The state people leave cafes in is disgusting

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

I'm not exactly the 'I take my own mop and bucket everywhere' type but short of some dire emergency requiring a quick getaway I couldn't walk out of a cafe leaving it in this state. Surely it is done thing to make at least a token effort to clean and clear up after yourself?

Disgusting, people can be so selfish.

Well we all know about Cheeky Fuckers.

Now we have Filthy Fuckers. I’m loving the alliteration.

It's the same sort of mentality as not picking up dog poo

You can tell the ones on this thread who have never worked with the public and think clearing up after your own kids a bit is beneath them. I bet your houses are rank!

You are the people service staff remember and give vile nicknames too. And yes, they do bitch about your skankiness behind your back and dread you coming in. Hope that makes you feel better when you are looking down on people who supposedly get paid 'over the odds' to clear up your shit!!

I have wanted to post so many times regarding this exact same problem but have never dared. I work in an independent local coffee shop and dispare of the families that do this EVERY BLOODY WEEK. For the sake of my job and the owner I don't challenge them but it makes me want to scream. Why do you buy one drink and then bring your sandwiches for your child to eat? Why do you ask for every meal to be split into two or three portions? Why do you ask for hot water and then bring your own tea bag? CF'S!!!!
When all of these independent places are gone...and I mean the ones that actually pay their taxes...you will realise what fabulous places we are. Caring to customers, friendly faces, on your doorstep and fantastic value for money.
Please don't abuse our hospitality.
If you don't / wouldn't do it at home what makes you think it's acceptable anywhere else? (And relax)

YANBU my 4 year old is much better at being tidy now but I have always cleared up any news he has made (even asking for a dustpan and brush of necessary).

It's not hard to tidy up after yourself.

I bet the parents allowed the baby to bawl and scream and shout while it was making that mess as well. The two seem to go hand in hand. Or they might be the type that are doing baby led weaning whilst talking very loudly to the child about how amazing they are, and think that makes the mess and noise something everyone won't mind, or even something everyone thinks is fabulous.

Totally agree. It's a real "fuck you" to the staff.

DS, DFriend and I went our for lunch today. DS ate brilliantly but did make a horrendous mess in the process! When the waiter came over to check that everything was okay with our meals, I apologised profusely for the mess. He laughed and said ‘don’t worry, most people don’t even apologise- they just get up and leave’. I did collect all of the crumbs off the table onto a plate, and used a wet wipe to collect the biggest bits off the floor, but he didn’t seem remotely worried about the mess.

It was a very relaxed family restaurant, so it’s probably not an unusual occurrence for them to have to sweep under the tables when customers have left. However, I don’t think that’s an excuse- wherever you’re eating, you should at least make some effort to collect your rubbish, and make things easier for the waiters/waitresses.

I used to be a flight attendant and the state some people leave their seats in, even on a short haul flight, is shocking. Poor cleaners.

It's not just children that make a mess, I work in a restaurant, we once had a large booking for a Christmas work party, at some point somebody had obviously dropped there dessert onto the floor and under the table. They didn't tell anybody so we could clean it up straight away, they just left it to be trod into the floor. It was only discovered after they had left, at which point it had be completely smeared all over the floor and over the chairs.
Another separate occasion we had another table booking of adults and children, the children had one end of the table and the adults had the other, went over to clear up as they were leaving (the mess was worse than OPs picture, think spagghetti and pizza all over the floor, ice cream the lot!) One of the dad's said "oh we should tidy up a bit" and I kid you not his partner turned and said "no leave it, it's there job to clean it". This after she had spent the night drinking wine and chatting to her friends whilst letting her kids run riot and trash the place.

When mine were smaller I used to clean up after them with wipes and pick up anything that wasn’t a few crumbs. I never left and would never leave a shit tip like that for waiting staff to clean up, it’s their job to clear the tables and get them presentable for the next customer. It is NOT their job to clean up extreme levels of mess left behind by bone idle parents who can’t be arsed to have some manners and a bit of consideration.

I used to work waiting tables and cannot abide people who view waiting staff as there to cater to their every whim and be treated like shit. They’re there to take orders, bring food and clear tables. They’re not there to do your fucking job for you!

When it comes to a small child eating, then a certain amount of mess can't be helped.
However I have always tried to keep it toma minimum and pick up bits when they've been dropped. I also make sure I've tidied everything on to the tray. However managing a 3 year old who bolts often means I don't get the chance to take the tray back!
My 6 year old is s pro at clearing up at our local.M&S cafe though! Knows where to take the cups and plates, sorts the rubbish and bins it. I guess I'm doing something right and it's nothing to do with bribing him with chocolate!

“It’s part of their job”

🙄 what a horrible attitude. Working as wait staff is hard enough without this kind of attitude. Pick up after yourself. If your child dropped rubbish outside you’d be fined for it. Why is it ok to do it inside?

Because they think the waiting staff are beneath them, they think they’re somehow superior and that working a minimum wage job and dealing with people who treat them like they don’t matter is all part of the job.

I leave "normal" mess, as ex waiting staff it's actually annoying and unhelpful when people stack things for you ( and shove all their rubbish into their cup??? so you have to pick it all out, how is that helpful??)

However OP is NU because baby/toddler mess is different, and when mine were little ild be down on the floor scooping up their weaning mess whenever we went to a cafe, and left only "normal" mess not toddler mess. .. cause if you leave it gross you have no shame!

“Let their kids shout”

Pray, how do you stop your children from shouting? Under threes will shout. Mine is deaf and so often shouts loudly and incoherently. I’m glad some of you lovely people would judge us for that.

People who do NOT have children can be the same entitled cohort too don't forget.

Treating service staff with disdain.

It is disgusting. With or without children to leave such a mess.

I just clutched my pearls there. But I mean what I say.

Bleugh. When I worked in a cafe this was all too common. You’d get people giving croissants and pastries to small children, about 10% of which would end up in the kid’s mouth, then they’d leave a mountain of snotty tissues and baby wipes all over the place, or shove them into half filled mugs of coffee. It was annoying on busy days, because we’d then get yelled at for not having clean tables.

I’ve got to say though, my worst experience was on a Saturday job when someone changed their kid’s nappy in the changing room, and just left it in there. Along with shitty wet wipes. We also once had a lady leave her knickers behind, complete with dirty sanitary towel. Grim grim grim.

That’s disgusting.

My 9mo DS makes a mess and I always ask for a dustpan and brush to clean it. I also go over the table with baby wipes. Most of the time the staff insist on cleaning it themselves (which I hate, I’d rather just do it) but I’d certainly never expect it.

When DC were young we had dinner in an ASDA cafe and I actually got told off by the assistant for cleaning up the table (and floor...DS was a thrower )

It was thoroughly embarrassing and we never used ASDA cafes again after that actually. But I could not just leave it like that without attempting..

You never know why they left it like that. Perhaps baby was screaming or toddler running around causing chaos, and they needed to make a quick exit.

I always tidy up the table (put all rubbish on plates) and pick up obvious bits from the floor, but I wouldn't ask for a dustpan or start wet wiping the floor. And if toddler is having an ear splitting tantrum, my priority would be getting her outside as quickly as possible not cleaning up!

All that rubbish could have been scooped into that bag in seconds even if they did nothing else.
No one has to leave anywhere so quickly they couldn’t have done that.