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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To wish people had the common decency to tidy up after themselves in busy fast food restaurants

86 replies

GreggsOnLegs · 05/12/2013 20:05

Christmas shopping today with ds2 (22months) and we stopped to get lunch at McDonalds. It was really busy. We eventually saw that a couple were about to leave, they could see we were waiting for a seat, they got up and went leaving their mess behind for me to tidy up before we sat down to eat.
Aibu?

OP posts:

WelshMaenad · 05/12/2013 20:47

Yanbu, I always clean up after us. Then again, when eating in 'proper' restaurants when the smalls were smaller, I would always always ask for a dustpan and brush to clear up any mess they left on the floor, so sm clearly a fool who is enabling the evil of large multi-corps and small i dependent pubs alike.

IamInvisible · 05/12/2013 20:49

It's so cheap to eat in McDonalds because they don't have oodles of staff running round clearing up after people.

It is not hard to chuck some rubbish in the fucking bin is it? If you're that bothered about getting germs on your hands, keep some hand gel in your bag/pocket!

Salmotrutta · 05/12/2013 20:49

You're a dreadful BigEatery-enabling person WelshMaenad.

I'm discusted....

CrohnicallySick · 05/12/2013 20:56

Look, if the restaurant was busy and I could see you were waiting, so long as you were waiting politely (ie not glaring at me as I get everybody ready to go, no tutting as I load up my bags again) I would do the polite thing and clear the table for you.

If it's not that busy, I pile everything onto the tray but leave the tray there.

However, if I was the one waiting for a seat I really would not want to sit down after you, having seen that the table hasn't been wiped. Like I originally said, at least if your rubbish is all over the table, I know the cleaner will have to clean up. I wouldn't put myself in that position though as if the restaurant was that busy, I wouldn't have gone in, or I'd have got my food and taken it elsewhere to eat (and yes, I would put the rubbish in the bin).

AlpacaPicnic · 05/12/2013 20:59

If I've paid £2 for a happy meal quick cheeseburger, then I'm going to put my rubbish in the bin. I mean, you have to walk right past it to get out. To not do so is like just leaving your rubbish on a train for someone else to pick up... It's slovenly, lazy and antisocial.

I even stack my plates and cutlery in a restaurant.

EmmaFreudsGivingMeJip · 05/12/2013 21:00

Yanbu, lazy bastards.
Why are the bins there if customers aren't meant to use them? You just put your rubbish on the tray, pour rubbish into the bin and put tray on top of the bin. There is usually a bin by the door which you have to pass to get out anyway, just take the tray with you its not bloody hard.

I hate the 'it's the cleaners job' attitude. I used to work in a cafe and people would leave dropped food on the floor, on the chairs etc. Do they miss their mouths? I wonder what their homes look like.

Oh and the post about the bin being germy - if it bothers you then maybe give McDonalds a miss as I have seen worse things going on behind the counter.

MissDuke · 05/12/2013 21:01

I always clear up, and get the kids to help. When in a proper cafe/restaurant I always stack the plates, wipe the table and pick up anything that has been dropped on the floor. Common sense surely?

My sil and brother leave everything, including last summer at an outdoor funday - they left all their burger wrappings on a park bench :-O I was raging. Their kids always say 'the lady will clean it up' - gives me The Rage.

ThePinkOcelot · 05/12/2013 21:10

It really pisses me off when people leave their mess for others to clean up - lazy, entitled fuckers!

McDonalds has those bins throughout the restaurant for that very reason - for people to put their rubbish in them!

Catkinsthecatinthehat · 05/12/2013 21:12

I worked in McDonalds as a teenager. Just about every single day at least one person (either a teenage boy or older woman) would come up and go "this is a self cleaning restaurant? Well that's my rubbish over there and I'm leaving it for you as you'll have to do it. I'm keeping you in a job fnar fnnaar". Not only did they consider the staff plebs, they made sure we knew it.

