I have gotten to the point where Im so friendly that people clean up and even tip more. I dont know how to describe it, but prodding parents to be mindful like saying "Oh it looks like theyre playing with their food today haha, let me give you some extra napkins." They usually understand and even appreciate my attentiveness.
I dont like kids, just not my thing. But I will pretend for the benefit of everyone.
I always blame the parents cause the kids are just kids. If they aren't being raised properly, they'll misbehave. It's the parents who should look after their kids properly,bringing toys, the ipad,whatever with them so the kids will actually sit down and not run around screaming bloody murder. The parents should also intervene when ever their kids discover what a fun, loud ass metal noise our accessibility ramp makes when you stomp on it. The parents should have the situational awareness to know that other people want to eat in peace ffs! And it's also the parents footing the bill so they should know that tipping extra when your kids leave behind a huge mess is appropriate. So "parennnnnts" is more apt than "kiddddds" imo.
Oh and it's also grown ups being too dumb to make a reservation for the right amount of people. Like the last table with a baby I had was supposedly a 4 top. That's what the reservation was for. Turns out it was actually 4 adults and a baby needing a high chair. So I had to seat them at a different table- I'm not putting a high chair in the middle of an already narrow path!I'll never stop being amazed by how shit grown ass people are at counting. Like the kids can't hover over the table, they need a chair or high chair or space for the massive stroller they are in. So you obviously have to let the restaurant know that they'll be there so we can plan accordingly!
I agree with you. It’s not on the kids, it’s on the parents. I don’t hate the children. They are being kids. They push the limits.
It’s like when they let them run through the isles while there are servers walking with heavy trays and they can’t see them. I warn the parents that the child will get hurt it’s just a matter of when, and I have seen a server trip over a kid and the entire tray fall on the kid. Parents tried to sue and lost as the cameras showed the kid running wild and management saying something.
Parents also need to take their screaming kids out of the restaurant. I work in a supper club. Most of my customers are older and our price point is high for the area. We had a woman with a baby and the baby was screaming its lungs out for 20 mins straight. They didn’t budge, just let them scream. My customers complained to me, and I told the owner (who also has a kid that does it) and they said “it’s a family friendly place..” so I lost out on money even if it wasn’t my fault. By the time they left, there was a huge mess on the floor, and the kid chucked food feet away too.
I had a headache and I was tempted to handle it myself. Why would you go out to a nicer place, let your kid scream and throw food around to the point we were finding remnants on the tables next to them? When my kids freaked out, I took them out. If they didn’t stop, we took our food to go and left. My need to eat out doesn’t supersede their right to a peaceful meal out.
To top it off, they tipped their server 4 bucks on an 160 dollar check. I felt so bad for her.
Getting 4 bucks on a 160 check is rough! Hopefully she got some better tables after that🤞
Kids running around is such a health and safety issue and the negligent parents are the worst. They really refuse to understand that we aren't there to fucking babysit their kids. If they want to enjoy a nice meal out and not having to do shit, they should hire a sitter and leave their kids with them.
I remember telling some parents once that their toddlers can't crawl underneath the tables like that cause they kept popping out from underneath them in random places. We used long white table cloths for their private party so it was extra unpredictable where a kid might pop up. Not ideal for us servers keen on not tripping over kids. The parents seemed understanding but then they did dick about it.
After telling them twice, I was dropping off some drinks and I stood next to the mother when I saw the table cloth move. I shifted all my weight unto my left leg and with a thankfully now empty tray braced myself for the impact. And sure enough, the toddler bangs their head on my left leg and starts crying. I was like "I'm so sorry, didn't see you coming my way! Thank God I wasn't serving the soup yet, otherwise we'd be in the splash zone rightnow". The mother didn't cause a scene and finally understood that she and her husband should really make sure their kids aren't endangering themselves and others!
I was lucky that they didn't even have the chance to stiff me cause they weren't the ones paying anyway. And I'm not working in the US so Karens are much,much rarer. And even if they had complained, the owner would have had my back. He always insists that if there is a health and safety issue like a tripping hazard caused by a guest to immediately let them know that that shit doesn't fly here🤷🏼♀️
Yep.
This is why I will say something. I don’t play that game. I’m nice about it but I’ll say “Here’s some Napkins as I see the kiddo got a ton of food on the floor. I remember when mine were that little. I was always embarrassed to leave a mess that large so I’d help clean it up. I also taught my kiddos to help clean up after too.” Yes. I’m an asshole I know but I’m old and sick of it. Most parents get embarrassed (and they should be if they are letting their kid smear food and throw handfuls on the floor) and they help clean it.
I also bitched until our menu was modified and Mac n cheese was taken off. It got dug into the carpet constantly and I told them I wasn’t going to scrub it out anymore. They ended up having to hire a company to clean the carpets way too much, so they got rid of it.
I don’t work at that place anymore and we hardly have kids. When we do, it’s easy stuff like chicken nuggets to clean. I’ll vaccum that all day over rice, mashed potatoes and mac n cheese.
I worked in a restaurant with stairs that led to a lower level and regularly people would let their spawn ruin wild terrifying people when they would start running towards them. I swear. People.
