoes on), which I have no problem with
Putting your feet on top of any surface that does not belong to you is bad manners. Especially any mode of transportation seat or table.
This is so disgusting.
Feet up is wrong, shoes off is worse – whether it be in a lounge or against a bulkhead which if anything annoys me more.
Agreed this is conduct unbecoming of a person of reputation. He doesn’t belong in the lounge.
The only place I will put my feet on the furniture will be my house. Its offensive and disrespectful to do it in any other place.
While.i can’t remember ever engaging in this type of behavior (and definitely not without socks), I might be sympathetic if the guy had been stuck in the lounge due to a long delay/iirop event. After several hours, decorum and behavioral filters tend to go out the window
I think it’s wrong to put your feet on the chair in a restaurant, I was at Legal Sea Foods last night for dinner and found it very uncomfortable to eat my food while the person facing me at the next table was sitting cross legged on the chair with no shoes on. I think it’s very poor etiquette and very unhygienic.
Not appropriate. It that were an ottoman, then sure with his shoes on. That’s not his furniture nor his home. That’s also a table people will use for food and or drinks. Completely unsanitary.
It all about manners. If you choose to DJ o it at home is one thing but when your in public those same rules no longer apply. Do to all different culture you may be with they may not have been as causal was you in your relaxed comfort display. Ask yourself would you do it in your bosses or fluent grandmother house when they are entertaining a group of people, if it’s no, then you have your answer. Do it at home if you please but NEVER in public for you never know who important/or unimportant you will be offending. It just tricky to show how badly you respect other and show it to the whole world as well. Keep your casualness at home only.
I think it’s wrong to put your feet on the chair in a restaurant, I was at Legal Sea Foods last night for dinner and found it very uncomfortable to eat my food while the person facing me at the next table was sitting cross legged on the chair with no shoes on. I think it’s very poor etiquette and very unhygienic.
Does it make a difference if his feet are dangling off the edge of the table, and only his legs are resting on the table?
“Because his behavior is debatable, not necessarily deplorable, I’ve blurred his face to protect his privacy.”
You should protect his identity regardless of his behavior, good or bad.
He’s a complete slob! Totally inappropriate behavior to place your feet on anything that’s not meant to be a footrest. And, tables (even those) are used to place food or drink. Meanwhile, here’s this knucklehead with his stinky-ass feet rubbing all over it.
Honestly Matthew, I have trouble understanding how you can even state that this is debatable. And if he did it in Dubai, they’d probably lock him up!
This is just all kinds of wrong. Why would you even ask?
Not appropriate. This is a public space and people should realize that you can’t do the same things in the comfort of your own home on shared furniture and property.
Not appropriate at all.
“Was the man pictured above rude”
Yes
” or I was rude for even noticing him?”
Noticing something out of the ordinary is normal, nothing rude there. But not saying a word to him and instead sneaking a picture of him and running to blog about it is pretty rude.
Yeah, this was rude as well. Equally if not even more of a poor standard than feet on table. But Matthew is a millennial…they seem to be ok with this kind of stuff. I guess this is part of “staying woke.”
And I should add that his face is hardly blurred as stated. If that is the extent of Matthew’s PS skills than god help us all. Anyone who stumbled here that was a friend of this dude could easily tell who he is.
I can do a lot of great things in Photoshop, but wanted to make it subtle.
So subtle as to basically dox the guy to anyone who might reverse google an image? Or even recognize him here as a colleague who has been publicly shamed on a blog? No doubt most will agree that this was in poor taste to place feet on a table. But I think public shaming on the internet with his face clearly shown is hardly justifiable for what he did. It would just take one person to recognize him and this guy is humiliated. I suppose you found this easier than actually walking up to the guy and simply asking him politely “if he could remove his feet from the table.” Or ask a staff member to do it. I think your point could have been made here with just his lower torso shown. It’s quite clear you were looking to publicly shame the man by showing the face, subtle or not. And if this is all it takes to cross what I think is a fairly easy line to discern you might consider taking a hard look at standards you hold for your blog. This was not a drunk publicly abusing people. He was lacking decorum – but hardly causing issues beyond that. What’s next…you will show photos of people on a plane who had gas issues?
Not appropriate unless the piece of furniture is meant for feet. A footstool or an ottoman which is not repurposed as a coffee table would be okay. Feet on furniture with socks on or off while others eat is not good etiquette to me.
I wouldn’t call anyone a slob for doing it because either they aren’t aware of it offending someone or their feet could hurt or maybe it feels good to them and again aren’t aware of others. The unawareness of others feelings could be poor etiquette but that could go with either the luncher who is annoyed or the shoe taker-offer who is unaware.
Unless the guy has super smelly feet and he is actually aware and is some sort of a douche who loves showing off his nappy socks while others eat.
Filthy creature…should have been asked to leave. Lounge behaviour is getting worse and worse: feet on furniture, loud conversations on mobile ‘phones, picking at buffet food with fingers, coughing and sputtering around others with no attempt to cover.
