If your child vomited in a restaurant what would you do?

[TheTiredBartender]

Don't read this post if talking about vomit disturbs you.

I work FOH in a nice independent restaurant. It's expensive and quite formal. Not really a place for small children but we do have a lot of families eating with us during the holidays.

It's day 2 of half term here and I have had 2 different children vomit in my restaurant. I honestly can not believe how the parents involved have behaved. I need to get this off my chest.

The first one yesterday was dreadful. Poor child stood in the middle of the room, gagging and retching, and her parents just sat there! There was no way she would have made it to the loo so I ran over with the bin from my bar and instead of puking in to the bin the poor kid turned her head towards a table of four and let go. I was literally catching sick in my hands so it didn't land on this woman just trying to eat her lunch.
Her parents still did nothing, just carried on sitting there with their mouths hanging open. So I held the bin up under her chin and helped her to the bathroom. Finally her mum came in to help the poor girl and I returned to absolute chaos in the restaurant.
I got everything cleaned up, the vomit family came to pay their bill and asked for the gratuity to be removed. I don't ever expect tips, the gratuity is added to the bill automatically, I have no problem removing it normally but when I have literally just caught your child's vomit in my bare hands I think leaving that 10% tip is the least you can do. They didn't even say thank you.

Then today I have a table of 12 in my section, 8 adults and 4 children. They're enjoying their main courses when all of a sudden they stand up at once and start getting ready to leave, very suspicious behaviour. I start walking over when one of the mum's comes rushing up to me and tells me, in a very jolly manner, that one her of her children has just vomited a little bit but it's fine because she caught it on her plate and they just want to pay the bill and get the child home. I hand her over to another waitress to sort the bill and go over to their table.
She definitely managed to catch the vomit on her plate. And 6 other plates. It's in some glasses, on a cushion, and in the flowers. Oh, and the floor! There is no way that much sick came from one child. So, once again, I am left to clean up vomit. I have to give my customers to the other servers and close that section to deal with it all.
While I'm cleaning the waitress who dealt with their bill comes over to tell me that they removed the gratuity and also demanded a 50% discount since they didn't get to finish their meals before their child was sick. When that was refused they made a complaint that I had pulled a face and given a disgusted look and I should be more cheerful.

There is, of course, the knock-on effect of other customers being unhappy and complaining (understandable) and wanting discounts on their bills etc.

I have two children. We eat out often. If one of them were to be sick then I'd be cleaning it up myself and if for some reason I couldn't then I would be apologising to every staff member and customer nearby then I'd leave a huge tip.

YABU - Minimum wage waiting staff should clean up vomit without complaining.

YANBU - Of course I'd clean up my child's vomit and if I couldn't then I'd make sure the staff knew how grateful I am for their help.

I was a waitress years ago and, on this particular occasion, was dealing with the busiest section and had a large party who was sat in the most popular booth. All of a sudden one of the kids stood up and ran out of the restaurant followed by one of the parents. Turns out the child had a raging case of diarrhoea and left a huge puddle on the seat and a trail of crap between all the tables that were filled with other diners. No one from the party or the family involved did anything to help clean up. There was no tip and no apology.

My daughter suddenly projectile vomited exorcist style out of nowhere in a hotel restaurant not so long ago. I was quite horrified by the scale of the vomit pool. I went to ask for cleaning supplies and the member of staff offered to clean it up - but I reckon she doesn’t get paid enough for that so I took some spray a bin and a big roll of that blue stuff and cleaned it up myself. I can’t imagine just sitting there and expecting someone else to do that - that’s just rude!

We serve around 1500 main courses every day, if one of the kitchens (there are 2 plus a dessert/pastry kitchen) was at fault we'd have at least 1 other report of sickness. We don't offer a children's menu, just half portions of the regular menu so when 3 children and 2 adults are eating the same dish, cooked at the same time and only one child gets sick because they also had a hot chocolate with cream and half a basket of bread while waiting I'm disinclined to blame the kitchen.
Many families come here expecting chicken nuggets and pasta but we just don't serve that and so you get children that are already stuffed to the brim with sweets, ice cream etc. because they are on holiday and then they are not used to rich food and so they end up with upset stomachs. Either that or these families knew their children were sick and decided to come anyway.

