Woman in cafe not social distancing

[Cafegoer]

Today I took DS to Muffin Break in a near by shopping centre.

As we were eating a woman came and stood right by our chairs to pay DS a compliment - the woman wasn’t wearing a mask and neither were we because we were eating. It made me feel uncomfortable as DS had been shielding and we should all be social distancing, she was talking over our food which wasn’t pleasant. DS asked the woman who she was and why she was talking to him (he has ASD and can be very straightforward). The woman said she was staff and being friendly. The woman then moved over to another table and spoke to a man with a baby, prior to talking to us the woman stood right next to another family to speak to them but they quickly shooed her away.

The woman wasn’t in a uniform and was there with three other people having lunch. She seems to be there very frequently (most of the time I walk by), never in uniform and does often tidy up tables and spend time with the staff.

AIBU to think that if she is staff (which I highly doubt) she needs further training in keeping her distance during the pandemic. If she isn’t staff then the staff have a duty to ensure customers are behaving safely.

These threads are so tedious.

Your son was a bit rude, no?! As far as he knows she’s staff, so you should teach him to be polite.

You should have asked her to move if it bothers you. What do you want Mumsnet to do about it?

If you felt uncomfortable and your ds is shielding you should have asked her to move regardless if she was staff or not.

If she wasn't staff then you shouldn't be expecting staff, who are probably on minimum wage, to keep an eye out for everything their customers are doing and intervene if they think someone may possibly feel uncomfortable. How would they even know if you knew each other or not?

Is every tiny human interaction going to be mulled over and debated from now on, we are going to be 'in the middle of a pandemic' for years probably.

If you don't like something during this time, talk directly to the person, don't wait and then complain about it to strangers later on.

Bless her, people are still being friendly that’s nice. Let’s hope there is more of this in future.

if you are worried, please don’t go out or just say excuse I don’t want to talk or be close to you. Move away, you don’t know what this lady has been through and might just be lonely as well. Mental health and Suicides are up and that’s very sad. Be nice

I think you should have shot her really

If you’re that concerned, avoid places like that. Not everybody is going to social distance to your exacting standards.

@hamstersarse

I think you should have shot her really

@hamstersarse

I think you should have shot her really

At the very least.

🙄

I've put YANBU, because as a fellow parent to a child with ASD (2 actually), I can totally see my own DC saying something similarly direct, even before the pandemic. It is basic manners to consider that not everybody feels comfortable with you standing so close. It does my head in.

@hamstersarse ahaha 😂

If you're shielding DS, what are you doing in a Muffin Break anyway?

@VainAbigail

Do you get dizzy on escalators?

This made me laugh out loud

@hamstersarse

I think you should have shot her really

Genius

@hamstersarse you made laugh out loud. Thank you

If your DC is shielding, it is an incredibly bad idea to be voluntarily in a closed inside space where no one is wearing masks. Yabu

Do you get dizzy on escalators?

What does that even mean?

Call the police and then the Daily Mail OP

@iklboo it's referring to my thread. I don't know why people find it funny that I get dizzy on escalators and can potentially fall and kill myself.

Log it with 111?

What I do when approached by strangers when muffin munching is I make the sign of the cross with my fingers and yell “DEMON OUT! DEMON OUT!” Then hiss and spit.

@ILikeGlitter - me too. I have Ménière's disease which can lead to sudden and unexpected loss of balance when moving resulting in falls and face plants. I have to avoid them wherever I can.