What Would You Do In Such a Scenario?

I remember a few years ago, when everybody was afraid by terrorists and bombs in my country, to have seen two suitcases destroyed by the police in railway stations : not funny for the person who had forgotten a suitcase, but an interesting show. Well, I would not leave my suitcase near somebody else, and I would find this strange. I would probably say something like : "I can also keep your keys and your wallet if you want."

Hi zed Food or no food I yell SIR! Your briefcase, this way it draws attention and I won't be touching it. I would think it was some kind of bomb and or stolen money of some sort. Call me a coward or too many films but my first thought is that it is not good at all.

GOOD QUESTION!!! Twenty years ago I would have opened the case to see what he wanted me to hold for him. (YES, curiosity killed the cat) With the last 10 years being like it has been, I don't think I'd have let him leave it or I'd be calling the cops to come see what's in it!!!! I don't like living in fear, but you NEVER know when somebody is going to hand you a bomb!!! I just know I would NOT touch it so MY fingerprints couldn't possibly be on it anywhere!!!!

Hi sweetie. I will finish my food, pay and leave. You know just as well as i do that that man won't come back for the briefcase. It's not mine, so it's not my problem.

i would open the case and remove all the contents then i would squeeze myself into the case and wait to see his face when he is at his directors annual shareholders meeting and he opens the case and i jump out naked shouting "surprise!" did i mention i was naked? it adds to the impact factor.

Before I would have just watched it and if I had to leave, I'd give it to the people behind the counter. Now I would probably wonder if it was a bomb :( that's sad, I know...

I would call security, and tell them that someone left something suspicious with me, and could they please come and pick it up? Then I would get up and leave. There have been times in smaller, more intimate cafe settings, where I've asked someone to watch my table, complete with iPhone, and sometimes even purse, while I go to the bathroom, but I've always waited for a definite YES, told them exactly when I am going to be back, and had the items right there where they could see what they were watching (not that I'd empty my purse, but the contents of my purse are that of any woman's typical purse, so nothing suspicious there).

I will desperately gesture with my hand, nod my head in a denial mode and gesture him to take it away.

haha =D I will open the bag, throw whatever food in my mouth into the bag, before closing it again.. lol =D There's another way to handle the situation, whereby i would simply throw the bag on the floor, or hide it under the table.. haha =D Since the owner doesn't bother about their own belongings, why should i be responsible for it?? haha

hi zed great discussion. I am thinking I would spit out the foor and grab the guy , yelling loudly sir Do not leave that here. I would hope he would pick it up and take it with him. If the thing did not tick I would wait a reasonable time then take it to the check out stand and ask the cashier to call the police as the man left it and never came back, It could well be stolen documents or stolen money that you would not want to be caught with if the police came into the fast food restaurant looking for the owner of the big black bag.I get the feeling that the man wanted to ditch something that was incriminating onto you in hopes nobody would catch up with him as hes on the lam.

Call Homeland Security?

I think I would be a little nervous (mostly because of all the things that have been told by the media about such situations). I would probably move to another location so I would not be associated with the briefcase in case it was boobytrapped or something crazy like that. I would also probably report it to security. You never know with people these days.

I'll check if there are any mall guards and indicate that a man left briefcase. They will know what to do with it.

hmmmmmmm sounds very fishy!! leave a big black suitcase around these times i think is quite dangerous i will try to call the guy but if he cannot hear me then will ask a security guy if he is around to have a look or tell the front office people about it ......

I would wait to make sure the guy was not coming back then I would be really tempted to open the case. However it could be a bomb inside as you said it was a big briefcase so instead I would call the police.

Mouth full or not, i will go after that man! It might be a bomb zed! my life would be at risk and if i cannot find him, ill go look for a police to look after the bag

LOL! I guess that would depend. I have had guys do stranger things to try to get my attention and "pick me up" or flirt with me, so it would mostly depend upon the "vibe" that I got from him. I would not necessarily go out of my way to wait, but I wouldn't necessarily immediately call security, either. I think I would see where he was going and how quickly he was trying to get there and make a determination based on all the above factors. By the way, would your answer or actions change if it was a gorgeous female asking you to watch her briefcase rather than a guy?

I'll move to the next table and tell the waiter to watch the briefcase and I'll tell the guard to watch the man who left the briefcase haha In reality though I would just let the briefcase be. If its a bomb then no matter what I do there is no escaping the explosion because for sure its timed or is set to explode after the drop off. If its cash maybe just maybe the person will give me a reward for guarding his belongings . The only time I would find the briefcase disturbing if the man hasn't come back for a very long time.

Mmm, how interesting! Firstly, I would give him time to come back like he said he would. Maximum I would give him 10 minutes, then I would start thinking about what Jack Bauer would do lol. Because he has a "bag of Tricks" on him AT ALL TIMES he would - no doubt, carry out a controlled explosion and end up with egg on his face because the case fails to explode lol. Not for the first time! In the meantime, the owner of the case comes back and asks him "What the Hell are you doing to my briefcase?!" Haha! If Jack Bauer wasn't around I'd look out for the first security guy and mention the case to him/her as there are always security guys in malls, right? Leave it up to them to sort out, it's their job. Gives them something to do! No way would I open the case if the owner didn't come back, that's for sure!

I would instantly leave, and enjoy my food in another table or maybe just stroll around until i finish my meal. Because in this scenario, my thoughts would be..."im so enjoying my meal so why would i bother myself with something just popping in front of me, who wouldnt even care to explain his urgency..." So i am not allowing anything or anyone to disturb my ME-Time. =D