To be annoyed with this waitress?

[ImaginaryGiraffeIsMyBestFriend]

Went into a cafe today with my Sister, 1yo niece and 2 friends. We each ordered a drink and one of my friends was deciding what to eat for lunch before work when a waitress came over and told us we had to take my niece out of the high chair we were using and sit her on my knee and feed her there because another child (who was quite a bit older than my niece) needed the use of the high chair. When I refused she then said that because we'd brought our own food in for my niece we were less of a priority for high chair usage than the other child because they were ordering food for her off the kids menu (all of which was processed, salt laden food as opposed to our home made stuff). When I complained I was told that it was 'against their policy' to allow people to eat food brought in from outside, regardless of age, and that they were making an exception for us as it was. We walked out with all of our drinks completely untouched and went to a cafe across the road, where we had no problems feeding her the food we had brought.

AIBU to think this is a ridiculous rule? We've never had any problems feeding her home made food anywhere else and usually do order off a kids menu for her if the food is suitable (DN is extremely picky and won't eat things like fish fingers or chicken nuggets, which is about all thats available on a kids menu in lots of places).

i think its pretty crap to take your own food into an eating establishment for anyone

they arent there cos they love doing it, they are there to make dosh

YANBU. I worked in hospitality for a looong time and it wouldn't occur to me that a 1 year old wouldn't bring their own food wiht them. We all know that babies can be very funny about what they will and won't eat

oh well, at least you hadn't ordered your meals and were able to leave before parting with much money.

I can see why you are annoyed that you had to move but see it from their point of view - they are running a business and quite rightly they want to give their seats to paying customers. You could have sat your DD in her pushchair and fed her. The fact that their food is "salt laden rubbish" compared to your organic houmous or whatever is beside the point and makes you sound like a knob snob sorry. In short, YABU.

Yabu most places don't let you bring your own food in!

Everything Trixie123 said.

We were paying for food for us, but not for her. They have 4 options on the kids menu - chicken nuggets, fish fingers, sausages or eggs all served with beans and chips. She wont eat any of them and absolutely refuses to eat baby food from a jar so we had no choice but to give her food we'd brought from home. We weren't just taking up space in the cafe and not buying anything.

YABU to blame the waitress for doing her job and enforcing what is clearly the policy of the cafe.

YABU to bring your own food into a cafe. If you don't like the sort of food they serve to kids choose somewhere else for lunch.

Why not just sit the child on your knee as suggested by staff? Seems like they tried to compromise and you were deliberately awkward.

Always order something and a plate for the baby the implication being you are sharing your ordered and paid for meal. Whether or not they have the face to chuck you out as you tip your cheesey wotsits handmade finger sandwiches onto it is another matter.

i think you were all a bit U ...taking your own food, and not enough high chairs and at DN's age I bet she'd have scarfed a cake, even if the children's menu is rubbish.

So why couldnt she have eaten her food in her buggy?
Surely you can see that somebody who has paid for food from the cafe deserves a seat more than someone who has brought their own,regardless of age.
And sorry you sound a right snob re your comment about the salt laden food.

Did you pay for your drinks before walking out? And what does it have to do with the waitress? Surely she does not set the policy in the restaurant.

in your first post it seems like just ONE person was eating? So you were four adults, and one child in a cafe at lunchtime, with one person eating, three having just a drink, and one baby using the high chair and purchasing nothing?

sounds ALBU to me...

YANBU to expect to keep the highchair. People take out food for their little ones and the younger they are the more they need a high chair. Like Oh - I worked (and also grew up) in the industry and think it is madness to be rude to people with young DC over such a minor issue. They lost out on 2 adults eating lunch, who pay far more for their grub than any shite on the childrens menu.

I agree that most food offered on kids menu is dreadful btw but you will have to get used to it as DN gets older. Agree the saldt laden remark sounds snooty in OP.

if you dont like the childrens food, it wasnt the right place to take children.

I think by the time a child is eating properly you should buy there. Paying customers should certainly be priority for highchairs.

Ds won't eat things like you mentioned, we pick places that serve food he likes on the kids menu or who have jacket potato or something he likes

Another what trixie said.

YANBU.
I've worked in hotels and restaurants and I wouldn't think twice if someone brought their own food for a small child. If you were using the high chair first you should have been able to carry on until you were finished.
It's not like you weren't spending anything and were just using their high chair to feed your child. Would they have thrown you out if you just had coffees and someone else wanted your table for a 3 course meal? I very much doubt it.
I hope the family that were waiting for the high chair were suitably embarrassed about the situation.
I know the cafe is in it for the money but how much have they lost in you not ordering food, future business and loss of reputation? Probably not worth it in the long run. I hope you were treated much better in the second place.

YABVU

Of course the other baby should have the high chair if it was eating food bought on the premises.

It's a business, not a private dining room.

YANBU. You had the high chair first, simple as that, and as a group you were paying customers just as the other people were. They decided to prioritise what they thought would be the higher value customers, which clearly isn't fair. If they follow that logic with all customers the cafe will be like a large-scale version musical chairs!

YABU - next time choose a restaurant that serves food you don't think is rubbish. It might also be a good idea to let your DN used to eating typical kids' menu food, so you don't find yourself in this situation in the future.

Or find a starter she would like - my 2YO loves calamari, so that's us sorted in any Italian restaurant.

I do hope you paid for your drinks before you all flounced.

But if the niece is only 1 yo, she's still pretty much a baby really. Are places really going to stop people for bringing in baby food then?

Especially since the adults had already ordered drinks and were about to order food. They are still paying customers. So because the baby wasnt eating their food she cant sit in their chair?

I think thats a bit crap.

I also suggest they have get more than one highchair!

She probably would have eaten cake - that's about the only thing you can be sure of with her

We have been into this cafe before with our own food for DN and had no problems, but the waitress who spoke to us seemed to have a huge problem that we were daring to question what she'd said. It's only a small place and generally not very busy which is why we chose to take DN there (well, that and the fact that they make the most amazing pancakes in the world) as she is a really bad eater and the less distraction, the better.

They have 2 high chairs and one booster seat (which doesn't attach to the chairs and slips of if DN moves) plus, when we looked over at the other family who 'needed' the high chair, they had quite happily put their DD (about 2yo) onto a normal seat and were busy looking at the menu apparently completely unconcerned about the lack of high chair. I'm actually more upset that the waitress came over and demanded we move DN, then used the food she was eating as an excuse when I questioned her reasoning.

the cafe were cross because there were were FOUR of you adults, at lunchtime, and only ONE of you were planning to order food.

they wanted the high chair for a group of adults that WERE ordering food, and it was a goid way of getting rid of the the four of you..

If you don't want people to order "drinks only" at lunchtime then close up and reopen as a restaurant. If you're a cafe drinks only tables comes with the territory