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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

dirty high chairs

101 replies

claudedebussy · 08/09/2012 20:23

it never fails to amaze me (why - i don't know, considering it's been years...) how restaurants don't bother to clean their high chairs. if they left the tables and chairs in the same condition they'd probably be shut down by elf and safety.

latest case-in-point: john lewis. absolutely filthy high chair and it was the best of the bunch. such that i didn't do my usual pa tight-lipped clean but asked a cleaner if she had a cloth. she had the decency to look embarrassed at the disgusting state of it but certainly didn't go off to clean the rest of them.

so. aibu?

OP posts:

AnnaLiza · 08/09/2012 22:05

But it is part of the waiting staff's job to clean after guests!!

Sirzy · 08/09/2012 22:06

It is their job to clear the table but that should be a job which takes seconds. It shouldn't be their job to pick up other peoples mess that they are to lazy to tidy.

HoopDePoop · 08/09/2012 22:09

The loo analogy doesn't really work. I expect a freshly cleaned plate, and not one wiped down by another customer. It's about good service. Loos aren't cleaned after every use. Although that would be ace.

HSMM · 08/09/2012 22:09

I clean before and after use :)

maddening · 08/09/2012 22:09

I went into the village cafe with my ds to meet a friend on friday and again today with ds and my fiance - friday I (as always) did a full clean up after ds had eaten including the floor. Today when df was getting down to do the floor the cafe owner said not to worry as she was closing soon and doing the floors anyway - and commented that we were the only ones to do this - usually parents just up and leave a scene of devastation - I just don't get that attitude at all - thoughtless and rude imo

EmmananaOrangeandGold · 08/09/2012 22:10

Dirty highchair? I would do the same as I do when I am handed a menu that has any food on it/ signs of disrepair. I leave. If they cannot keep a menu (or highchair) presentable, when they know customers can see them, then I dread to think of the state of the kitchens and prep areas.
I have actually walked out of places after being handed stained menus.

FamiliesShareGerms · 08/09/2012 22:10

And there are loads of foods that are easy to wipe up with a napkin soon after spillage that left a bit longer are like concrete and nigh on impossible to shift.

AnnaLiza · 08/09/2012 22:10

It's not about being lazy. I think it's reasonable for the parent to do what they can to clear up but ultimately sweeping the floor and doing a more in depth clean of the surfaces should be up to the waiting staff.
That doesn't make me rude or dirty and I don't pee on toilet seats, thank you very much!

HoopDePoop · 08/09/2012 22:12

I'm going to open a baby-friendly cafe. Where parents can take their children to enjoy good food like adults can, without worrying about the cleanup afterwards.

Cos after this thread I'm a bit scared to take DS out anywhere until he's at least 5. Or 15. Or 25.

maddening · 08/09/2012 22:19

but that's the point of tidying up after your dc - I do blw (I know I know - well maybe it's baby freestyle eating) but my ds creates a mess but he gets to eat like adults do - so I clean it up - it's no great hassle :-)

ceeveebee · 08/09/2012 22:20

Oh don't be scared. Just clean up after yourselves

Original poster

claudedebussy · 08/09/2012 22:22

some people clean up after their kids. some don't.

as a business you are responsible for making sure your equipment, whether it be for adult or child, is fit for the next person. otherwise you might find that you don't have many customers left.

it shouldn't be my problem that the person before me didn't clean up. i think people are far more likely to leave things as they find them.

it's ultimately the restaurant's responsibility. it's THEIR high chair.

OP posts:

pigletmania · 08/09/2012 22:28

Exactly claud. Regardless of whether te other person has cleared up r not, it's te job ofte restaurant to keep eating surfaces Caen and hygenic

LadyWidmerpool · 08/09/2012 23:01

It takes me a good ten minutes minimum to do a really good deep clean of my antilop if my baby has been eating mash or beans. I wouldn't expect a waiter to do that after every baby.

olgaga · 08/09/2012 23:23

As other posters have pointed out, quite often in "family" cafes and restaurants the demand for highchairs and tables mean that one family is practically sitting down just as another family leaves. There's little chance for the waiting staff to do more than a quick wipe-down of the tables and put new cutlery out.