But I'll let you know if any more sickness complaints come in!

Last time I was in Pizza Hut the family sat in the booth beside me with 2 young kids one of which was sick on the table and all onto the floor under the table actually wiped the sick off the table onto the floor paid there bill and got up and left after finishing the meal without telling a soul the child was sick and the waitress cleaned The table and went to seat another family there and I had to point out the puddle of sick under the table, she was fucking disgusted and so was I

No kids personally, but there are children in my family. I wouldn't clean up their vomiting, but I'd try to get them to stop vomiting everywhere, and I would tip the staff profusely. I always overtip when the kids are just a general pain to deal with - if someone mopped up their vomit, I'd give a ridiculously large tip, and as has been suggested, would buy something for the nearby tables if affected by it.

If a child vomited near me in a restaurant, I would expect a discount for not finishing my meal. If a child I'd brought into the restaurant vomited near me, of course, I'd expect to pay the bill in full - and to pay a handsome tip on top. I can't imagine asking for a discount unless I suspected food poisoning.

Why on EARTH would you take you child swimming after they just vomited!? How stupid and totally selfish!

If children regularly end up with upset stomachs due to the rich food, perhaps you need a few blander options on your menu or to make the restaurant adult-only?

I'm sure I've read this before??

Are you a blogger, OP?

Absolutely bloody dreadful.

In all my time the only poo incident I've had to deal with was when an elderly lady with dementia painted the bathroom with it. It was a private members club and her son had brought her for a "treat" but he just ignored her all evening.

I'm not the owner/manager etc. so I have no say in any of this. I'm just the minimum wage peasant that has deal with this bullshit with no thanks.

Definitely not, I'm a horrible writer. I think entitled cheeky fuckers and vomiting children are just something 99.9% of hospitality workers have dealt with at some point.

I have to admire your patience in responding so calmly to the endless parents on here blaming the restaurant for their children being sick. Even in the example you are responding to in the above post surely it’s the parent’s responsibility not to bring their children to a restaurant where the ‘rich food’ won’t agree with them. Absolutely mind blowing. I’ve been out with children when they have been sick and on one horrific occasion had explosive diarrhoea, I’ve always cleaned up behind them and left a handsome tip and apologised profusely to all round me. Children can’t help being ill but adults can have manners and basic respect for those around them.

I'm not blaming the restaurant, but practically, if they get multiple upset stomachs on a regular basis and know why, surely the path of least resistance is to either ban kids or relent on the 'they can only get half portions of rich dishes' hill. I mean, as the OP has described in detail, it's no fun for the wait staff. If you could avoid putting your staff in that situation, surely you would?

Out of interest, what's your tip to no tip ratio?

I strongly believe in tipping in restaurants in the UK unless the food is genuinely shit or there's a major screw up with service. I've met a couple of people who refuse to tip on principle (I made up their tips much to their annoyance, and no longer socialise with them).

I'm of the view that like it or not, there is a tipping culture and a tipping expectation when it comes to eating out, and you need to factor that in when deciding whether a certain restaurant is within your budget or not.

Tips and thanks should be standard. No tips and no thanks should be if something has gone seriously wrong. I'm sure when you took the job, there was an expectation on your part that you would get extra from the tips, and if so, that was a perfectly normal expectation to have.

That's the thing, isn't it. Manners and respect go a looooong way.

I hate cleaning it up but I certainly would never expect the parents to actually do it so just being polite and making a token offer to take care of it or being apologetic or saying thank you would make dealing with it all that little bit less awful.