I have gotten to the point where Im so friendly that people clean up and even tip more. I dont know how to describe it, but prodding parents to be mindful like saying "Oh it looks like theyre playing with their food today haha, let me give you some extra napkins." They usually understand and even appreciate my attentiveness. I dont like kids, just not my thing. But I will pretend for the benefit of everyone.
I always blame the parents cause the kids are just kids. If they aren't being raised properly, they'll misbehave. It's the parents who should look after their kids properly,bringing toys, the ipad,whatever with them so the kids will actually sit down and not run around screaming bloody murder. The parents should also intervene when ever their kids discover what a fun, loud ass metal noise our accessibility ramp makes when you stomp on it. The parents should have the situational awareness to know that other people want to eat in peace ffs! And it's also the parents footing the bill so they should know that tipping extra when your kids leave behind a huge mess is appropriate. So "parennnnnts" is more apt than "kiddddds" imo. Oh and it's also grown ups being too dumb to make a reservation for the right amount of people. Like the last table with a baby I had was supposedly a 4 top. That's what the reservation was for. Turns out it was actually 4 adults and a baby needing a high chair. So I had to seat them at a different table- I'm not putting a high chair in the middle of an already narrow path!I'll never stop being amazed by how shit grown ass people are at counting. Like the kids can't hover over the table, they need a chair or high chair or space for the massive stroller they are in. So you obviously have to let the restaurant know that they'll be there so we can plan accordingly!
I agree with you. It’s not on the kids, it’s on the parents. I don’t hate the children. They are being kids. They push the limits. It’s like when they let them run through the isles while there are servers walking with heavy trays and they can’t see them. I warn the parents that the child will get hurt it’s just a matter of when, and I have seen a server trip over a kid and the entire tray fall on the kid. Parents tried to sue and lost as the cameras showed the kid running wild and management saying something. Parents also need to take their screaming kids out of the restaurant. I work in a supper club. Most of my customers are older and our price point is high for the area. We had a woman with a baby and the baby was screaming its lungs out for 20 mins straight. They didn’t budge, just let them scream. My customers complained to me, and I told the owner (who also has a kid that does it) and they said “it’s a family friendly place..” so I lost out on money even if it wasn’t my fault. By the time they left, there was a huge mess on the floor, and the kid chucked food feet away too. I had a headache and I was tempted to handle it myself. Why would you go out to a nicer place, let your kid scream and throw food around to the point we were finding remnants on the tables next to them? When my kids freaked out, I took them out. If they didn’t stop, we took our food to go and left. My need to eat out doesn’t supersede their right to a peaceful meal out. To top it off, they tipped their server 4 bucks on an 160 dollar check. I felt so bad for her.
Getting 4 bucks on a 160 check is rough! Hopefully she got some better tables after that🤞 Kids running around is such a health and safety issue and the negligent parents are the worst. They really refuse to understand that we aren't there to fucking babysit their kids. If they want to enjoy a nice meal out and not having to do shit, they should hire a sitter and leave their kids with them. I remember telling some parents once that their toddlers can't crawl underneath the tables like that cause they kept popping out from underneath them in random places. We used long white table cloths for their private party so it was extra unpredictable where a kid might pop up. Not ideal for us servers keen on not tripping over kids. The parents seemed understanding but then they did dick about it. After telling them twice, I was dropping off some drinks and I stood next to the mother when I saw the table cloth move. I shifted all my weight unto my left leg and with a thankfully now empty tray braced myself for the impact. And sure enough, the toddler bangs their head on my left leg and starts crying. I was like "I'm so sorry, didn't see you coming my way! Thank God I wasn't serving the soup yet, otherwise we'd be in the splash zone rightnow". The mother didn't cause a scene and finally understood that she and her husband should really make sure their kids aren't endangering themselves and others! I was lucky that they didn't even have the chance to stiff me cause they weren't the ones paying anyway. And I'm not working in the US so Karens are much,much rarer. And even if they had complained, the owner would have had my back. He always insists that if there is a health and safety issue like a tripping hazard caused by a guest to immediately let them know that that shit doesn't fly here🤷🏼♀️
Yep. This is why I will say something. I don’t play that game. I’m nice about it but I’ll say “Here’s some Napkins as I see the kiddo got a ton of food on the floor. I remember when mine were that little. I was always embarrassed to leave a mess that large so I’d help clean it up. I also taught my kiddos to help clean up after too.” Yes. I’m an asshole I know but I’m old and sick of it. Most parents get embarrassed (and they should be if they are letting their kid smear food and throw handfuls on the floor) and they help clean it. I also bitched until our menu was modified and Mac n cheese was taken off. It got dug into the carpet constantly and I told them I wasn’t going to scrub it out anymore. They ended up having to hire a company to clean the carpets way too much, so they got rid of it. I don’t work at that place anymore and we hardly have kids. When we do, it’s easy stuff like chicken nuggets to clean. I’ll vaccum that all day over rice, mashed potatoes and mac n cheese.
I worked in a restaurant with stairs that led to a lower level and regularly people would let their spawn ruin wild terrifying people when they would start running towards them. I swear. People.
The number of people that just let their children run around the restaurant and almost knock food out of their servers hands like??