To have said this?

[WinehouseAmy]

I was in a well known fast food chain tonight. Wasn’t particularly busy however it took 10 minutes to be served (despite me being at the front of the queue) then 20 minutes for my order to be prepared.
There was another customer waiting for their order with a young child with them( approx 6/7 years of age) and during the time I was stood waiting the child climbed up on the counter.
I can understand it was a lengthy wait for anyone, especially a younger child at gone 7pm. What I can’t understand is why the child was allowed to bum shuffle around the counter, put their dirty trainers upon the counter and sit there whilst food was being placed on the counter and passed over to customers.
When the guardian of the child collected their order I waited a further couple of minutes and asked that the counter top be cleaned before my food was put on there. Behind me was the guardian who called me rude and asked ‘can’t you understand their a child?!’. I suggested that someone could become seriously ill off the germs on her shoes and that it wasn’t appropriate or safe for her to be sat on the counter.
Aibu to expect a staff member to have intervened in the first place given the risks to both the child and customers and for the guardian to have a bit more common sense and courtesy?

@WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue I completely agreed with you tho, the majority of food places don't use them properly and can use the same gloves for everything.

Actually thinking about it I was at a food festival 2 weeks ago and the man changed the bin and didn't change his gloves!!! And went back to serving food...... I was literally like suppose it all depends on who teaches you these things and how much they care about food safety and hygiene

I understand your frustration, OP. If these outlets aren't hot on hygiene at front of house, are they bothered about the cooking areas. Also, think about what any of us get on our shoes while out and about. That child could have been spreading animal faeces and urine, chemicals, germy water etc.

I'd hope outlets like this would clean service areas as thoroughly as cooking areas.

yanbu.

Whether or not the germs are going to climb into the paper bag or magically teleport into the food, it's disgusting for someone's shoes to be all over the counter, no matter how young they might be.

It's also not particularly safe for a child to be climbing that way. It's not a playground, and she could've fallen and hurt herself, which is reason enough for the parent/guardian to have put a stop to it.

I don't think it's okay for the child to have been on the counter at all. It's disrespectful. However, the likelihood of germs going through the bag and then through the box that the food was presumably in is so low that I wouldn't have said anything. I would've silently judged them for not getting their child down though.

Also, on these threads where an OP is talking about a brand, why does noone ever just say which one it is? Genuinely asking cause I don't get it :)

suppose it all depends on who teaches you these things and how much they care about food safety and hygiene

Bimgy85 Yes, that’s very true!

I love threads like this...

OP: AIBU?
Everyone: Yes
OP: argues with everyone about why she's not BU

Right. Except that doesn't apply to this thread....

Why do so many people think it is ok for a child to clamber on a counter in a fast food outlet? Would you let your child do that? It's irrelevant whet is about germs penetrating paper bags or not. The behaviour from the child was unacceptable, more over it was poor parenting not to challenge it and tell the child to get down.

I’m sorry, it was KFC! I meant to say when that meme was first posted - it is so relevant hahaha

@winehouseamy YANBU, I cannot believe how many people think that this type of behaviour is acceptable! Probably the same people who I see allowing kids to put their feet up on seats, climb on tables etc.

I don’t, however, think that a member of staff should have intervened unless they were a manager. I don’t think that the average fast food worker gets paid enough to risk confrontation with assholes for whom parenting is too much like hard work.

Do people let their kids climb over kitchen benches and tables at home with shoes on?

Irrespective if the shoes were full of shit or just been washed by a fearther dipped in angle tears when has it been acceptable to let your kid climb on the counter in mcdonalds

I definitely would have asked for it to be cleaned too! Child or not, hygiene should number one priority in a food shop

I don’t, however, think that a member of staff should have intervened unless they were a manager. I don’t think that the average fast food worker gets paid enough to risk confrontation with assholes for whom parenting is too much like hard work.

AllesAusLiebe Yeah, a lot of the time crew are worried about a backlash if they correct customers and said customers are less likely to listen unless it comes from a manager.

When incidents like this happen the crew tend to subtly get my attention so I can deal with it.

I'm with the OP on this one. Even if food was in a bag or on a tray - that receptacle comes into contact with a dirty counter and then contact with your hands ... see where this going ? I'm not a clean freak by any means but shoes do not belong on counters with food.

I can't believe you waited a total of 30 minutes for a KFC 😱

YWNBU - just another example of moronic, feckless parenting. It's antisocial at best.

YANBU . Although how many people go to the toilet and put their bag on the floor and then place it on the counter?

Put the bag on the floor of the toilet cubicle I mean.

Totally agree with OP. It’s not about the time it took to be served and even the germs are secondary, it’s about not letting your child on the counter ffs! Basic social ettiquette that is obviously beyond the mutant guardian and assistant who consider otherwise.

Well the mum shouldn’t have had the child on the counter but your reaction to germs is ott.
Of course they wouldn’t penetrate through the bag and wrapped food and make you ill! Otherwise we’d all be ill from eating things made with flour and sugar that have been on warehouse floors only in a cardboard box and paper wrapper.

And delivered in vans that workers have to climb inside with their dirty shoes on to drag the boxes out.

I can resist anything but hot wings
I can understand why the employee would have been reluctant to get involved, though it should be considered that those who work in healthcare services who are on a similar wage have to adhere to infection control/food hygiene protocol procedures. They work in the public eye and if they are prepared to put people at risk buy not keeping a safe hygienic environment meant then they should be challenged? I don’t believe I challenged the employee, I would never intentionally make someone uncomfortable in their work place as frankly no-one is paid enough for that. I asked for the counter to be wiped which I believed was an appropriate request given the circumstances.

I think you handled it correctly, OP. You didn’t admonish the employee you just asked for the counter to be wiped.

Yes employees should deal with the situation, even if indirectly so by mentioning it to a manager.

@porkflute great name and totally great reasoning. Thank you for this perspective!

I don’t understand why people allow their child to walk on the counter. Don’t get my wrong, if I’m holding my child I’ve rested their bum on the counter (if low) while paying but dirty shoes? It’s also just not safe really. Germs aren’t going to get through the bag though, if they did we would all be ill most of the time whenever we eat out and that isn’t the case.