I have to deal with bodily fluids that could potentially make me or someone else sick and they expect me to be... grateful for it? Do it with a smile on my face? Whilst also giving them a discount? Then dealing with all my other guests who might be angry or upset or have lost their appetite? Then they don't even say sorry or thanks. Just mind boggling.

No, it’s the parent’s responsibility not the restaurant. The restaurant offers a service. Patrons are able to avail of it or it or go elsewhere. No one is forced to eat there. Parents maybe need to consider if places are appropriate for their particular children. In any event there is nothing to suggest the food is anything to do with the sickness, given the rapid onset it’s much more likely the child was ill before they arrived on the premises.

Why don't people carry vomit bags and wipes with them? Even dog poo bags in your pocket is better than nothing!

Xmas in Edinburgh with our DC . Went to TGIs for lunch. Literallh 2 mins after it arrived ds 8 threw up, no warning. Thankfully just his food ruined. Dh took him back to hotel and I stayed with dd. Thankfully only one other table in the section was occupied , We moved tables and DD had her lunch while I cleaned up, staff offered to help, but they were already rushed off their feet. Our food was boxed up and as dd was finishing hers they moved in with sprays etc to ensure table was hygienically clean, although no one was seated there while we were in.

@TheTiredBartender horror stories? I could write a book that would frighten Stephen King, lol!

Number of reasons I heard for people not wanting to pay the bill (after of course having eaten at least over half of it):
It's cold
It's too hot
Too salty
Dish is too small
I didn't like it
It's badly cooked (do you want to tell that to the chef?).

I once had a pompous arse of a man returning, wait for it, TWELVE bottles of wine saying they were all corked.

Once in a Christmas party a drunken man grabbed my arse while I was serving him. I just shouted EXCUSE ME? Turned my back and went to kitchen, demanded that something was done. Security had a quiet word and the poor wife was mortified, she was the one that actually apologised to me.

DH worked for H&M. Sometimes he found shit and piss in the changing rooms

When I tell you that nothing surprises me...

Yes it is mind boggling. It’s a long time since I worked in cafes, restaurants and bars and I have to say as a patron now I thank god I no longer do. People’s general ability to behave in a social space and any cognisance of what is acceptable within them has declined massively. A lot of patrons seem to think a restaurant or cafe is an extension of their own living room and I have to say I think it’s much worse in the UK than anywhere else. There seems to be a much reduced understanding of what is socially acceptable behaviour and it’s the staff that have to deal with it.

We didn't keep going to restaurants but occasionally needed to if we were on route somewhere or out for the day. Maybe we should have stayed in our house all year when he was ill! 🙄

A shower of absolute bastards, the lot of them. I'm so sorry this happened to you, OP
To answer your question, if my child vomited in a restaurant I would get my hands dirty and clean it up!
Some people are selfish, dirty beasts though.

Or prepared for the fact you knew he was ill? Upsetting for him surely and what about the staff who had to clear it up? I’m sorry your child was ill, it must be awful.

Dd had a condition which made her vomit when she was little. We usually spotted the signs and got her out in time but twice she's been sick in a cafe.

Once I caught it in her Sun hat 👒 and once she was sick on the floor. I was mortified. They insisted on cleaning it and I apologised profusely and we left a tip.

Erm, I thinking you are making up your own scenario here. We certainly do not get multiple upset stomachs on a regular basis. My comments before refer entirely to the events of the past two days. Oh, and one incident last August.

Could you imagine the outrage if we were to outright ban children? I'm sure the owners use the no children's menu thing to discourage people from bringing small children who don't enjoy this kind of food but with us being in a holiday destination, families will visit without checking out our menus or anything beforehand.

A positive story from today though, because I feel like sharing - a family of three, a couple and their 7 year old. It was his birthday and he enjoyed his first oysters and halibut for his main course. It's always fun when people of any age try their first oyster (most are pleasantly surprised) but when kids are excited about eating that kind of thing it's great! I'm sure you'll be glad to know that he did not get an upset tum.