Genuinely AIBU - waitress petting dogs then serving food without washing hands

[LilyWrites]

That's about the size of it - in a cafe yesterday, which allows dogs. Waitress served a table with two dogs, then crouched down to pet and stroke them for a good five minutes while she chatted. She then came back to the counter, went behind it, and re-filled coffee machine with grounds then basically just carried on serving. No hand washing. I find this gross. AIBU?

Yeah that’s grim.

Yeah, I'm a dog lover but that's grim. Think I'd have had to say something!

Ex hospitality manager here-YANBU this sounds foul.

Meh. You’ll survive.

This is why front-of-house areas (should) have their own sink. If they don't, or the staff aren't using it, it doesn't auger well.

She made a dogs dinner of that

Yeah that’s gross. Also points to her overall attitude towards hygiene. I’d be steering clear in the future.

Me too 🤢

I noticed that in a cafe last year. Fortunately we had not started to drink our tea or eat our cake at that point. I asked to speak to the manager, pointed out how unhygienic it was and got a full refund before we walked out.

I put a blunt review on TripAdvisor too. There is no excuse for being filthy in hospitality.

Yes she should have washed her hands.

The dog is a red herring here (albeit a furry one!)

She's supposed to wash her hands when re-entering the kitchen anyway, before touching food.

Not acceptable

I have asked staff to wash hands in a similar situation and also after handling money - they’re never happy about it but they’re in the wrong

Gross. I work in a cafe - we don't allow dogs - and I frequently wash my hands. I would not be happy seeing those unhygienic practices in hospitality either.

It personally wouldn't bother me, BUT, I totally understand what you are saying and agree that she should have washed her hands.

I used to work in a supermarket and when we did the training they had a whole section about hygiene and hand washing/food. I took it seriously as they had true case studies where members of the public had got really ill due to contamination (from deli counters ).

Wouldnt bother me either.. I dont wash my hands after ive been stroking my partners dog or cats.

Well I do it at home. But she should be washing her hands before serving other people

I don't wash my hands after stroking my dog if she wanders into the kitchen when it's just us.

But if I was preparing food for other people then I would. In my head I think that the household has shared germs, so there is immunity, but a visitor wouldn't have it, so I would wash my hands and be generally more hygiene-minded.

I am not keen on dogs in cafes to be honest, and I am a dog owner.

Those who don't mind don't count in this situation. Most do mind and it's minging in a place serving food to the public.

This happens in a cafe near us I’ve seen it on 3 separate occasions even on one the waitress asked could she give the dog a treat and it was licking her hand and she then carried on serving so we just decided not to go back

That's bad. It'd put me off eating there.

i think it’s also important in these situations to give feedback / leave a review so that the business owners see what’s happening and hopefully things might revert

Thanks everyone. It's very interesting to see it's almost unanimous that it's (as someone said so succinctly upthread) minging

Meh. Should.have done but she wasn't prepping food. Filling coffee doesn't mean touching the coffee. I couldn't care less.

That's vile

Filling a coffee machine isn't the same as making a sandwich. Filling a coffee machine, she is handling a bag of coffee beans and pouring them into the machine. Handling a milk bottle, pouring it etc. No foodstuffs have come into contact with her hands.

Now if you'd said she was making a sandwich, holding the bread, moving foodstuffs into the bread, etc. that's a lot different.