To be honest I was so disgusted at the state of highchairs (and tables/seats) in these places I never went anywhere without at least a packet of wet wipes. When my daughter was little and needed highchairs, or we went on a train journey, I would take some antibacterial kitchen wipes too - it was irritating having to clean off months of dried muck but I found they usually did the trick, even with the straps which are usually nylon/polyester type fabric.

I always wiped up after her, it only takes a minute and I just can't understand why people feel it's acceptable to leave a huge mess behind. It's all very well saying "it's the staff's job" but in a busy restaurant there's little time for the staff to do a proper clean during service hours.

I still carry handbag-size packs of wet wipes now - and DD is 11! They're always handy for the fold-down tables on trains, which are almost always putrid.

crackcrackcrak · 08/09/2012 23:25

Yanbu. I complained about this at my health club formally and had a full on row with the restaurant manager about it. They are no different to the tables.

TheBigJessie · 09/09/2012 00:00

I always did/do clean up afterwards, because I don't think the amount of mess left for the staff should be excessive.

My FIL highly objects to this. Apparently it's "taking someone's job" and/or "but my taxes pay for her to do that [in local association leisure centre]". [hmmm] As if she probably didn't have loads of other tasks to do before closing time.

I can't stand that kind of attitude. Absolutely cannot.

TheBigJessie · 09/09/2012 00:03

*Local Authority

pigletmania · 09/09/2012 07:57

Yes but you would expect them to haves reasonable standard of cleanlness lady, not to have food smeared over it, and to be unfit for purpose. The same way I would not go to a restaurant to find food smrared on the table and food encrusted cutlery

summeraupair · 09/09/2012 08:00

I work in a very high turnover coffee shop (hence only ever popping up on threads like this ) and we all try our best to keep EVERYTHING clean, including the highchairs - they get hauled out back a few times a day for the full scrub and we wipe them down whenever we see them empty. The problem is, they're hardly ever empty and there are enough tasks that nobody can be on constant highchair duty! I'd say really YANBU but cut serving staff a bit of slack if the place is really busy and there aren't designated cleaners.

For the record, I have no problems cleaning up after families with small children, but I properly boak at acres of sticky, snotty tissues spread over several tables. A more common problem than you'd think considering we have three clearly marked bins at each end of the shop! Crumbs and rubbish fine, but anything bodily... ugh. Yes, lady who informed me her child had been sick on the floor then promptly left without even an apology, I mean you (I'd gladly get the mop and bucket out and sort it out myself in a genuine emergency, but this kid skipped off eating ice-cream!).

Adults leaving their rubbish carefully placed NEXT to the bins instead of IN them, that's a whole rant of its own...

aufaniae · 09/09/2012 08:08

I would give a high-chair a quick clean if my DC had made a big mess, just as I would clean up my mess on a restaurant table if I had actually spilt something or managed to make a huge mess myself!

But the restaurant should clean the chair, of course! Just as they clean the table. It's unhygienic not to.

Customers can't be expected to travel with cleaning products in their bag (beyond wipes). Tables and high-chairs should be properly cleaned with cleaning products, between each use.

Longtalljosie · 09/09/2012 08:11

I would generally do my best - use napkins to pick large items of food off floors - wipe over the highchair - but I'd still expect the staff in a restaurant to clean the highchair as they would all other tables.

I suspect people getting on their high horse about the thought of someone else having to wipe over a high chair have never worked in the service industry. Trust me. You do worse. See summeraupair's post for details!

pigletmania · 09/09/2012 08:12

That's grim aufanie I would always try and clear away our dd rubbish before leaving, than its up to staff to clean the table for the next customer

aufaniae · 09/09/2012 08:14

What's grim?

I said I clean up any mess we make but the restaurant should give a proper clean with cleaning products.

Which bit is grim?!

aufaniae · 09/09/2012 08:15

Ah, the post above my is properly grim!

Did you get me mixed up with summeraupair?

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