clicky: when you go out to eat with LO

christiney06

I waitress P/T at night and it seems like the norm is to just leave your table looking like a bomb went off and not pick up after yourself.  I always pick up the big chunks of food off the ground whenever we go out in the hopes that my karma will come back to me but so far, not so much.  just curious what the norm is for everyone.
[Poll]

mavilabride4evah

We cleaned up after ourselves even before DD arrived.  FI used to be a busboy in high school (I think that's what they call them) at his uncle's restaurant.  Now when we go out, he stacks up all of the plates and cleans up the mess.  I think all they have to do is pick up the plates lol

hereonceagain

I always try to clean up a little.  But I notice every single time I do, the staff stops me and says something like "oh that is our job... you don't need to do that".  And if my LO is acting up, I figure the staff rather me get her out and they can clean rather than listening to a fussy child.  But in that case, I'd tip well. I typically tip $2 extra everytime she is with us.

shellybell15

My brother is a waiter and he brought this up one day as a pet peeve so I have always picked up after DS. Unless we are at a place like TX Roadhouse where they let you throw peanuts on the floor!

aglenn

I used to waitress and I know what you mean; some people leave unbelievable disasters behind and some even have the nerve to say, "yeah, that's why we go out to eat" right to the waitress's face...but anyway.  I think some amount of dropped food and whatnot is normal but if DD totally tore the place up I would not just leave it like that.

NDwife07

hereonceagain:

I always try to clean up a little.  But I notice every single time I do, the staff stops me and says something like "oh that is our job... you don't need to do that".  And if my LO is acting up, I figure the staff rather me get her out and they can clean rather than listening to a fussy child.  But in that case, I'd tip well. I typically tip $2 extra everytime she is with us.

We've had a similar experience multiple times - staff that tell us not to worry about it.

We always tip generously when DD is with us (and even when she's not). Waiting tables is hard work!

tarebear9891

Well I am kind of in between two options and I also used to serve. I clean up the big pieces and leave a bigger tip if it is still messy.

lisa&andy

I do a quick once over of the floor and throw any trash thats on the table on to a plate. Sometimes with 2 toddlers it doesn't get as picked up and we just end up tipping more.

ljlkm

I only do a quick once over but I leave a 40% tip. I feel bad when wait staff has to work extra hard because of me.

Sage Mommy

I clean up the table and get the bigger pieces from the floor as well as leaving an bigger tip. DS isn't as messy as he used to be though.

princessbeulah

I always try to clean up when there is a huge mess, but every time I do the waitress and/or manager tells me not to worry about it. So I'm not really sure if I will keep bothering, honestly. Of course I tip well though.

ncbelle

As a former waitress, I absolute clean up after kiddo!  It's simply trashy not to.  I worked in fairly nice, non-chain places which didn't get much kid traffic - still I was shocked at the mess some people left ;-(

mandyclaire579

I clean up everything because I feel like it's gross to leave your mess. If I dribbled soup everywhere, I would clean that up. Why not my kid? I even go so far as to take out any outside trash we bring in. It used to be babyfood jars, but I've been known to take even a banana peel wrapped in a napkin

I feel weird making someone clean up after DS, big tip or not. And I really don't think they should have to clean up food that's not from their establishment. Just my two cents. That being said, DS is a pretty clean eater, so it's not that big of a deal. Now twins, or a bunch of young LOs? I might just throw in an extra $20 and be through with it.

Mee83shell

mavilabride4evah:

We cleaned up after ourselves even before DD arrived.  FI used to be a busboy in high school (I think that's what they call them) at his uncle's restaurant.  Now when we go out, he stacks up all of the plates and cleans up the mess.  I think all they have to do is pick up the plates lol

This is exactly what I do. I waited tables for a LOOOOONG time in school & I respect the hard work of the servers/bussers.

deltagirl79

I try to clean up after him. Normally it's not too bad, but I was annoyed last weekend. We went out and for what ever reason he felt like throwing more than usual on the floor. I handed him to DH so I could move the high chair and got down to scoop up all that food and I had *two* different servers say that I was in their was as they were walking. They were not coming from the kitchen with food either, they were just walking. That annoyed me I was trying to help and they weren't offering to help clean up but I needed to get out of their way. In general though I don't feel like it's the servers job to clean up a mess that my son made.

JennifernKevin4ever

I always clean up after DS when we eat out. I don't want to be rude and leave a mess for someone else.

Temp856430000003146

I was a waitress for 3 years, so I understand how that goes.

When we go out to eat, DS doesn't make much of a mess. There might be a crayon on the floor or something, but I'll pick it up before we leave. He doesn't crunch up crackers and leave them everywhere or throw food on the floor like some kids. 

One time, I had a mom ask me to get her a broom so she could sweep up her kids mess. I was floored! I wouldn't let her, I told her it was my job  

m0132

I cleaned up after DH and I before even having DD, I put all our used napkins on a plate and make sure all of our silverware is on a plate and not just sitting on the table. Now that I have DD I pick all the food off the table and even the floor. I would be pissed if I had to pick someone else's kids food off the floor and I have never even waitressed. My friend made a huge deal that I was on the floor picking up after DD the last time we went to lunch and I thought it was crazy that she would have just left it there.