Just came back from Lunch at a nice Restaurant with a Couple and their 1- year baby

[JanetRose]

the baby left a mess on the floor of food. They mentioned that they needed to leave a nice tip now. Does that come with the waiter's job or should parents clean up their baby's mess?

 

[TangaroaTiki]

I would have picked up whatever didn't require a mop for sure.

 

[clarabelle]

I pick up big stuff -but leave a good tip for the trouble

 

[lacrosse_lady72]

Well, as a server I wouldn't mind if there was an extra mess around when they left more of a tip. I'm not talking about being money greedy or anything it's just that it's fine when people leave a mess when I am your waitress, I honestly don't care, but when doing so showing a little bit of extra appreciation for having to do more is a nice add on.

 

[pigletgirl]

Well if my baby had left a large mess, I would of given a pretty hefty tip. It isn't fair to the wait staff.

 

[happygirl]

If my kids make a mess I try to pick it up usually the server will say don't worry about it.

Now, when I was a server I would try to assure the parents it was not a big deal the last thing you want to do is make them feel embrassed.

 

[Daisy&Max]

If my kids started throwing food on the floor and making a big mess they would have the food taken away and not be given any more. If they are a new self-feeder then I would not give them so much they could make a big mess. one piece at a time to make sure it wouldn't end up in the floor.

I cleaned up as they ate and would never let it get to be a big mess. I always left a good tip anyway.

Daisy

 

[pilotwife_02]

I usually picked up the large items off the floor (big pieces of bread/fries/chicken/etc.) and let the wait staff clean up the rest figuring they had a broom and could do it a lot faster then I could and left a nicer tip for their trouble.

Hope that was acceptable.

 

[princess pooh]

I clean up what I can and leave a big tip.

 

[clovergirl5]

I clean up after dd2, she is usually good about not making a huge mess and I make sure I keep one of her scoop bibs in her diaperbag. It usually catches everything.

 

[NikitaZee]

I clean up the mess on the table, but not the floor. My husband insists on cleaning the floor - he doesn't think it's fair to leave any extra mess at all. We tip extra because we know kids are messy, and most waiters/waitresses make a point to be nice to the kids and include them in conversation, which I appreciate.

 

[daisyduck123]

Extra mess = extra tip.

I always left an extra tip if there was a mess on the floor when my kids were small.

 

[nutterbutter2010]

I usually picked up the large items off the floor (big pieces of bread/fries/chicken/etc.) and let the wait staff clean up the rest figuring they had a broom and could do it a lot faster then I could and left a nicer tip for their trouble.

Hope that was acceptable.

Thats what we did when our kids were little.

Once my DD knocked over a whole thing of rice at a Mexican restaurant. I felt so bad, started to try and clean it up, but it wasn't an easy thing to do with nothing but my hands and a napkin. Plus I still had my two young girls to watch after - not to easy to do while my head is under the table. I went over to the wait staff, told them what had happened, and they said no problem. It wasn't in our way, so they waited till we were gone to clean the rest of it up.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

the baby left a mess on the floor of food. They mentioned that they needed to leave a nice tip now. Does that come with the waiter's job or should parents clean up their baby's mess?

Speaking as a waitress of 22 years and a mom of 2 years, it really depends. If it's a HUGE mess, some help on the parents' part is appreciated. I had a table just last week leave me a $10 tip because they thought their one year old made a mess. I was able to sweep it up in one fell swoop. Other times I've had a mess so bad it took me forever to clean and only a $2 or $3 tip left.
We'll be taking or son out to his first restaurant ever next week...we eat kosher and there are no restaurants in our area, so when we go to Atlanta, I'll be sure to clean up after my little man AND leave a decent tip. I usually do anyway as it's what I do for a living.

 

[KirstenB]

With us, big mess=big tip.

 

[Imzadi]

It's actually a restaurant liability issue. If there is something on the floor that someone can step on & slip, the restaurant can be sued. They can't say, "Well, the customers who left the mess didn't clean up (well) after themselves. You'll have to go sue them instead."

When I used to waitress/cater, if a guest dropped a glass or plate of food, making a huge spill or mess, it was never the guest's responsibility to clean it up. Why should this be any different?

I've worked some buffets where the tablecloths start out as a pristine white. Some people are incredibly sloppy scooping up food. We never say, "Hey, could you be a little neater for the next person behind you?" We just go and clean up the messes. That's our job.

I would leave a generous tip for the waiter though, if I made a huge mess.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

I would tip extra...

Etiquette wise--while one would hope their 1yo won't be a sloppy pig, stuff happens and etiquette doesn't really provide that a paying consumer goes and cleans up after themselves as though they were at home. IOW--if it were a "nice" restaurant, I wouldn't be on my hands and knees on the floor picking up crumbs. I would apologize to the server and then tip extra for the extra clean up work.

 

[kim929]

I always clean up after the babies... I don't think they should have to clean up after my messy baby. If there was a bunch of small stuff, I apologize and leave an extra tip

 

[justhat]

We only had huge messes on the floor a handfull of times, luckily, but when we did I would pick up any large items, but then otherwise tipped extra. There's no way I am putting my hands on a dirty restaurant floor and cleaning with a napkin. It might be nicer, but who knows what is on the floor and the last time it was cleaned. In Chef Mickey's once, a 2yo had a potty accident at the next table and poop literally fell on the floor. The mom did clean it up, but it wasn't sanitized or anything before the next family sat down, so had that been me, and I were on my hands and knees cleaning up my kid's spilled chicken nuggets, I would have had all that bacteria on me and never known it.

So I'll leave it to the waitstaff who have gloves, a broom/mop, bleach or lysol, etc.

 

[LaraK]

I used to pick up as much as I could and then would tip well.