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Restaurant mess -- is it the waiter's problem?
A little less than a year and a half ago, my husband, 10-month-old daughter, Alex and I were eating at a family restaurant. I was busy feeding Alex, and while she was eating, I was equally busy cleaning up the mess around her. "I wouldn't bother," said a voice.
I looked around. There, at the table next to us, was a mother sitting with her 3 year old son.
"What?" I asked.
"What you're doing. I never do that. Oh, I used to clean up after my kid, but eventually, I realized it wasn't worth it. The waitstaff are going to clean up after us anyway. I just leave them a big tip and let them do it. It is, after all, what they're paid to do."
I was aghast. And frankly, a year and a half later, I'm still aghast. I think there are so many things wrong with that attitude on so many levels, I'm not sure where to start. I'm so hyperconscious of how Alex affects people around her -- not the least of which are the poor staff who work their tails off at restaurants.
What do you think -- am I being a bit too rigid?
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ReaderComments (Page 3 of 3)
5-11-2006 @ 12:36PM
Jen said...Hate to go against the grain here, but no, I don't really clean up. My husband and I make our expectations clear about restaurant behavior, and our daughter doesn't throw food, deliberately pour milk on the floor, etc.
That said, accidents happen, and sometimes things get spilled, french fries fall on the floor, etc. And no, I don't pick them up.
If the restaurant wanted me to do that, they'd give me a sweeper. I'm certainly not going to get down on the dirty floor and pick the stuff up when that's not something even the servers or busboys do! They use sweepers and brooms, not their hands.
I just leave a bigger tip than usual, and I've never felt badly about it. As another poster said, I go to restaurants to *escape* the work.
Oh, and I was a waitress for many years myself, so I know what it's like. It's just part of the job, IMO.
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5-11-2006 @ 1:01PM
Jen said...Just wanted to add that since we live in a college town, probably 90% of the time or more the people who wait on us are young, able-bodied, student-types. Just like I was when I waited tables.
So I don't think of them as "poor" people who are just working their tails off. Actually, in my view, the crappier the job, the better (not that I deliberately make things hard for them). But it's just more incentive for them to work hard and get their degrees.
That's how I viewed the job when I did it.
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5-11-2006 @ 1:12PM
Jen said...Sorry, one more thought. I wonder whether most restaurant workers -- whether students or career employees -- would appreciate your pity, Karen. The people I worked with over the years certainly wouldn't have.
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5-12-2006 @ 11:51AM
P's Mama said...We leave a nice tip for the waiter and my husband likes to slip some money to the bus person, too. Obviously, a huge mess will be cleaned by us, but for some food on the floor I'm not about to get down on my hand's and knees to clean it up. Call me rude if you like, but at a "family" restaurant, what do you expect?
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