Mom Furious After Being Given Dustpan & Brush To Sweep Up Her Baby’s Mess At Café

Nov 29, 2022 by apost team

Making a mess at a café can sometimes be unavoidable – especially if a person decides to bring along some kids. Of course, there are people who are hired to clean up the mess made on the table. Understandably, there are cafes that require people to clean the place first before they go. But of course, customers are informed beforehand, or signages are placed in different parts of the store to let customers know about their house rules. But what if a café labels itself as a family-friendly establishment? Should they still clean up their mess? Or can customers leave them alone?

One mom took to a website called Mumsnet – a website made "by parents for parents" – to share a story about how she was required to clean the mess her baby had made before they were allowed to leave the café.

According to the mom, she and her friends always hang out at a café. But the week before her next visit, the manager came up to one of the moms who went there to tell her to clean up the mess the latter's baby had made.

When she finally went there, she was surprised when she was handed a dustpan and brush, pointing out to the food bits under the highchair her baby was sitting at for her to clean up.

"This week, as I was packing up to leave (with a screaming overtired baby who is refusing to nap because of teething!), she gave me a dustpan and brush and pointed at the few bit of food under her high chair and asked me to clean up after myself," she said.

In her defense, the mom said she was surprised since the café was advertised as family-friendly, adding that there were only a few bits on the floor, which she found ridiculous.  

"It's advertised as a very family-friendly cafe. To make it clear, if she had made an unreasonable mess I would of course have cleaned it up (or tried, it's a bit difficult when you don't have any cleaning materials). But it was a few bits on the floor," she said.

The mom then shared her realizations following the incident, saying: "I guess I'm going to be way more conscious about allowing my baby to make a mess in the future (good luck!)."

After telling her mom about what happened at the café, she was told what they did to her was unreasonable.

"But after I told my mum, she said I should leave a negative review about it on their cafe page and seemed to think it was unreasonable," she said.

Not all people sided with her. Some people thought it was wrong for her to make such a mess, while others thought it could be one way of telling her she didn't want her to be there every week.

"I'd say food on the floor is beyond the realms of normal mess and I'd expect to be asked to clean it up. People are absolute rotters in cafes and restaurants," one person said.

"I think they are telling you that they don't want you in there each week!" another person remarked.

"It's super odd to be handed a dustpan and brush!!!! But then how much mess was there?!!!" a person commented.  

apost.com

Do you think the mom was in the wrong, or do you think the café manager was reasonable enough to hand her a brush and dustpan? Let us know your thoughts, and pass this on to your family and friends who might find this story interesting!