Charged for an empty plate?!

Why did you need an extra plate?

This restaurant sells a ‘baby bowl’. Nobody is asking her to buy ‘a full meal’. Interesting justification for theft, though.

I do this all the time I'm not buying a full meal when he won't eat it and he's 2 !!

Exactly.

"One for baby, three for me. One for baby, three for me"

Add that up over three meals thats one extra meals worth of food.

They think that "its just a potato ffs!" without thinking that over a busy Sunday with hundreds of covers, its costs a hell of a lot to the venue.

Funny how the venue is stingy for charging for it, but they are NOT stingy for refusing to pay for it.

I'm agreeing with you - just trying to provide examples that I see as equivalent to the OPs behavior (which i also see as theft).

If you want the baby to eat some of the carvery, you pay for the specific baby plate option on the menu to feed your baby from the carvery which is apparently £2 or whatever.

if you don't want to pay for the baby plate for the baby to eat from the carvery, then they don't eat from the carvery.

What you can't do is say I want my baby to have a baby plate and eat from the carvery but I'm not going to pay the advertised cost for it so I'll just add extra to my plate instead. Otherwise what's the point of having the baby plate option, everyone would just do that. People may think the carvery should let them rather than charging for the baby, which is a valid argument. But if they've decided not to you have to suck it up when you go there.

I’m not sure if you are saying that’s fine or not but either way, ‘sampling’ pick and mix and taking ‘just one grape’ are 100% theft and no, I would never dream of doing either.

Just because a particular theft doesn’t amount to a value that is worth prosecuting doesn’t mean it’s not stealing.

It isn’t just about the cost of the food, babies need a high chair that takes up room and has to be brought to table and taken away after and which has to be cleaned after them and then there’s bits that land on the floor that staff also have to clean up, so extra work for the restaurant. Surely all that is worth a few pound ?

No, of course not. If you buy a plate of food with a fixed amount, it’s yours. You can eat it, keep if for later, feed it to your child or use it as a modern art display if you want.

The ‘only feeding someone else a little bit’ issue only arises with either an all you can eat buffet or a partial buffet (as with a carvery where there are unlimited sides).

In this case, I also wouldn’t have an issue with the OP giving the baby part of her meat portion - that’s a set amount so what she does with it is up to her.

I'm guessing things like single grapes and the occasional 'sample' from the pick and mix.

I'm astonished too - the amount of people who can't seem to see outside their own individual bubbles...

You really think the op wasn't going to pop an extra potato on her plate, come on!

Knocking an old lady out and taking her handbag. I draw the line there.

Well yes, blatant theft does rile me. Apparently you think it’s OK to steal if it’s just ‘a roastie and carrot’ but you haven’t said where your limits are. What level of theft would you say isn’t acceptable?

Clearly you think some level of dishonesty is reasonable since the OP had to (eventually) admit this restaurant sells a baby bowl (i.e. makes it explicitly clear babies don’t eat for free) but where is your line?

Feeding a roastie and carrot off your plate to your baby is hardly theft.
This has really riled you though with the ‘out of interest’ bit.

I agree the responses are crazy - the number of people justifying theft of food because ‘babyyyyyy’ when the OP herself states the menu has a ‘baby bowl’ price (which means the business has chosen to not allow children under a certain age to eat free) is astonishing.

Out of interest, what other things are acceptable for a parent to steal because they don’t feel like paying for their child?

Yes perceived fairness and what elements go into that perception. That’s it exactly.

Buffets and carverys charge by the plate. You cant share those.

You wouldnt have asked for a plate for DH to take food from you.

If DS wants a carvery, pay for it

Omg the responses on here are absolutely crazy. WTF. OP, you are NOT being unreasonable! The person who said their 10 month old ate a full plate of roast dinner, I mean, what?! Surely they’re mostly on milk and trying out a bit of veg at the moment.
mumsnet is weird.

In future just pop a plastic plate or dish in a plastic bag in your handbag, no need to even ask then. But tbh by asking for an extra plate they probably thought you would put food on it for free or put extra on your own plate, which I expect you would do anyway.

It's the plate that attracts the charge. O ce you've paid for a plate you can pile it with food - or not. But they don't give out free plates, because that's not how they operate. If you don't like it, go to a pub or restaurant where they charge for the actual meal and you can have extra empty plates if you like.

True re the refillable glass; but even then, most places will differentiate between an adult/older child and a baby.

Many places will happily heat up baby food for free if customers have brought it with them; but they most certainly would not gladly enable fully-functioning customers (i.e. those who have come out of choice and/or will enjoy and benefit from the experience, as opposed to those who have been brought along by parents only because they can't leave them home alone) to actively use their facilities but without buying anything from them.

Very good response - I think some people don't understand that they need to pay for things they use/consume the dire state of the hospitality sector.

Maybe I'm thick, but I construed this (including the said-not-said crossed-out bit) to be referring to the costs incurred by the restaurant vs their income.

Or are you suggesting that costs to them of supplying their product have no bearing on viability in the sector?

If you're talking about perceived fairness of 'paying your way', then I get what you're driving at; but I don't see how that actually affects the bottom line of the restaurant in the same way that quantity of food supplied would.

Not to mention that she wanted an extra plate ie twice the washing up. Imagine asking if you could share a refillable drink, but wanted 2 glasses to put it in 😂

Most buffets I've been to charge per person, cheaper for kids and babies free...this would be a lot easier surfly

Reminds me of Alan Partridge’s scam he had going with a big plate.