In my observation ( without getting too specific) are : generally male, youngish ( mostly under 50 ), usually in business attire, a swaggering arrogance in their demeanour, Genuinely creepy and yet they think they’re ‘God’s gift’ All money ( generally someone else’s, )but no class.
A complete lack of decorum. It’s become truly mind boggling to witness the level of disregard for any sort of class left in the world today. While I get that the airlines and travel have done everything they can to dumb us down I would at east expect that we in turn try to hold some standards that are civil.
It’s not appropriate. Also when someone sits next to you and decides to cross their legs like placing their ankle on their knee and the bottom of their shoes is in your view. We are in an inconsiderate world.
It’s inappropriate. Also when someone sits next to you and decides to cross their legs like placing their ankle on their knee and the bottom of their shoes is in your view. We are in an inconsiderate world.
Feet on the table or furniture, bare or otherwise, in a public place is 100% inappropriate. I’ll make an exception for an ottoman or something similar that’s clearly not intended to be used as a table, but otherwise – nope. That ranks right up there with my other pet peeve, spreading your stuff out to occupy two seats in a clearly busy lounge…
Absolutely inappropriate. You could help solve this issue by NOT blurring the faces of these offenders. No one should expect any privacy while out in public in the US – as US courts have ruled over and over.
Only by passenger shaming these morons, people might eventually start to think before they do something stupid in the future and perhaps a modicum of decorum would return to the travel sphere.
Kevin, He put his feet on the table. It may have been tacky and crass but he was hardly abusing small pets or children for god’s sake. And yet you want to publicly shame him to the world? Wow, society today. If you need directions to Salem, MA circa 1692 let me know. (And his face is barely blurred as Matthew even acknowledged, so if your intent is to find and humiliate him anyone with some skills could quickly ID him for you unless he has lived under a rock for 20 years)
“Cancel culture” is all the rage these days…
To me, putting feet on the furniture while wearing shoes is inconsiderate and selfish. However, putting feet while wearing socks is just a little too informal but ok.
F*cking disgusting. Sweaty socks and feet are just as bad as shoes; both are filthy. Those tables are used for FOOD; feet and shoes have NO place anywhere near them.
A footstool – where provided – is the appropriate furniture for feet. Nothing else.
The rules are very simple. It is acceptable at home, not out in public.
I’m definitely in the no feet on furniture camp. I was in a UA lounge in LAX maybe years ago that actually had small signs on every table asking guests not to put their feet on the table. Didn’t stop some guy in cowboy boots from putting his feet on the table. Being the passive aggressive gal that I am, I took one of the signs and plunked it down on the table. He looked at it, smirked and then just walked away….
You should have exchanged punches then, if necessary have something like a shootout at the OK Corral.
If you ban feet on tables, only outlaws will have feet on tables.
Feet on tables don’t kill people. People kill people.
An airport lounge is not your living room. Keep your shoes on and off the furniture.
What’s happened to basic manners and respect for other people? That’s just pure self-centeredness, if not plain stupidity. You think an airport lounge is bad? Try seeing it happen at a restaurant, coffee shop, or, of all places, the waiting room of a doctor’s office!!! Disgusting hardly describes it. It’s total disregard for the next person who makes contact with that surface!! And, we wonder how sickness travels. There’s no telling WHAT we pick up on our feet. Will every public place have to post a sign prohibiting this possible health threat?? Is it too complicated, or are people now so poorly socialized that common sense just doesn’t kick in? I’d ask, “what’s next”, but I really don’t want to know.
The absurdity of the comments reaches the level that one for a moment wonders if they are all made by the same person to be so extreme as laughable.
Why do people object?
-bacteria? Your body is coated in bacteria. So is your seat, your clothes, your hands etc. Hopefully you are not placing your food on the little table. And speaking of that, what a useless piece of furniture if one isn’t supposed to use it to rest your feet.
-offended by the appearance of someone’s socks – grow up! There is way more of the human body’s accoutrements that are visible daily
-informal – forbid that one actually use a lounge to *gasp* lounge.
Unless one had a first class seat to recline and elevate the feet, elevating the feet for awhile like this is HEALTHY! Reduce lower extremity edema from travel with limited mobility and legs in a dependent position.
This indignation is like those think a female should have no skin showing in the Victorian era with tight waist coats and bindings. Unhealthy!
The horror of it all that someone uses a lounge to lounge.
Tables are where people place the food when eating, the magazines they read and other personal items. Do you eat off of the floor? The feet (shoes) are just about the dirtiest thing you can place on a table. Many countries consider it a grievous insult to display the bottom of you feet towards them.
https://phshygiene.com/hygiene-equipment/how-dirty-are-your-feet/
Happens at my job in the publics break room. Not an age thing but this guy is 60 with no manners or etiquette. Should I say something or take it to HR to tape notices on tables?
Probably best to involve HR rather than risk a confrontation yourself.
I think it’s inappropriate, I have a worker at my work place who sits with one booted foot on the chair. She claims it’s a habit she has had for 30+ years. Boots go everywhere including restrooms, dirty streets and so on so they belong on the floor.