To want to know why the making a mess in the café thread disappeared?

[SomethingOnce]

Seriously, how in the blazes can it have broken the Talk Guidelines?

I had some choice comments about entitled MC parents using cafés as a miraculously self-cleaning weaning space (and then leaving a shit tip) but the thread has gone.

I'd been looking forward to it all bastard day.

Erm, noooo, quite the opposite.

Of course I expect tables and floors to be cleaned, I just think it's unreasonable to use a business as a place to wean your DC, offloading the cleaning up.

I'm pretty sure most business owners would rather see staff serving the next customers instead of picking pitta bread out of the sofa cracks (especially when a little consideration from the attendant parent would prevent that happening in the first place).

cafes are a business which serves food. Food gets spread around. Yes its lovely if people are considerate, but don't confuse good manners with actually making things worse.

TBH i have never given a flying fuck if peoples kids made a huge mess. I alway get inwardly furious as I have to stand by the table waiting for supermum to loudly "clean" around her. Just bugger off and let me do it. Okay. to be fair, most mums are trying to be helpful. I am trying to educate you that it is not helpful!

"I'm pretty sure most business owners would rather see staff serving the next customers instead of picking pitta bread out of the sofa cracks"

err, you can't serve next customers unless you are sure its clean. otherwise your next customers will be posting on MN naming and shaming your establishment...

I hadn't considered your point of view before, Madame - I'm all a fluster now. I always thought I was being helpful when cleaning up my children's mess! It just seemed rude not to. I don't take it to forensic levels though, just remove the worst of the detritus, so I guess it would still be obvious the table needs a proper clean.

Madame D, may I ask what sort of event would make you chide a customer? My experience as a waitresss was that managers would give customers too much rope, not too little, it was only a lot of complaints by other customers that would eventually spur them into any action.

I was also amazed that so many readers on the thread bought the idea that the cafe owner would tell off a customer without severe provocation.

We refer to lunchtimes in our cafe as feeding time at the zoo .

And most of our customers are uni students not toddlers. The mess they create would give any toddler a run for their money.

As a customer, I'm with Madame on this. Especially where highchairs are concerned.

A couple of baby wipes can make a plastic highchair look clean, but it isn't really.

And, although I wouldn't say I weaned my DCs in cafes and restaurants, I never kept them away either because it is important to get them used to and comfortable with eating out.

Madame, do you prefer if patrons leave a smudge of poo on the loo seat, to alert you to the fact it has been used since the last clean?

I agree with madame,I work in a cafe.

Madame I see your point but speaking as someone who always makes some effort to clear up after my DS has caused carnage, I always assumed that a proper clean would be done on every table regardless of the amount of mess and what I was doing was making it LOOK more presentable to other diners. Surely a proper wipe down is standard practice?

I wouldn't think the majority of people who try to clean up after their children are trying to be "supermum"

They're probably just doing what I do - looking around at the mountain of cake crumbs and going "oh bollocks, I've made the biggest mess known to man. Better try and clean it up a bit. Oh gawd, the manager's glaring at me - she hates me. Better clean faster and better."

I tidy after myself in a café but I don't clean (for one I don't carry baby wipes anymore!) So I always make sure everything is all piled on the tray safely so it can be easily whipped away but any wiping gets left for the staff.

I've never glared at anyone who made a mess.In fact I would tell them to leave it.I can do a better job with the correct equipment.

Same as bouncingferret, I leave a pile of stacked plates on the tray, waiting to be collected, surely the used crockery is a sign that the table needs cleaning?

ok madamn, so...

putting the rubbish on the plate ok?

picking up the big bits from the table, leaving smaller bits to be wiped?

picking up anything prechewed frrom the table, wrapping and putting on plate for ease of tipping in the correct receptacle?

picking big bits off the floor?

what if the floor is carpeted.. better to pick up before trodden in? (less slippage on carpet)

Is something has spilt on the floor then surely you tell the staff straight away or ask them for something appropriate to clean it up with?

Highchairs should be cleaned as standard when clearing a table - I worked in a supermarket cafe and even they insisted on that! Obviously sometimes it will be grabbed before you can but generally there is time for that (unless tables are left for ages before clearing)

I still firmly believe that customers should make the effort to clear as much as they can and generally leave the area tidy enough all the staff need to do is grab the plates and wipe the table

Hi all,

We have explained over here

I think it got deleted cos TheSecondComing came on and she was the caff owner or something and she got angry. Quite right, quite right.

I didn't see the original thread but for me one of the nice things about going out to a cafe/pub/restaurant is that I DONT have to clean up after myself. It's surely factored into the price of the food and drink that someone will come along after me and clear the table and give it a thorough wash.

And as for someone coming on here and trying to ruin someone else's business just through malice and vindictiveness, that's not on.

Marm - TSC was not the owner, but she knew the owner and frequented the shop.

Rebecca - I told you yesterday about throwing cakes. Do I have to put you on the naughty step??

I saw the beginning of it but left once I could see it was going to turn into a whole bunch of nastiness.

Incidentally, I too have been shooed away by staff in the past when I've tried to clean up (in a very nice, friendly manner) but had never thought of the reason being as MMe. D's reason...which makes sense.

I'm in the make a mess camp but trying to limit it without resorting to heroic measures (expecting kids to have the motor control of a fully functioning adult just seems unreasonable)

The nasty review was full of spelling mistakes so hopefully other customers will overlook it as the rantings of a madwoman.

No, TSC was deffo the owner. She said. She said "I own this joint".

I always leave a mess but do apologise and leave a reasonable tip based on the amount of sweeping involved

I would say parents shouldn't wipe high chairs, floors or tables because a member of staff could walk by, think one of their colleagues has sprayed and wiped it, then proceed to relay it and sit the next round of customers on there.

But I don't think picking up big pieces of debris is an issue? As a member of staff you'd still see crumbs and sticky marks and know it needed to be cleaned?