I always clean up after myself and I always use the 'waitress test' to assess the character of people by seeing how they behave to those they think can't answer back or consider beneath them.

stickysausages · 05/12/2013 21:16

On the odd occasion we eat at McDonald's, I tidy up after myself.... mostly because DS is there, and I want to set as good an example as is possible, in a fast food restaurant....

silverlace · 05/12/2013 21:16

I am definitely in the clear it yourself camp.

This thread reminds me of when we went to a cafe with our PFB. I chose the cleanest high chair, wiped it all down, anti bac sprayed it and wiped it again. A member of staff came over and said "Is it dirty love?" and proceeded to wipe it with a filthy cloth she had just used on all the other tables!

Rufustherednosedreindeer · 05/12/2013 21:24

YANBU, I am also in the clear it yourself camp

I say that but I always get my husband or the children to do it

MidniteScribbler · 05/12/2013 22:40

There's no "cleaning" involved. It's putting your litter in the bin. Do you think it's ok to leave rubbish all over a picnic table or throw it out of your car window?

It says a lot about a person when they're too lazy to put their rubbish in a conveniently located bin.

expatinscotland · 05/12/2013 22:41

'I always clean up after myself and I always use the 'waitress test' to assess the character of people by seeing how they behave to those they think can't answer back or consider beneath them.'

Same here. Weeds out rude, entitled, lazy low lives right away.

Justforlaughs · 05/12/2013 22:49

I was under the impression that you were supposed to clear your table in a fast food restaurant, such as McDonalds. The reason being that the food is cheap and you can sit down and eat it quickly. I have to admit, that as McD's are supposedly trying to raise standards and want to be classed as a proper restaurant, rather than a fast food place, then they probably should have more staff around, but it's really not hard to put your rubbish in the bin provided is it?

JanetSnakehole · 05/12/2013 22:51

It's McDonalds, not Le Bernadin, of course you bus your own table.

PrincessWellington · 05/12/2013 22:59

McDs expert here: put your rubbish in the bin or I will squeeze pickle juice all over your burger next time you come in.

musicismylife · 05/12/2013 23:20

I just clear table without thinking. My mess, my problem.. Perhaps for those of you who can't be bothered, just ask the staff to tip your food out onto a table.

Similarly, I get hacked off when friend comes around with her beer/wine and just leaves the emptiness on the table, clearly for me to clear up as she's long gone.

sutekidane · 05/12/2013 23:24

I don't but only because the local one tends to have overflowing bins. I'm not going to try and push the rubbish down and get covered in it. And I'm not going to chase down a staff member to tell them and then wait to put my rubbish in. Defeats the point of fast food.

If the bins aren't overflowing, I do though. I always thought it was the done thing.

musicismylife · 05/12/2013 23:24

I just clear table without thinking. My mess, my problem.. Perhaps for those of you who can't be bothered, just ask the staff to tip your food out onto a table.

Similarly, I get hacked off when friend comes around with her beer/wine and just leaves the emptiness on the table, clearly for me to clear up as she's long gone.

soimpressed · 05/12/2013 23:29

I've only started eating in fast food restaurants since having DC as I'm a veggie. It took me ages to realise I was supposed to clear the table after eating! If I'm near the bin I do it but I sometimes don't bother as I usually have lots of shopping bags and kids. I would do it if someone was waiting for me table though.

MrsMook · 05/12/2013 23:43

You are supposed to clear the table. It's no secret.

Even my 2yr old can cope with piling the rubbish on a tray and taking it to a bin. (More work for me as I have to pick up the trail of dropped items). The cleaners appreciate his effort. The cleaners at the nearby retail parks are lovely.

kali110 · 06/12/2013 07:52

Always clear the rubbish. Its not hard and hust good manners.

LadyBeagleEyes · 06/12/2013 08:33

I used to clear up at my local foodhall, and there were loads of bins but now there's less bins and staff standing around waiting to clear up.
They do it very quickly too, you very rarely see rubbish on the tables.

Katiepoes · 06/12/2013 08:50

Emptying your tray into the bin is the norm here in a fastfood place - and if you don't you WILL be judged. You may even have people call you back of they see it....the staff will come and wipe the table but the tray is for you.

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