Putting clothing items on pub floors

ireland.man

I was out with a couple of friends recently, and while chatting I placed my jacket on the pub floor which apparently shocked them. There were no coat hooks on the bar, no cloakroom and the chair was cushioned so I couldn't comfortably sit on the bulky jacket nor place it behind me on the back so I put it on the ground by my feet. The floor looked clean enough, it was early in the evening so not too busy and I just didn't think it was as shocking a thing to do as they thought!

Anyway I know it's not a very serious matter but what do others think?

Princess Consuela Bananahammock

Depends - do you want it to be clean, intact and still there at the end of the night?

Pawwed Rig

Done it lots of times, no big deal.

Aidric

Would never do it due to bad past experience and it wasn't even on the floor but on a couch. If at all possible I would ask the barman to stick it behind the bar until I'm leaving. Obviously this is difficult in a bar where you are not a semi regular.

There are a lot of cretins out there who think nothing of lifting an idle jacket.

braddun

there are more germs on a bar floor than a toilet seat,dont even put your handbag down

ireland.man

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Done it lots of times, no big deal.

This makes me feel less weird! Even if one other person like me is out there...

But I agree, it's not the cleanest thing, but if it's sitting at my feet and there's people to my right and left, I'd feel a lot more secure than it draped behind me on the chair.

Yawns

braddun wrote: »

there are more germs on a bar floor than a toilet seat,dont even put your handbag down

I assure you tho, there are more germs where your jacket goes behind the bar than there are on the floor! At least the floor gets cleaned and mopped when the pub is closed. The space where the jackets go never get cleaned.

spongbob

Surely depends on the establishment? If I had a premises and I was paying staff to clean, I would expect everywhere to be cleaned. Top to bottom inside and out.

Seriously?

Often done it if there was nowhere else to put it out of the way, a quick check first to ensure there's nothing nasty there. Other than the risk of a spilt drink don't see the problem.

ireland.man

I can understand why someone wouldn't do it, but these people just gave me the worst look when I did it. I tried to claim it was common enough in Ireland but they weren't buying it!

dastardly00

I'd prefer to keep my jacket in my hand than leave it on the floor :eek: Too much of a risk of drink/vomit/glass falling on it. Or some eejit trampling on it.

Tokyo

Depends on where I was TBH. Most pubs or clubs I've been in has enough space on the back of the seats or similar to throw a jacket up on so it's a non issue. Some pubs, the floor is clean and it's not a problem. Others reek of vomit you can feel your shoes stick to the floor as you walk across it (one Galway nightclub of my youth comes to mind), so it's kind of a no-brainer that no, I probably wouldn't throw my jacket down there.

skallywag

Think it would depend on the jacket in question.

H3llR4iser

ireland.man wrote: »

I can understand why someone wouldn't do it, but these people just gave me the worst look when I did it. I tried to claim it was common enough in Ireland but they weren't buying it!

I assume said friends weren't Irish? Putting coats on the floor is a common thing in Ireland, but it doesn't mean it's any less strange or easily acceptable; As a matter of fact most non-Irish people, myself included, find it extremely odd that people would actually "store" stuff directly on the floor at home, such as piles of books or handbags - as it looks extremely messy.

Back to the "coat on bar/pub floor" topic, I can guarantee you they would be nicked in seconds in most places other than Ireland. They may last a bit longer in the UK or maybe Germany but go to Italy, Spain, France, Greece or even the US and your coat would be gone in a heartbeat. Best case scenario, people would trample all over it and use it as a mat, assuming it to be lost/stolen/discarded.

Plus that coat is essentially doubling as a floor mop - convenient maybe, but certainly not the most hygienic idea

Unfortunalely, and here comes the uneasy/embarrassing part, it is one of the things that contribute to perpetuate a certain annoying stereotype that exists abroad about Irish people; I can guarantee you that said friends will be talking about how "the Irish have no problem putting their clothes on the dirty floor of a bar" when they go home or talk to other non-Irish nationals. Maybe it's time all pubs invested in some more coat hooks.

ireland.man

H3llR4iser wrote: »

I assume said friends weren't Irish? Putting coats on the floor is a common thing in Ireland, but it doesn't mean it's any less strange or easily acceptable; As a matter of fact most non-Irish people, myself included, find it extremely odd that people would actually "store" stuff directly on the floor at home, such as piles of books or handbags - as it looks extremely messy.

Back to the "coat on bar/pub floor" topic, I can guarantee you they would be nicked in seconds in most places other than Ireland. They may last a bit longer in the UK or maybe Germany but go to Italy, Spain, France, Greece or even the US and your coat would be gone in a heartbeat. Best case scenario, people would trample all over it and use it as a mat, assuming it to be lost/stolen/discarded.

Plus that coat is essentially doubling as a floor mop - convenient maybe, but certainly not the most hygienic idea

Unfortunalely, and here comes the uneasy/embarrassing part, it is one of the things that contribute to perpetuate a certain annoying stereotype that exists abroad about Irish people; I can guarantee you that said friends will be talking about how "the Irish have no problem putting their clothes on the dirty floor of a bar" when they go home or talk to other non-Irish nationals. Maybe it's time all pubs invested in some more coat hooks.

I don't think there exists an objective notion of what is strange so I can only be judged in relation to my culture! Plus, I don't think the mates I was with would ascribe negative stereotypes to a whole people based on one person putting a coat on the floor. Anyway, wouldn't that be a good thing if they did see it as a cultural quirk, that Irish people are not shallow and not too concerned about unimportant things in life like clothing? Ok, maybe I'm stretching that a bit...

H3llR4iser

ireland.man wrote: »

I don't think there exists an objective notion of what is strange so I can only be judged in relation to my culture! Plus, I don't think the mates I was with would ascribe negative stereotypes to a whole people based on one person putting a coat on the floor. Anyway, wouldn't that be a good thing if they did see it as a cultural quirk, that Irish people are not shallow and not too concerned about unimportant things in life like clothing? Ok, maybe I'm stretching that a bit...

To be extremely blunt: as you see many people leaving their coats on the floor in bars and pubs, they will have more than just one person as an example. And to be more blunt and be frank, what most foreigners take from it is "Irish people have no qualms about their clothes/coats being dirty and stamped on by strangers", which easily translates into "Irish people are dirty!"; Believe it or not it's an EXTREMELY common stereotype, especially in latin countries.

Because I, having been here for almost a decade, know such an idea to be just idiotic, it kinda pisses me off when I see Irish people doing things that seem to confirm the stereotype in the eyes of tourists/visitors. Sometimes it seems like I care about it even more than the Irish do, ffs!